If you’ve been to a movie anytime in the last 3 months, you’ve probably seen a trailer for Bad Words. Starring Jason Bateman (and in his directorial debut), it is about a 40 year old that finds a loophole to enter a spelling bee. Up against pre-teen kids, he angers parents and verbally abuses his competitors. The premise sounds funny and indeed Bateman’s vulgar words directed at those around him is certainly hilarious at times, unfortunately as a whole the movie is pretty forgettable. It is held together by a loose plot of why he is doing all this in the first place, but when the plot takes a back seat to the star’s antics on the camera, there’s a problem. When you do find out the reason half way through the film, it comes as no surprise and is generally a letdown, not to mention you find it hard to root for a person that has been so thoughtless to those around him. Thankfully the movie is only about 90 minutes long, and just about the time you start to look at your watch, they wrap it up quickly and end it.
The movie is funny, you’ll laugh during it, and for the humor alone it is worth seeing once. But once is enough for this one.
Jons Movie Takes 