Bad Words (2014)
TOMATOMETER
Critics Consensus: Scabrously funny and gleefully amoral, Bad Words boasts one of Jason Bateman's best performances -- and proves he's a talented director in the bargain.
Critics Consensus: Scabrously funny and gleefully amoral, Bad Words boasts one of Jason Bateman's best performances -- and proves he's a talented director in the bargain.
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Movie Info
Jason Bateman makes his feature directorial debut with the subversive comedy Bad Words. Mr. Bateman stars as Guy Trilby, a 40-year-old who finds a loophole in the rules of The Golden Quill national spelling bee and decides to cause trouble by hijacking the competition. Contest officials, outraged parents, and overly ambitious 8th graders are no match for Guy, as he ruthlessly crushes their dreams of victory and fame. As a reporter (Kathryn Hahn of We're the Millers) attempts to discover his true … More- Rating:
- R (for crude and sexual content,language and brief nudity)
- Genre:
- Comedy
- Directed By:
- Jason Bateman
- Written By:
- Andrew Dodge
- In Theaters:
- Mar 28, 2014 Wide
- On DVD:
- Jul 8, 2014
- US Box Office:
- $7.8M
Cast
-
Jason Bateman
as Guy Trilby -
Kathryn Hahn
as Jenny Widgeon -
Rohan Chand
as Chaitanya -
Allison Janney
as Dr. Bernice Deagan -
Ben Falcone
as Pete Fowler -
Rachael Harris
as Eric Tai's Mother
Related News & Features
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New on DVD & Blu-Ray: Bad Words, The Raid 2, and More
– Rotten Tomatoes
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Critic Reviews for Bad Words
All Critics (120) | Top Critics (37) | Fresh (78) | Rotten (42)
I didn't like anything about the movie before discovering what Guy is up to. I actively hated it after I figured out what was actually going on.
The laughs in this film are all mean-spirited or just frat-boy gross.
Almost unrelenting in its takedown both of an American institution and the country's obsession with victories big and small, Bad Words is more misanthropic fantasy than satiric fiction.
Trashy, ribald laughs in the Bad Santa vein, this marks Bateman's directorial debut; it's not much to look at, but at least he has the nerve to push the insolence, profanity, and brutal insult humor to its absolute limits.
In his directorial debut, Bateman casts himself as a foul-mouthed, racist jerk. It's a stretch for the nice-guy actor, but the role doesn't suit him.
While Bad Words is only sporadically funny, Bateman throws himself into the role without shame or ego. The film is also his directing debut, and a very capable one.
[Allison Janney's] presence on any show or movie ultimately has a kind of 'Poochie' effect: whenever she's not on screen you just expect everyone else to be wondering, "Where's Janney?", hoping that somehow spirits her back.
Bad Words is a worthwhile -- if predictable -- dark comedy, particularly for those with a somewhat cruel sense of humor.
Bateman...is one of those actors whose immense warmth can't be concealed no matter how disagreeable the character and he manages...to keep the fraying edges...forgivable.
Bad Words does to spelling bees what Bad Santa did to Christmas phoniness.
If profanity bothers you, don't even read any further. Not that you'll see profanity here. It's just that 'Bad Words' isn't your kind of movie. And just because it stars many children, don't even consider taking your kid to it.
'Bad Words' calls to mind 'Bad Santa' ... not quite as good good, but it's a lot of fun.
In a word, "Bad Words" is H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S!
Spell it b-o-g-u-s, because 'Bad Words' reveals very early that it won't even remain true to the dubious integrity of its ugliness.
Underneath Bad Words' thick layer of sardonicism and snark, there is heart. You just have to dig deep. Very deep.
The gangling script shows a compulsion to swerve away from sentimental expectations, but only manages to mire itself in affected anti-cute misanthropy.
After seeing Bad Words, I'm trying to set up a swearing bee between Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Jason Bateman.
It's just too damn amiable to be outrageous, and if it ain't outrageous, it's a swing-and-a-miss at the premise. Not good when playing in Pee Wee League.
Bad Words is clearly jockeying to be another Bad Santa, but because it frequently pulls back from going too far, it lacks that picture's killer instinct.
If you take this as, in a sense, a dirty fairy tale, it is absolutely hilarious. If you take it straight you're going to have a terrible time. You're also going to be missing the point.
Bateman's directorial debut is solid. He seems on sure footing behind the camera. If only he had been up to suppressing the nice guy within, "Bad Words" could have achieved a distinctive level of satire and black humor.
Plays out as a farce that (sadly) just isn't all that insightful, witty, or creative with how it approaches its premise - one that is kind of funny but only goes so far.
It wants to be politically incorrect, and indeed there are many rants against women, insults to visible minorities, and general verbal mayhem. But you get the sense the movie never means it: this a Hollywood lesson in redemption.
Bateman outright acts as Bad Santa as he can without getting sued for copyright infringement.
Audience Reviews for Bad Words
The end justifies the mean.
Good comedic movie! Bad Words is a short, sweet and unexpectedly dark comedy with instances of pure vulgarity and vileness that is at the same time, heartwarming-yes, you read that right. Bateman undoubtedly has a keen eye for comedy. Rude, crude and sometimes completely uncalled for, Bad Words was a pleasant change of pace during TIFF and surely one of the most memorable comedies of the year.
An adult, who has been a school dropout, finds a loophole in the regulations and participates in the largest spelling bee in the USA, The Golden Quill. His aim is to take revenge for something done to him in the past.
Super Reviewer
Funny, edgy, well written and it's refreshing to see Bateman in something good since I was disappointed with a couple of his earlier films (Horrible Bosses, Identity Thief)
To enjoy this film you really have to be able to take things amorally. Otherwise the premise, and even a lot of the humor will just come off as "mean". But really Guy is as "anti" as antiheroes can get.
Unfortunately the film never seems to really take things off the deep end and stumbles into an unexpected area of family-feel good plot points as all the motive and mystery behind Guy's quest are revealed.
Still it never tries too hard to be funny, clever or even insightful and that's really where the beauty lies in the movie. It's just a story friendship, vengeance and closure for a plain, honest, angry guy and a loner kid.
Super Reviewer
In one of Jason Bateman's best comedic performances (while also his first time directing), "Bad Words" is one of the funniest, yet heartfelt films I've seen in a while. Jason Bateman is known for choosing a lot of bad comedies, however, he directs this one so he knew exactly how to make everything work. As a man enters a children's spelling bee to prove a point through the loopholes of the system, he befriends a ten year old competitor and their antics are hilarious. Well-written, well-acted, and a few nice twists that I actually did not see coming, "Bad Words" was a surprise to me. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys a good comedy, or any type of raunchy dialogue.
MoreSuper Reviewer
Bad Words Quotes
- Guy Trilby:
- Your child is so ugly it's not even abductable.
- Guy Trilby:
- Why don't you turn that curry hole around before I tell the pilot your bag is ticking.
- Jenny Widgeon:
- Don't look at me! Don't look at me! Don't look at me!
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