WubsTheFadger Short and Simple Review by WubsTheFadgerJason Bateman delivers a knockout performance as a cynical, selfish, and most of all brutally rude and hilarious man named Guy Trilby. Kathryn Hahn also does a great job at portraying a distraught woman looking for answers. Rohan Chand plays the part of a child in need of a friend and he plays this part so well.The story at first may seem a little bit stupid, but the no-holds-back humor starts off quick and without conviction. Most if not all of the jokes and gags are perfectly timed and extremely funny. The runtime is a little long even at an hour and a half and the heartfelt moments seem a little scripted and predictable.Pros: Great performances by Jason Bateman, Kathryn Hahn , and Rohan Chand, funny and hilarious story, and well timed jokesCons: A little overlong runtime and some predictable heartfelt momentsOverall Rating: 8.4

jimbo-53-186511 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.

italianredneckgirl This is an honest review. Based on content and entertainment value, I rated this film higher than I typically would have. The comedic timing, delivery, and sheer audacity of Jason Bateman is absolutely brilliant. Of course, we should realize that this film isn't going to win an Oscar any time soon, but it did win me over. Historically, I'm not one for inclusion of children in such base comedy. However, given the storyline, and yes, there was one, the partnering with these children ('Slumdog' in particular) was elemental and right. I absolutely loved Bateman's character, his struggle, his obstinate determination,and even his quirky off beat humor. This character's backstory is palpable. I loved looking through his eyes, into his own train-wreck. The closure sought after his mother's death and "outing" his father by bringing him down publicly...just like a pile up on the freeway, you don't want to look, but you do. At the end of it all, yeah, there's closure. In ways we expect, the spelling bee, but also in ways we least expect. The friendship, although not the healthiest, with 'Slumdog', the quiet move into true adulthood without leaving the sophomoric adolescence of crude jokes and base humor. Bad Words is not for children, but any stretch of the imagination, but is able to touch that child, deep down, in us all, that wants to just say eff it. Simply, I like Bad Words.

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.