User reviews

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.

This is indeed racist and it's also misogynistic. Does this mean that a movie with those qualities can't be funny? The movie knows it's racist and (wow this word is overused lately) misogynistic . It's also extremely funny. If you know you can't see past certain things like that then I suggest you don't watch this movie. It's mean and and very crude and hilarious.

I was actually ashamed that I laughed at some of the jokes as I consider myself to be a good person but they are so shamelessly delivered by Bateman I just couldn't help myself. Young Rohan Chand was very likable and held his own with Bateman who knows first hand about what it takes to be a child actor. Turn off your media forced judgment and just enjoy the movie. Even assholes can be funny.

The storyline allowed for a lot of funny moments and the movie definitely ran with it. It was hilarious and didn't stray from the plot to include any unneeded jokes (this is what draws me away from most comedies). The child, Chaitanya (Rohan Chand), was innocent and cute enough to provide a nice contrast to the unscrupulous Guy (Jason Bateman). With some heartwarming moments, this movie is more than just a rude comedy. The comedy is raunchy and vulgar though so it definitely takes a certain sense of humor to enjoy (sad to say that it is mine lol). Also, a little predictable, but that doesn't take away from the movie too much.

I feel compelled to review this because I believe some took this movie too personally, and thus rated it poorly.

If you are easily offended, you might be shocked or uncomfortable on several occasions. If you understand this is an artistic work of fiction, or if you like dark, sinister comedy, you can laugh at how this movie relentlessly pummels you with awkward moments. My advice is to cast away your moral standings in reality, and try see this movie from another perspective.

To be vague, it turns out there's a method to the madness towards the end. And for me, the underlying message made it worthwhile. Jason Bateman was incredibly convincing in this role!

This a good movie. Ignore other reviews that want you to believe is bad.

I'm not a fan of Jason Bateman. I don't even like him. And seeing that he is not only the star but also the director and producer of this, makes it even worst.

Surprisingly enough this is a movie worth seeing. I'm with the professionals critics (Entertainment Weekly, Chicago Sun-Times) who gave it 3.5/4 stars or A- . I wasn't too hasty to hate it, and believe me, by the end of it, the chances are that you might actually like it.

The star of this is an anti-hero. A man who lacks the conventional heroic attributes. This movie isn't about idealism, or courage or morality. Basically it's a movie about bitterness.

The main protagonist has his own reasons to be bitter and a cynic. In a way the whole movie is his little revenge. But in his little voyage to that dark destination, he does find the good in his heart, plus an unlikely friend.

Although it starts like a comedy (and with some crude humor), the movie builds in emotions especially towards the end.

Overall: Check-it out.

With a premise and character right in his wheelhouse, first time director and star Jason Bateman takes a script that could've been undermined by its clichés in the hands of a lesser talent and delivers an almost-winner with 'Bad Words'.

On paper, Guy Trilby is one of the most unlikeable protagonists in recent film history, but Bateman is so skillful at these kinds of characters that you find yourself liking him despite your self. Talented co-star Kathryn Hahn provides a nice foil, and newcomer Rohan Chand is a dazzling breath of unpretentious fresh air as Guy's rival and eventual protégé.

Though it never quite gels into something special, 'Bad Words' is a solid directorial debut for Bateman, and I look forward to seeing what he does next.

Another comedy movie like "A Million days to die in the west" this year where the trailer made it out to be extremely funny but the movie itself was clearly not. Hopefully in this case, the movie itself was pretty good.

Directed and Acted by Jason Bateman, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was more of a feel-good drama film instead of a comedy. There are some hilarious moments in it here and there, the movie can be offensive and abusive but hey, its name is "Bad words" so you kinda expect such things in it.

I love Jason Bateman, he is a great actor. And damn he can be one hell of a DICK, like in this movie. He is portraying a character who is ruining spelling bee contests and can't be prosecuted because of a loop hole in the rules. Kind of a unique premise, especially as far as comedies go.

Anyway, it is a decent feel-good comedy film. Worth a try, especially if you're a fan of Jason Bateman.

7.2/10

Its story can be a bit formulaic- but its charm unmeasurable- Bad Word is a hilarious and surprisingly entertaining little comedy that truly belongs in the hands of Bateman. Let me just start off by saying I absolutely loved Jason Bateman in this movie. He is so incredibly cruel and mean-spirited, and yet somehow manages to make his character so enjoyable to watch on screen- and I don't think a single other actor could have done that. Not to mention he also directed the film, which honestly, without his touch, could have been a lot more bland- and I love the way he balanced the script's themes throughout. Andrew Dodge wrote the script for this film and though its structurally a little bland- the dialogue is often genius and I loved every wisecracking minute it showed on screen. The cinematography is also quite unique as well, and the cast is all pretty solid. It may be obvious, but the film also does have a heart in the center of its hard core- and honestly surprised me by how much it was able to make me care for the characters at hand given the subject matter. It's a peculiar concept and a brilliant execution- Bateman makes this film what it is- and i'm so glad I finally gave it the chance it deserved.

My Rating: 9.3/10.

Guy Trilby (Jason Bateman)is a 40 year old man who never actually graduated 8th grade at school and uses this as a loophole to compete in the National Spelling Bee championships. Despite objections from many of the parents and the director of The National Spelling Bee championships Trilby remains unfazed and continues in his bid to win this tournament. Although seemingly keen to win the tournament, Trilby does have an ulterior motive which explains away his true reason for entering the tournament.

When I looked at the plot line for this film I was unsure about it and wondered how much humour could be derived from a man entering a spelling competition with a bunch of kids??? To me the premise had all the trappings of a 'juvenile' comedy, but thankfully it was much funnier than I expected it to be.

OK first things first; this film does have some 'low-brow' humour and yes it is a bit juvenile at times, but it did make me laugh a lot. I've always said that I don't mind 'low-brow' and 'juvenile' humour as long as it makes me laugh and it did here and that's clearly a big plus for this film.

Bateman is the key here and he plays the role of 'man hating the whole world and the whole world owing man a favour' very well. The best scenes in the film are those which Bateman shares with his young co-star Rohan Chand. Chand had the difficult task of playing a nerdy overly talkative kid who could so easily have become annoying, but he's actually every bit as good as Bateman and as I've mentioned they are a joy to watch together - their opening scene on the plane together was brilliant as were all the scenes where Bateman was trying to get him to man up. True these are the sorts of things we've seen before, but as long as I'm laughing I really don't care if some of what I see isn't particularly original.

Bateman plays an obnoxious character here and again this could have been something that could have grated on me whilst watching the film. However, again, he is a very funny character meaning that his obnoxious nature was something that I was often prepared to overlook. Working from Andrew Dodge's script Bateman is also given some good material to work from (as indeed are many of his co-stars).

Whilst the picture is mostly funny and whilst it also has a mostly original plot line, the film does start to come apart slightly in the final third; Dodge's script starts to become a bit heavy-handed and a tad repetitive. Bateman also loses a little bit of control towards the end with what can only be described as some cheap-jack Jerry Springer type antics going on at the end - clearly it all exists to make a point, but it all felt a bit forceful to me. The twist at the end explaining away Bateman's desire to compete in the Spelling Bee was also a bit lame which was a bit of a shame given that the picture had a fairly original plot line.

Yes there are some flaws here but when looking at the film in its entirety there is definitely more good than bad. Despite losing its way slightly towards the end, the fine performances, humour, and mostly original plot line make it an interesting and very enjoyable picture.

I was blown away by the surprisingly low "6.7" current rating on IMDb. My theory: The easily offended were easily offended (perhaps the movie should have been called "Bad Words").

(Some of my favorite comedies: Dumb & Dumber, Super Troopers, and Tommy Boy).

Jason Bateman stared in, and directed, this "tightly" constructed DARK adult comedy. There was not a wasted second or single "slow" moment in the entire 89 minutes.

Everything was dead-on: The originality of the storyline, the casting, the acting, the timing, the tone, and THE KID!... I've never been a big fan of the "cute, heart-strings-pulling, kid" cliché, but you don't have to be to appreciate this kid - he takes NOTHING away from the dark humor, and only adds substantially to the film in every way. His authenticity and interaction with Bateman's character is as good as it gets (Roeper compared Bateman's spot-on apathy to Bill Murray's, and I couldn't agree more - you could just as easily picture Murray working his magic with the same degree of unflappability, esp. opposite such a contrastingly upbeat kid).

Bateman is an unassuming Rock Star that let's his talents do the talking, and I'm looking forward to the next film he directs and leads.

A gem in the rough. I was really impressed and surprised with how much I enjoyed this movie. Instead of it just being raunchy or empty, it balances itself perfectly. The movie is actually funny at times. It also has some heart-to-heart moments. And you cant help but like Guy. Even though he's supposed to be a loser who has one bad mouth on him. He's likeable. The friendship between Guy and Chaitanya is cute and funny. With the practical jokes and showing him what grown-ups do for fun. I think the really impressive part is that Jason Bateman directed the movie, while being the main star. He did such a good job. I have to give him a round of applause. He managed to deliver a good comedy.

I have to say that Bad Words was an entertaining film and actor/director Jason Bateman certainly delivered the goods to the audience. Even if it was poaching a bit on Adam Sandler territory, the part suited Bateman who apparently has the sense of humor of a Puck in real life.

Bateman is a 40 something who apparently never had a chance to shine as a child. Checking the rules carefully he finds he can enter a spelling bee, a particular spelling bee organized by educator Philip Baker Hall Bateman has his reasons for entering that particular spelling bee and it's not just because there's no specific age limit so adults aren't necessarily barred.

Every kind of spelling curve imaginable is tossed at Bateman and he's not above a few dirty tricks himself. It's a very funny scene when he psyches out a young girl just reaching puberty awaiting the tell tale signs of same.

However his scenes with young Indian American Rohan Chand are really quite touching. They bond despite the machinations of several adults to split them apart. The finale at the spelling bee is hysterical and more so when you realize in the film it's all going out over television.

Although Bateman descends into realms that Adam Sandler has staked out in the movie-going public, Bad Words is a delightful and charming film and I recommend it highly. Though possibly not for kids.

Guy Trilby (Jason Bateman) is a 40 year old man who enters a children's Spelling Bee to the ire of the students, educators, and parents due to Guy's exploitation of a loophole that he dropped out of school before completing Eighth Grade making him technically eligible for competition. Accompanied by his sponsor, Jenny Widgeon (Kathryn Hahn) of the online newspaper Click and Scroll, Guy wins his Spelling Bee setting his sights on the National Golden Quill Spelling Bee while Jenny tries in vain to understand why Guy is doing this. En route to the Golden Quill, Guy meets a precocious young spelling prodigy in Chaitanya Chopra (Rohan Chand) who tries to befriend Guy despite his lack of interest, as the Golden Quill administrators Dr. Deagan (Allison Janney) and founder William Bowman (Phillip Baker Hall) try in vain to get Guy removed from the competition which is also the first time the event will be televised nationwide on public television.

Bad Words written by screenwriter Andrew Dodge first appeared on the 2011 Black List of best unproduced screenplays. The screenplay came to Jason Bateman who'd been interested in venturing into directorial work and Bateman soon signed on to direct the film refining the script with Dodge by toning down some of the edgier parts of the material and removing references to real life organizations such as the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Upon release the film received mixed if slightly more positive skewing reviews praising Bateman's performance and direction as well as the performances of Hahn, Hall, Janney and especially Chand while other critics criticized the film's mean-spirited humor and protagonist as "unlikable". As is the case with most dark comedies (an inherently challenging genre), Bad Words is designed to evoke feelings of discomfort for the purpose of humor and when it comes to the question of whether it uses that discomfort to its advantage, I can safely say yes.

Bad Words creates a uniquely despicable character in Guy Trilby whose characterization of casual insults, foul mouth, and unapologetically graphic language in lesser hands could've resulted in an intolerable experience (see the 2012 "comedy" Project X for example), but with Bateman's inherent likability as a screen presence coupled with his willingness to sink into this role you do find yourself engaged by this character wondering what possessed him to do this and the vitriol, humiliation, and conniving he inspires in fellow contestants, spelling bee administrators, and parents leads to some very funny set pieces that ooze with bad taste in the best possible way. Aside from Bateman, the movie features a talented supporting cast with the likes of Kathryn Hahn, Phillip Baker Hall, and Allison Janney being but a few who bring their comic friction to Bateman's Guy, but stealing every scene he's in is Rohan Chand as Chaitanya Chopra whose seemingly endless optimism coupled with his endearing delivery makes him a solid counterpart to Guy's endless reserves of bitterness and snark. This movie is a very subjective experience as I've seen those who think the film tries a little too hard to excuse Guy's actions towards the end while others just think the concept is inherently flawed and I can really only give my personal take on the material so your mileage may vary. With not only its title but also its tone and secondary protagonist being a child, Bad Words does invite comparisons with fellow "Bad" title Bad Santa with Guy and Chaitanya's dynamic having some parallels to the dynamic we saw of Willie and Thurman in that film, because the movie tries to make Guy less abrasive as a protagonist in the end it doesn't quite reach the level of Bad Santa, but for what it is it's a solid attempt at tackling similar themes and ideas.

Bad Words for my money is what solid dark comedy should be: uncomfortable and eliciting laughter from that discomfort. The movie won't be for everyone with its profanity laden script and raunchy humor juxtaposed against an elementary to middle school aged spelling bee, but for those who aren't ashamed of feeling a little unclean after laughing it's a fun ride.

Maybe it is. Maybe it something we all need to learn. This man is pretty horrible. I would never want to come across this guy in life. I probably will and I will know what to do. This is hard to watch yet it is truly a lesson. I believe in always having an open mind with people. We can see why the man is so horrible. Compassion is what I got out of this movie. It's just we're I am at. Compassion is an emotion that this man had none. Without making this a spoiler, I cannot say more on the subject. Expect this movie is worth watching. I liked it. It was funny and it has life lessons for those who want to learn. I wanted to give it a 6 but I have integrity so even though I was a little embarrassed I gave it a 7.

I'm a little biased cuz i can't remember ever seeing a bad Jason bateman movie, and this over did not disappoint either. His usual quick wit and incredibly one liners that catch you so off guard. Definitely a must see.

Thank you to Jason Bateman and all involved in making this film. It is sad that movies like this are such a rarity . We live in a world of idealism and of the studios putting out all of their god awful PG-13 movies or just plain god awful movies with solely profit in mind. It is such a treat to have a movie that is not politically correct, and done well. Nobody takes any risks. How can everyone stand for all of this sanitized entertainment. Bateman was great like he always is, this movie is hilarious!! To say this movie is racist is to say you have no brain, there was no hate in this movie. Jokes and stereotyping is not hate. People just love to ruin good entertainment for others. Thank you for this movie!!!! We are lucky to get 1 movie a year that is as good as this.

Why did I watch this? That was the feeling that I had when the movie ended. It wasn't that I was not entertained, it's that I felt I had learnt nothing. There is a pointlessness in the story of the film what can be both strength and weakness, but I felt it was a weakness.

The story is that of an adult who manages to enlist in the national children's spelling bee contest on a technicality, for reasons unfathomable, to the ire and disgust of every adult he meets. He is sponsored by a reporter who wants to get the story, but our hero is keeping his cards close to the chest and not explaining his motivations. But even as the script sets this mystery up, you know it's going to be a simple answer. There will be no heist of the crown diamond here. And then there is a sweet Indian child who is also a competitor in the spelling bee. That's about it. There are some other characters, but the main main ones are Jason Bateman's character and the Indian kid.

And perhaps here lies the problem. While their interaction is funny and heartwarming, these characters are not actually doing anything. There is an attempt of showing growth on both sides, but what comes off is two dudes hanging out until the story gets to its finale. So many other scenes in the film feel the same way, like they are there only to prolong the run time. And there is a lot of potential here: the parents angry of this grown man smashing their kids' dreams, the contest officials threatened by this man stepping all over their authority, the rivalry between the man and the kids, the weird romantic vibe that comes off as creepy between him and the reporter woman. Things could have been done here!

Instead, characters are barely sketched, including the main ones, to the point that you don't care about them, regardless of the good acting that goes on. Even playing an insignificant role, Allison Janney steals a lot of the show, for example.

Bottom line: an intriguing premise written poorly, acted well, maybe even directed well, but ultimately without meaning.