Jason Bateman s New Comedy Bad Words Will Take You Back to Elementary School

Once you leave grade school, you ve probably never thought about competing in a spelling bee again in your life. Not so for 40-year-old Guy Trilby. The angry-at-the-world character is portrayed by Jason Bateman in the star s directorial debut Bad Words, now playing in select theaters. In the film, he finds a loophole in the National Quill Spelling Bee contest rules and contends for the number one spot, competing against a group of fun and obnoxious little squirts, including one who he befriends, Chaitanya Chopra (Rohan Chand, who you may remember as Abu Nazir s lost child from Homeland season one). Kathryn Hahn plays the fiery reporter trailing the case. I ve worshipped Jason since forever, Hahn told InStyle when we sat down with the cast at the Toronto International Film Festival. The fact that he took a chance on me to be his unromantic leading lady was very exciting. The following is an excerpt from our conversation.
What was your proudest moment on set?
Jason Bateman: Probably the last day, just finishing. It was a huge amount of responsibility directing. I felt very, very lucky to be given all that responsibility. To be able to finish it and on time, felt great.
Kathryn Hahn: Oh, probably getting through those sex scenes without laughing.
What is going to surprise viewers about this film when they watch it?
JB: That it’s a little bit darker and moodier than you would think a comedy would be. That’s the kind of films I really like and I was really happy that we managed to accomplish that.
KH: The fact that I have the most vile mouth on the planet. And I wear glasses! My character has a very specific aesthetic. She likes tweed and Dr. Scholl s shoes. She feels like Ali McGraw, but with nerdy glasses. I love her whole look.
Were there any embarrassing moments on set or funny anecdotes that you remember?
KH: The sex scene in the closet, pretty fantastic.
Bad Words, rated R, is in select theaters starting March 14.
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