57
Metascore
36 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 91Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanBateman deserves props for sustaining Bad Words as a little balancing act between sulfurously funny hatred and humanity.
- 80VarietyJustin ChangVarietyJustin ChangThis exuberantly foul-mouthed and mean-spirited comedy goes somewhat soft in the final stretch but remains an often uproarious model of sharp scripting and spirited acting.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeThe Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeChoosing it for his debut as director, Bateman demonstrates the same knack for timing and fine shadings of attitude as he does onscreen.
- 75McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreMcClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreThe film is full of sharp observations about academic contests today, with Tiger Moms and tough-love Dads browbeating the kids from the wings. The ending is kind of a tap-out, but Bateman keeps this clipping along, maintaining the mean streak and potty mouth that makes Bad Words the dirtiest and funniest comedy of the new year.
- 68Film.comJordan HoffmanFilm.comJordan HoffmanWhile Bad Words is a little too dopey to take seriously, this is compensated for with a handful of truly amusing sequences.
- 60Time OutJoshua RothkopfTime OutJoshua RothkopfBad Words soars in the bits of riotously offensive chitchat between Guy and a young Indian hopeful (Rohan Chand); it wobbles in plot developments involving the effortlessly starchy Allison Janney as the contest’s “queen bee”; and it splats in the I’m-secretly-hurting conclusion.
- 38Slant MagazineChris CabinSlant MagazineChris CabinThe meager comeuppance and hasty notes of sweetness that end the film feel pre-approved rather than organically realized.
- 30Village VoiceStephanie ZacharekVillage VoiceStephanie ZacharekBateman, as both director and star, digs his heels in too hard to make the movie's points, using lots of ho-hum close-ups and wriggly camera work along the way.
- 25The PlaylistKevin JagernauthThe PlaylistKevin JagernauthBad Words wants so desperately to be funny that there isn't much time left to make any logic out of the story.