When I read that Jason Bateman’s new film, Bad Words, was about a national spelling bee, I’m not going to lie, I shied away from it (after Akeelah and the Bee, you sort of lose all urges to see movies about spelling bees). But wow. I was wrong as usual.
It’s got everything a movie should have: Jason Bateman, nudity, a sex scene, an adorable Indian boy, humor. AND it was Bateman’s directorial debut. If that doesn’t persuade you to see it then… I just don’t know. Maybe you should reevaluate. But here’s the basic plot: Bateman stars as 40-year-old Guy Trilby. With a secret agenda, Trilby somehow manages to qualify (despite the age requirements) for the prestigious “Golden Quill National Spelling Bee.” As he brutally crushes his preteen competition, a nosy journalist (Kathryn Hahn) attempts to uncover his past, in the hopes that it will explain his present. In a hilarious sequence of events, Trilby befriends his ten-year-old competitor and exposes him to bad words, booze and breasts. I really would love to give more away and ruin the movie for you, but I would be doing a great disservice to Bateman’s film. It would be like trying to explain the genius of ice cream between Eggo waffles. Impossible. So, go see it (not with your parents please).