Contributing to the delinquency of minors is a comedy tradition older than W.C. Fields, and dependable as a fart to get laughs. Jason Bateman is smart to go there with his directing debut, “Bad Words.

Jason Bateman, center, reviews a scene with co-star Rohan Chand on the set of "Bad Words." Remember “Spellbound,” that documentary from a few years back about slightly weird kids competing in spelling ...