Bad Words

BAD WORDS is f-u-n-n-y. But its humor is cloaked with the rage that Trilby has for pretty much everyone in the world, sometimes making it difficult to digest. Were it not for Bateman, who has the talent for making the most unappealing characters sympathetic, the film would have a hard time finding fans. How could one cheer on a hateful guy like Guy? But Bateman, who also serves for the first time as a feature film director here, knows how to milk a joke and when to let it do its thing on its own. And he taps into a humanity that Guy could've easily been stripped of, not to mention a keen sense of pacing and delivery. The rest of the cast acquit themselves well, too.

Nonetheless, Bad Words may alienate rather than attract fans. It pushes the envelope to the point of ripping. Some jokes seem ill-conceived, as when an adult hires a prostitute to show off her breasts to a child. One may laugh, but with a lot of unease. Sometimes that discomfort comes from a good place; you laugh because you recognize the worst parts of yourself. But other times, it also comes from a place where sensible people might ask if the filmmakers really needed to go there. It all adds up in the end to a mostly satisfying and entertaining, albeit discomfitting, movie -- one kids should probably steer clear of until they can spell "misanthrope" without stumbling.