By: Anthony Zangrillo
Bad Words examines two extremes of parenting. The first is the total engagement of parents in a child’s life. While the second is the complete uninvolvement of a parent in their child’s life.
The movie follows Jason Bateman’s character, Guy Trilby, who has found an exploit in the rules of a spelling bee contest that allows him to compete. Through the tiers of the contest, Guy meets Chaitanya Chopra, played by Rohan Chand. Chaitanya is an awkward 10-year old pushed into competing by his parents.
Guy is a 40-year man whose father left long before he was born. He was raised by a single moth who could not support them financially, and as such, she and her son were forced to move around and avoid rent collectors. This is what lead Guy to not complete the Eighth Grade, which is the exploit he uses to enter the spelling competition.
Bateman’s character has very obvious trust issues as a result of his father’s abandonment. Throughout the film, he keeps his distance from the other characters. He only really opens up to Kathryn Hahn’s character after her constant questioning and background investigations. Bateman gets close to Rohan Chand’s character after he sees the continuing neglect of Chopra.
Chaitanya mentions several times the trials his father puts him through in order to toughen him up. Chaitanya is left alone in a motel while his parents stay at a high quality hotel. He is subjugated to coach while his parents travel first class. When Chaitanya is not alone, his father is pushing him to go further and further in the competition, despite Chopra stating he only entered the spelling bee in the hopes of making friends and having fun. Chand’s chracter finally finds what he is looking for in Guy Trilby.
Guy is shown not to be the best role model, but he is portrayed as a good father figure. He listens to what Chaitanya wants and does not force him into anything he would not do. While their friendships begets from Trilby’s selfishness, Guy really does provide what Chaitanya needs and wants. Guy understand that neglect that Chopra is receiving from his father. It is unclear as to whether Bateman’s character is going through this for his own fun, or if he is trying to make sure that Chand’s character does not end up like him.
The movie examines the lives of child raised by helicopter parents and neglectful parents in a comedic setting. The acting from teh case is quite good and the jokes have a dark, sometimes sick, humor behind them. I recommend this to anyone looking for a comedy and a way of improving their vocabulary.
I give this movie 8.5/10.
