Bad Words is story of a man driven to win a spelling bee championship by exploiting contest loopholes and using ruthless competitive tactics against competing kids. The movie has been rolling out as a limited release, hoping to gain momentum through buzz among those daring enough to witness Bateman’s directorial debut.

While the movie isn’t actually written by Jason Bateman, Bad Words is essentially his baby. Howard Stern show fans will recall Jason discussing the challenges of pitching the script to other leads in Hollywood after finally settling on putting himself in front and behind camera

The good; If you loved Bateman in all his other comedic roles, you’ll love him here. Just like his contrived character in Arrested Development, we get to see the Guy weasel his way to a goal we patiently wait to understand the motives for.

Kathryn Hahn does a good job as Jenny. The chemistry between them is believable (just like “This Is Where I Leave You”) and I doubt this is the last time we’ll see those two together.

Rohan Chand is charming and sweet and provides both contrast and parallels to the ruthless Guy Trilby.

The bad; needless to say this movie isn’t for everyone. It probably falls under the same category as Bad Santa but doesn’t quite have the same potency.

While we come to closure at the end, the motive we discover may not resonate with most viewers. To an extent, Batemen leaves us with more questions, pondering what an alternative ending might have looked like. At nearly 90 minutes, however, we must conclude the focus of Bad Words is a comedy and not intended to be a drama based on greater character development.

Overall; the movie has its moments but never quite reaches the heights of an instant cult classic I was hoping for.