Bad Words

If you could go back in time and hang out with yourself as a child, what would you two do? While that’s not exactly the plot of Bad Words, it comes close at times.

The movie Bad Words introduces its audience to Guy, who has an amazing talent for spelling.

Guy’s father, Philip, abandoned Guy’s mother after he knocked her up, and he never once made an effort to contact Guy.

Guy grows up fatherless and friendless. He becomes something of an ass.

Philip goes on to run the prestigious Golden Quill Spelling Bee, for which he proves immensely proud.

Guy (now 40 years old) finds a loophole that allows him to enter the aforementioned spelling bee—intended for ten-year-olds.

Guy plans to make a mockery of the event with his bad behavior, embarrass Philip to the point that he will never forget Guy, which Guy sadly says “is the least a son could expect from his father.”

Keep in mind that Philip has no clue that Guy’s his son.

The community hates Guy for his unwanted attendance at the spelling bee. It seems the whole world wants him disqualified via any means.

Guy reluctantly befriends, during his unwelcomed participation at the spelling bee, Chaitanya, a likeable, idiosyncratic kid who plans to win the spelling contest.

Chaitanya’s father hasn’t abandoned him, but he mentors the kid from afar (to help him build character and independence).

Guy grew up without discipline. He knows how to amuse himself and live in the moment, but he lacks the most basic of social skills and moral restraints. He has accomplished little to nothing with his life.

While Chaitanya’s father stays far from arm’s reach of his son, he still holds high expectations for his son. An anti-Guy results. Chaitanya knows how to study and work hard, but he doesn’t know how to enjoy himself.

Chaitanya, desperate for companionship, names his study binder Todd. He considers the binder his best friend (which seems as sad as those single servings of birthday cake I’ve noticed at the bakery).

It turns out that Guy used to, as a child, carry around a small, toy, police car, a symbol of the authority figure he lacked. Chaitanya carries around a similar car. However, Chaitanya’s toy car hasn’t the flashing light that makes it as police car.

With a dab of ketchup, Guy adds a police light to the roof of Chaitanya’s car, marking it as a symbol of authority, right as Guy takes the kid under his wing and teaches him how to behave . . . horribly.

Chaitanya gives Guy the toy car as a gift, as Guy now serves as his new authority figure.

Later, Guy and Chaitanya share a heartbreaking falling out, and Guy smashes the car.

Guy purchases, after he and Chaitanya rectify their friendship, a retired police car, in which he and Chaitanya chase bullies, symbols of the gatekeepers who wouldn’t allow them social acceptance.

Bad Words is about what might’ve been, about making peace with unpleasant childhoods and the scars they produce. It proves hilarious and touching. It’s wonderfully paced.

I loved its characters for their flaws, and that feels perfect.

(You can read my own short stories free at martinwolt.blogspot.com, and find my novels on Kindle)