Bad Words

There may be hope for Hollywood yet in that the genre of comedy is not quite dead. Out of all the horrible comedies churned out by the Hollywood machine each year, there are gems, mostly independent, that are produced that puts my faith back in the comedy genre. Films like "Juno", "Lars and the Real Girl", "Thank You for Smoking", "Burn After Reading", the recent "The Great Budapest Hotel", and now we have "Bad Words", are films that are clever--interesting that all that are listed are independent films. Commercial filmmakers-- take note!

Guy Trilby (Jason Bateman), a 40-year-old misanthrope, makes waves at a regional spelling bee when, due to a loophole in the rules, he is allowed to enter-- and later wins. Hurtling insults at every turn, Guy advances to the national contest in Los Angeles, accompanied by a reporter, Jenny Widgeon (Kathryn Hahn) who wants to discover his hidden motives for entering the bee. As the competition gears up, friendless Guy inexplicably forms a bond with a young Indian speller, Chopra (Rohan Chand) who Guy nicknames 'Slumdog', who is lonely and needs a friend who is also feeling parental pressure to win. What possibly could be the reason for Guy to be even motivated to enter this bee in the first place and what does he expect to get out of it?

Others to round out the cast are Philip Baker Hall as Dr. Bob Bowen, President of the National Spelling Bee, Allison Janney as director of the Bee, Beth Grant as Bedazzled Judge, Allan Miller as Bald Glasses Judge, Anjul Nigam as Sriram Chopra, Bob Stephenson as Bill Murhoff, Patricia Belcher as Ingrid, Matthew Zhang as Braden Aftergood, and Amanda Anka as National Public Television Narrator.

This was wittingly and grittily directed by Jason Bateman (TV Series). The way this guy was able to pace his actors and have them exude the emotion they emitted in such a realistic way was amazing. It is difficult to believe that this is his first theatrical film directing, although he is in the middle of another project due out this year, "The Family Fang". This was also written by another newcomer to the writing field, Andrew Dodge who will be or has started another project out in '15 entitled "O'Lucky Day". Yes, the writing of the main character was crude, rude, offensive, immature, but this guy was able to write it in incredibly intelligent way. Why can't these young commercial Hollywood writers learn from guys like this? Now, this script wasn't perfect--there were a few choppy places, but considering this is his first screenplay, it was awesome. Trust me, there are seasoned writers in Hollywood who aren't half as talented.

If you like witty, powder dry humor that, after a certain point, finds its center and delivers heart, you'll like this. Because even though Guy is as immature as his friend 'Slumdog', he still is able to have you rooting for him even though you know he is an immature goofball.

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                         Rated: R                           89mins.