williamhgould I found this hidden gem when a local video store was going out of business.I was looking for a good comedy and in dire need to laugh do to the recent passing of my father. Jason Bateman has always been a great actor to me. I remember him well in his short run sit com "It's Your Move" and truly found his talents would go far. If you need a laugh this movie will keep you laughing. I am now longing to complete my library with more of his works.

Scott LeBrun Debuting feature director Jason Bateman stars here as Guy Trilby, a 40 year old former proofreader for product guarantees. One day he gets the bright idea to enroll in a national Spelling Bee. He's found a loophole which he can exploit, so he's off and running, competing against kids a quarter of his age. These include the annoying but endearing Chaitanya Chopra (Rohan Chand), a boy with a demanding, somewhat distant father. Despite being a wise ass and a potty mouth (as well as a man on a mission), Guy finds himself befriending the boy."Bad Words" is a gem for this viewer. On the surface, it would seem to be a standard tale of an ageing loser, with much of the raunchiness and vulgarity expected from that sort of thing. Well, the movie doesn't disappoint in that regard, but it also turns out to have a fair bit of heart, without going overboard on sentiment. Guy is an enigma for a long time, confounding the reporter (the sexy Kathryn Hahn) with whom he frequently ends up having sex. (During which she apparently doesn't like being looked at.) And the friendship that develops between the smart alecky adult and the earnest kid was written in an entertaining and convincing way. Not surprisingly, Guy introduces Chaitanya to such grown up delights as ogling breasts, as well as teaching him the joys of practical jokes.The language is often colourful enough to generate some laughs, although "Bad Words" never does wallow in complete raunchiness or unpleasantness. The words chosen for the spelling bee are pretty damn amusing at times.Bateman does a creditable job as director, as well as delivering an engaging performance. Hahn, Allison Janney, Philip Baker Hall, Ben Falcone, Steve Witting, Beth Grant, Anjul Nigam, and Bob Stephenson are among a rock solid supporting cast. Young Chand is very likable.Overall, a smart, funny tale recommended to comedy lovers tired of the predilection towards political correctness in current times.Eight out of 10.

Ben Parker Well, they've finally done it. They've taken Jason Bateman's Sarcastic Man persona to the limit of being likable and broke it completely. This is pure insult comedy. There is no justification given for why the character tries to shame and humiliate every individual he meets, or why we should give a toss about him and his ridiculous quest to win a Spelling Bee against a bunch of kids.The bad news is this: Yep, I'm that guy. I have a line, and that line involves saying horrible things about rape and racial slurs to a kid. Poor Rohan Chand was badly parented on screen and off. The kid's a good actor and I want him to get parts, but this is too much. He shouldn't have had to hear this stuff. And where were the kids' parents on screen? He basically could have been raped or murdered and they'd have no idea. Ridiculous. And there he was with Jason Bateman's character. This guy would absolutely be put on a list of people not allowed to spend time around children. Everything this guy says to these juveniles is a form of child abuse. You take this movie and love it. Having said all that, the only true value in this movie is the words. There are some wonderful, obscure and ridiculously long words in the spelling bee portions which are great fun as they crop up. Its just a shame that the character and movie surrounding these words is so barren of any comedy or drive to keep watching. The words were all that kept me watching, and I regret it.

g-bodyl Bad Words is an interesting film. With all the racist and misogynistic jokes in the movie, failure should have been its destiny. But the film, nowhere near perfection, does manage to be solidly funny and serves as a good directorial debut for star Jason Bateman. Granted, some jokes are uncomfortable, but others are hilarious. Some people may find this film mean-spirited, but it shows there are these kind of people out here in the world who would do something like Bateman's character would. Bateman's film is about a crude, bad-mouth man named Guy Trillby who enters the Golden Quill, a national spelling competition designed for children. But 40-year-old Guy finds a loophole and he decides to participate in the spelling bee despite all the backlash from the parents and officials.Granted, Jason Bateman's character was extremely unlikable. But it was rather funny to watch him mow down the competition. So I guess Bateman did a good job in his role. We also get some clever supporting turns from Kathryn Hahn and especially Allison Janney as the main official of the spelling bee. Overall, Bad Words is a crude movie but it's often pretty funny and some of the jokes hit home hard. I sort of like the rivalry he struck up with the nine-year-old Indian kid as they both become friends as well as enemies. There will obviously be some detractors from the film, but it seems like I am not one of them. It's not a great film, but merely a good, small comedy. My Grade: B-