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Bad Words (Jason Bateman's directorial debut)

Started by Small Man Big Horse, April 16, 2014, 12:32:30 AM

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Small Man Big Horse

I'd heard good things about this before going in, and did enjoy it a lot. It's perhaps more conventional than I might have hoped for, but a very sharp script saves it from ever becoming dull.

Bateman plays a 40 year old fuck up, who for unknown reasons decides to enter a the national spelling bee tournament. Now it's supposed to be only for kids, but he exploits a loophole much to the anger of the parents and organisers. Meanwhile a journalist is following him around trying to get his story out of him, and he gradually becomes friends with a shy young Indian kid.

At 88 minutes ( without the credits) it doesn't outstay it's welcome, it's beautifully filmed with great performances from all, and there's an awful lot of fun to be had from Bateman
Spoiler alert
acting inappropriately in front of startled children and parents, along with some delightfully cruel psychological tactics against his opponents.
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Ending spoilers:
Spoiler alert
I'm glad that with 25 minutes to go Bateman discovered that the kid was long conning him, and Todd's death sequence was particularly beautifully carried out, as was the final confrontation. And yeah yeah yeah, it's a slightly predictable happy ending, but hey, why not once in a whole.
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It's not a classic but it is a strongly enjoyable comedy, and an impressive debut, so I'd like to hope Bateman could develop in to someone worth keeping an eye on.

Edit: Oops, wrong board, if you could move it to the Deeper Into Movies forum when you get the chance it'd be appreciated Neil.