FFCC member Reuben Pereira reviews Jason Bateman’s directorial debut, Bad Words, which opens in Florida theaters this weekend. The following is an excerpt from his review.

It’s been a long time since Jason Bateman was in something remotely funny. After resurrecting his career in the early 2000s with Arrested Development and making a successful transition to feature films with a string of well-received performances inJuno, State of Play and Up in the Air, Bateman’s stock quickly declined after turns in dreck like Extract, Couples Retreat, Identity Thief, The Switch and The Change-up. But it wasn’t just the movies that disappointed but Bateman’s performances too. They were the product of an actor more than willing to coast through roles in exchange for a quick buck. Bad Words, which also marks Bateman’s directorial debut, is the antithesis to those cash grabs. Adapted from a hilariously profane Black Listed script by Andrew Dodge, the film is dark, mean-spirited and the funniest, most refreshing film Bateman’s been in over a decade. What’s more, it also establishes him as a wickedly smart and promising director.

Continued at Film Frontier.