Bad Words

Bad Words

The R-rated comedy is no longer shocking. We’ve heard and seen it all, from “The Hangover” trilogy to Ted to Bridesmaids to Judd Apatow’s entire work. Every profane word has been spoken, every foolish action performed, every mind-altering substance ingested and bodily fluid expelled.

But simply being shocking is not enough. There must be context and character behind saying something rude or doing something crude. This may sound out of place in such raunchy environments, but a little nuance always goes a long way.

“Bad Words” tries repeatedly to shock us for the sake of shock itself. Jason Bateman directs for the first time as well as playing lead character Guy Trilby a 40-year-old genius who muscles his way into a prestigious national spelling bee unapologetically unlikeable at best. Bateman has built his career portraying the smartest guy in the room (notably put-upon Michael Bluth on “Arrested Development”), and there’s no one who can match his verbal dexterity.

Here he uses deadpan delivery to lacerate everyone around him: men, women, children strangers and acquaintances alike are not spared Guy’s racist homophobic misogynistic tirades. Some of Andrew Dodge’s script hits its targets; others land with a dull thud but more often than not Guy’s shtick is just plain mean in a way that becomes tiresome when he dares us to tolerate him.

“Bad Words” feels like an old “Bad Santa,” an R-rated comedy that felt genuinely subversive back in ’03 when it came out instead of stale now that we’re almost two decades removed from any original content coming out of Hollywood anyway (and don’t get me started on how many times they’ve recycled their own films).

The difference was Billy Bob Thornton’s self-loathing destructive antihero had some glimmers of damaged humanity underneath all those layers upon layers upon layers hiding away whatever warmth might have existed within him once upon a time when he still believed life was worth living even if only briefly before giving up entirely because nothing mattered anymore so why bother trying? At least he was interesting enough company over beers after work hours every day after spending all week pretending otherwise while getting paid plenty good money plus benefits but then again maybe I’m just projecting my own fantasies onto fictional characters again who knows?

What makes Kathryn Hahn think any sane woman would want anything other than immediate extinction after seeing through her pathetic attempts at seduction tactics aimed at getting into bed with Bateman’s incorrigible jerkface? Most bafflingly Jenny pays entry fees hotel rooms rental cars etc., hoping against hope she’ll snag exclusive rights scribe story revealing what motivates him trouncing studious 10-year olds become Golden Quill national champion Los Angeles shortly thereafter except really why should anybody else care either way?

Ten-year old Chaitanya Chopra (Rohan Chand), an unlikely companion of Guy’s, is a sweetly nerdy and lonely contestant who sees Guy as a friend and father figure. With his long-lashed doe eyes and ever-present binder full of spelling words, Chaitanya cheerfully faces the dismissive racial slurs hurled by Guy “Slumdog” or references to his “curry hole,” for example. It’s not very funny but it’s also not that offensive.

Among the few bright spots in “Bad Words” are Chand’s expressiveness and the way he holds his own opposite Bateman. (Speaking of which, Bateman has chosen a less than attractive sepia lighting scheme for the picture that makes everything look like it was smeared with beer and tobacco.) Eventually, the kid wears him down. But while their drunken night of shoplifting and vandalizing may be the most thrillingly cut part of “Bad Words,” it also makes zero sense in terms of who these characters are or what they want out of this competition that means so much to them for such different reasons.

Sure, Guy has a motivation for surrounding himself with awkward grade-schoolers and taking all those hits from enraged parents and bee officials: revenge. (Bringing class to this lowbrow affair are Allison Janney as the competition’s uptight administrator and Philip Baker Hall as The Golden Quill’s esteemed chief both hell-bent on getting rid of him.)

Once we understand what drives Guy, though, it’s airless: too little too late. Now we’re supposed to care whether he has feelings? Bateman has a strong dramatic streak in him that he doesn’t get enough chances to tap into see: “Juno,” or even his brief appearance in bombastic “Smokin’ Aces” so during the few serious points of the film his instincts are undeniable. You wish his gifts were being used smarter but they aren’t.

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