FILM REVIEW: BAD WORDS

Guy Trilby (Jason Bateman) in Bad Words.

That Guy is fucking fucked up and shit

By John Esther

Floccinaucinihilipilification. A conglomeration of five Latin roots, floccinaucinihilipilification, a noun, is the longest non-technical word in the English language. As we learn from one angry mother (Rachael Harris) in the movie, Bad Words, it refers to something of little or worthless value. She applies the word to Guy Trilby (Jason Bateman, who also directs), the movie's protagonist. It certainly is an apropos description of the protagonist, but not the film itself, which has its merits. 

(On another track, the movie, Need for Speed, is a floccinaucinihilipilification.)

A 40-year-old genius, the bad Guy has decided to exploit a legal loophole in The Gold Quill national spelling bee, allowing him to be contestant. Thus, he will be competing against studious preteens for much needed prized money. This means the smart kids will be intimated, zealous parents will be outraged and the media will want to know the motivation behind Guy's actions.

But Guy could care less about whose feelings he hurts or what inquiring minds want to know. He is on a mission. If that means scarring a few precocious psyches in the process, so be it. In hindsight Guy may question his methods, but in the present, emotion gets the better of his intellect. He is going to win this wordy thing contest with a "Fuck you, motherfucker!" 

Meanwhile, the director of The National Quill, Dr. Bernice Deagan (Allison Janney) must find a way to eliminate Guy from the contest. Her reputation and the reputation of the competition are at stake.

Going against the grain of both Guy's destructive ways and the world that would like to pummel Guy into oblivion are Guy's sometimes sexual partner, the journalist Jenny (Kathryn Hahn actually looking like a journalist and not a movie star playing a journalist) and Chaitanya (Rohan Chand), a sweet-natured fellow contestant with a very stern father (Anjul Nigam). Jenny and Chaitanya try to befriend the misanthrope, although he insults them repeatedly, but it may, ultimately, be useless. Guy is one angry and cruel guy.

Jenny (Kathryn Hahn) in Bad Words.

 

Hardly a Spellbound-ing narrative, Bad Words does have its charms. There are some intelligent observations, as well as a soupcon of funny fecal, flatulent and fornication jokes. There are also some dumb ones, like one involving a lobster in the toilet or one about Bernice and a strap-on dildo.

A slightly superior theme in Bad Words is the underlying one about the importance of parents being involved in the lives of their children. Children may grow up, but that does not mean they will become mature or socially functioning adults. Abandon them at your own peril.

Now that is hardly the case with the parents of the contestants in Bad Words. These parents are trying to protect the interests of their darling spelling bee children. Sure many of these parents are stroking his or her own egos -- and Guy takes aim at some of those parents -- but there is also a pathos involved when you see the desperation of a parent wanting to see her or his kid win that vital prize money for college.

And if you have ever witnessed what it takes to win a spelling bee contest (see Spellbound), there is no doubt these kids train their brains to win.

Of course, Guy does not really care about the struggles of parenting or the pressures and labors these kids endure but, thanks to Andrew Dodge's script and the talented cast, enlightened viewers will.