7.5/10

Jason Bateman stars and directs in a film about a 35 year old man who catches a flaw in a children’s spelling bee competition and decides to exploit it. He enters the tournament and goes all the way to the finals in LA with every parent and the tournament director breathing down his neck. This film was very funny with it’s dark humor that makes you think to laugh. It’s not the typical fart jokes that Hollywood has become accustomed to, and that is why i have always been a Bateman fan. Bateman is joined by 10 year old actor Rohan Chand. Chand is adorable and very down to earth as Bateman’s biggest competition who he befriends. The chemistry between the two characters hits closer to home than the relationship between the man and boy in Bad Santa. The reason i make that comparison is that there was a lot in this film that reminded me of Bad Santa. The way it’s shot with it’s dark shade in every shot, as well as the dark humor between an adult hiding a past secret and a boy who only wants a friend. I do think this film is just a little better than that film however, as Bateman knows how to direct his actors to get the most out of every comedic joke. He also shoots the spelling bee creatively, as we the viewers are watching it like it’s on our own TV sets. Complete with commentator intros and side scrolling designs to show us the words that the competitors are spelling, it feels like more than a movie to us. What i appreciated out of this story more than anything is that Bateman has a reason for doing the things he does, and it’s totally warranted. Granted, you have to suspend disbelief for the thought of a 35 year old man being in a spelling bee, but once you do you find there is more beneath the surface. It’s in the final act that the film takes a serious tone about us owning our pasts VS our pasts owning us. It’s also about friendship and how far those relationships go to changing who we are. Bad Words did have a bit of a predictable ending, but not completely. It does take flash some surprises along the way to get to that ending, and that was greatly appreciated. The only thing i would have changed is to have the other children get more screen time. They don’t seem like genuine competition to us, and that will always make for predictability. Overall, i definitely recommend this film where you can find it. It’s unfortunate that it doesn’t have a wide release because it is the funniest film i have seen this year