Bad Words (2013)

Warning--even though this move stars Jason Bateman, it is by no means a comedy--there is nothing funny about this.  He plays an entirely unlikable character in this movie.  Guy Trilby uses a loop hole in the rules for spelling bees that mandates that the entrant may not have advanced in school beyond the 8th grade--which he, as a 40 year old, has not.  He brings in his grammar school transcript to verify his lack of higher education.  His motives are not entirely clear from the start, but he is out for revenge.  It is hard to assess who might be the focus of his anger, because he hates everyone and every thing.  He is mean, racist, sexist, and the fact that he is smart just makes him more effective and therefore more unlikable.

Two characters soften the prickly scenario considerably. The first is Jenny (Kathryn Hahn), a reporter who’s covering this bizarre revenge scenario. Guy refuses to answer her questions about why he would embarrass himself, much less make children cry.
Then there’s Chaitanya Chopra (Rohan Chand), a 10-year-old spelling bee competitor who seems impervious to Guy’s foulmouthed insults. It turns out they both have their own reasons for cuddling up to the despicable Guy, but they are no less effective as foils to his endless spewing of hatred.

Other characters, including the news commentators, the parents of contestants, and the head of the spelling bee are really no more likable than Guy, which is another story unto itself, but the profound personality effects of bad and absent parenting are painted with a very broad brush in this dramatic movie.