Bad Words

Starring: Jason Bateman, Kathryn Hahn, Rohan Chand, Philip Baker Hall, Allison Janney, Ben Falcone, Steve Witting, Beth Grant
Directed by: Jason Bateman
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
2014

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A man (Jason Bateman) discovers a loophole in the Spelling Bee rules and exploits it (and his photographic memory) to wreck havoc on the competition.

Review:

Tim: I've said this countless times, but I'm just not a Jason Bateman fan. I don't really get his appeal. I try not to let that bias creep into my reviews, however. I admit I was interested to see this movie, as Bateman was making his feature film directorial debut. Plus, it's always fun to see adults swearing at kids. I can say that while his first directing effort isn't a great movie, it's a worthwhile one and he shows flashes of brilliance. I might not like Bateman as an actor, but I'm really interested to see where he goes as a director.

The script (which Bateman didn't write) is pretty incredible. I love the idea of foulmouthed, egotistical, carefree guy just creating a storm in the midst of a national spelling bee championship. For anyone who's ever been in a spelling bee (I won my school's, before losing at Regionals), you know how buttoned up and proper that world is. The whole thing rests on children choosing to study how to spell crazy words for hour after hour. To unleash a character like Bateman's into this formal, proper world is ripe with comedic possibilities. The film does a good (but not quite great) job of exploiting these. The story was good because it fought against predictability. While it doesn't always win this battle, there were a few unexpected moments thrown in that really kept me on my toes. I appreciated that. I also liked the central mystery in the story- why was this guy doing this? There is an answer and it kept me interested until we could find out. Andrew Dodge deserves a lot of credit for the script.

While I wish the film was a little funnier, there are some absolutely hilarious moments throughout the film. I always know the moments that will stick with me because I immediately want to rewind and watch them again. Bateman has the vast majority of these lines and I have to admit his delivery and his comedic timing are perfect. My favorite scene has to be when he confronts the hotel desk clerk about the lack of a bathroom in his closet/room. The question he asks is cinematic perfection- not just the absurd and hilarious line itself, but Bateman's perfect delivery. I also laughed out loud at his line to Rohan Chand's character when they are eating chili. It was horrible and inappropriate, but my god, it was funny. The film needed a few more of these tremendous moments to really set itself apart as a comedy, but this is one of the funnier movies I've seen recently. The film deserves credit for that.

Bateman himself is very good in the lead role. I'm always interested to see if an individual's ego will get in the way when they are directing themselves. While this movie is mostly about Bateman's character, it never feels indulgent. Rohan Chand gives a terrific performance as well. The kid is cute but has some real acting talent to back it up. I'm interested to see what he does in the future. Kathryn Hahn isn't the most glamorous actress, but she was right for the role. I don't think I loved her performance, but she was good. I was glad to see Philip Baker Hall here, and I applaud his thankless performance. While the supporting cast is quite strong, this movie really rests on Bateman's shoulders and he doesn't disappoint (although I still don't like him as an actor).

I thought the end of the film was a little unsatisfying. The finale of the Spelling Bee was pretty memorable and fun to watch, but the scenes afterwards left me feeling like they could have been stronger. There's not a lot of moments when I sensed Bateman's inexperience in the director's chair, but the conclusion of the film was a big one. Things were wrapped up a little too conveniently and didn't quite feel like they meshed with the rest of the story up to that point. I admit I was slightly disappointed in the ending.

Bad Words has its flaws, but it's a really funny movie. I give Bateman a lot of credit for turning in a solid effort in his first time in the director's chair. While I'll continue to be ambivalent about him as an actor, I admit I'm pretty interested to see what his second directorial effort will be.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



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