Review: “Bad Words” Offers a Darker Take on the Traditional Spelling Bee
Marissa Tandon ’17 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer
Bad Words answers that question with an emphatic “yes.” The film centers around Guy Trilby (Jason Bateman), a 40-year-old who proofreads instruction manuals for a living. He decides to enter an 8th grade national spelling bee, the Golden Quill, under a loophole that states participants must not have passed the 8th grade on or before the date of the competition. Since Guy never passed the 8th grade, he finds himself eligible for the competition, and the film follows him as he angers children, parents, and educators on his one-man mission.
Related: Jason Bateman Spells Out His Experience With “Bad Words”
The film is fast-paced and almost jarringly hilarious, filled with offensive and absurd humor. With a protagonist that doesn’t seem to know what the term “brain-to-mouth filter” means, audiences will be kept on their toes as Guy Trilby combats his critics with unrepentant, mean-spirited humor and quick wit. Combined with the unlikely and somehow heartwarming friendship between Guy and his eleven-year-old competitor, Chaitanya Chopra (Rohan Chand), Guy corrupts the audience just enough to worm his way into their hearts.
The movie itself is a great accomplishment for both Jason Bateman and screenwriter Andrew Dodge, as Bad Words marks their debuts as director and screenwriter, respectively. The film was shot independently and distributed through Focus Features, which gives it an interesting feel. Everything from the coloring to the soundtrack to the plot twist feels like an independent film; the humor is able to be both charming and abrasive, where larger studio films tend to rely heavily on absurdist and shock value humor. The independent production of Bad Words worked well for the script, allowing what may have come off as an incredibly unlikable character to translate in a fun way to the screen. With Focus handling distribution, the smaller production feel has the benefit of being marketed in a mass way, reaching a large, mainstream audience.
The film isn’t perfect; it does, frequently, rely on a retrospective voice over to add a sense of regret to Guy Trilby that in some ways feels like an easy way out in terms of character development. Without it, it’s highly likely that audiences would be left with a bad taste in their mouths concerning Guy’s actions, instead of finding a small soft spot for him. That soft spot is necessary for viewers to buy into the humor of his actions; however, it does sometimes feel like a bit of an obvious crutch.
Overall Grade: B+
One Comment