Photo: Courtesy Focus Features.Profanity (noun): offensive language; an offensive word. Can we use it in a sentence? Jason Bateman's newest flick, Bad Words, about a 40-year-old man who enters a children's spelling bee, is full of profanity — and it is awesome.
Raunchy comedy certainly isn't for everyone, but if you're a fan of Bateman it's probably for you. Almost nobody does off-kilter, irreverent humor better. Bad Words is filled with the kind of jokes that make you wonder if it's okay to laugh; you look around the theater, realize everyone else is chuckling, and immediately feel less guilty for the smile breaking across your face.
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In the film, Bateman's Guy Trilby is one of the most deplorable people ever, which obviously makes him hilarious. For starters, he's bullied his way into the national spelling bee — yes, the one for children — by way of a technicality, to the horror of the administrators and parents involved. He's also bent on making everyone around him as miserable as he is. First in line on Trilby's proverbial sh*tlist is the reporter accompanying him at the bee who's trying desperately to find out just why a grown man would want to rain all over an elementary schooler's spelling parade.
Next up is 10-year-old Chaitainya Chopra, Guy's chief competitor. That's right, in this movie not even fourth graders are safe from offensive jabs and long-winded takedowns. Little Chaitainya is a loner, too (although a far less creepy one than Guy), and the two soon become the center of an intergenerational buddy comedy. Bateman's character passes down his dysfunction onto his new friend-slash-foe, to disturbingly hilarious effect. To wit: the 10-year-old drops F-bombs and swills liquor at the heels of his new role model.
Of course, no tale of an angry man-child would be complete without a redemption arc, right? We don't want to give anything away, but let's just say Trilby isn't totally unlikeable. Offensive though his character may be, Bateman's comic timing is so on point we're sure you'll laugh your way through the whole thing.
If Bad Words sounds like it's right up your alley, then it's your lucky day. We're giving away five pairs of tickets to the Los Angeles premiere on March 5. You'll be able to chuckle your butt off alongside none other than Mr. Bateman himself. To win, simply tell us your favorite word in the comments (and why!) and we'll pick the five best answers to head to the big event.