STARRING: Jason Bateman, Kathryn Hahn, Philip Baker Hall, Allison Janney, Ben Falcone, Rohan Chand
DIRECTED BY: Jason Bateman
I think if nothing else, Bad Words shows us some strong promise for Jason Bateman as a writer and a director. As an actor, he seems to just be playing a variation of a character he’s played so well before. Someone who is super snarky, and super sarcastic, yet charming and intelligent. I don’t think Bateman plays dumb characters, or quiet characters. His characters work best when given lots of dialog.
But as a writer, Bateman came up with a script that’s funny and heartwarming, and probably owes more than it should to films like Bad Santa, where a crude lead character is made more human by a precocious child. As a director, Bateman had no problem with the pacing of the film. It never drags, and it keeps the laughs intact.
His supporting cast, other than child prodigy Rohan Chand, is all pretty obviously supporting. Kathryn Hahn maybe gets a little to do, but everyone is basically there to support Bateman. They all serve as props to make his Guy Trilby look smarter somehow. Rohan is a different prop, and he’s used to make Guy look more human, if only for a brief moment.
Bad Words made me laugh pretty consistently through the whole film. I have a feeling this is an under-the-radar gem that people won’t notice until it hits Netflix or Redbox, which is a shame, because it deserves to be recognized NOW.
FINAL GRADE: A
