Bad Words is cringe-worthy and funny … or maybe just cringe-worthy

Jason Bateman has been in a bit of a rut. A successful rut, but a rut nonetheless. Ever since he graduated from child star to adult actor in Arrested Development, Bateman has made a career from playing the flummoxed adult surrounded by a sea of over-grown children. The nadir of this particular characterization came with the very un-funny Identity Thief.

So it’s a bit refreshing to see Bateman finally step out of that box he’s gotten so comfortable in with his feature film directorial debut. Bad Words tells the story of Guy Trilby, an angry man who is hellbent on getting himself into a national spelling bee meant for kids under 13 years of age. And through a loophole in the rules, Guy has insinuated himself into the competition despite the protests of parents and organizers alike. Guy is also being accompanied by a reporter who wants to tell his story, but can’t seem to pry any information from him about why he needs to do this.

Bad Words sets Guy up as an awful person who seemingly has no reason for getting into the spelling bee except to exploit the loophole. He finds himself reluctantly befriended by a boy named Chaitanya (Rohan Chand) who seems to genuinely like Guy, but like Guy there may be more to Chaitanya than meets the eye. The film, which should be Bateman’s vehicle except Guy is so awful (his nickname for Chaitanya is “Slumdog”), really succeeds on the charm and megawatt smile of Chand. He’s so adorable that you feel totally gutted with a late twist revelation.

For his part, Bateman seems to relish his new role, cursing with abandon and you have to wonder sometimes if what he’s saying is funny, offensive, or funny because it’s offensive. Half of my screening audience didn’t seem to be sure themselves if it was okay to laugh or not.

Bateman has filled the movie with familiar faces including Kathryn Hahn, Philip Baker Hall, Ben Falcone, Beth Grant, Rachel Harris and Allison Janney (in quite the horrific wig). The script takes the premise and runs with it, offering some real belly-laughs and some cringe-worthy moments, and it almost falls apart at the end when it threatens to get just a bit too schmaltzy. Bateman does keep things moving at a brisk pace, balancing the absurd with the real moments of humanity.

Bad Words may not fall into the category of great R-rated comedies like Animal House or Bridesmaids, but it’s much better than some of the recent movies that have claimed to be comedies.