Inadvertent Double Feature*

The ever-reliable Philip Baker Hall shows up in his patented supporting role in two movies watched in the past few days: 

CLEAR HISTORY (B+) - Larry David and his stable of writers serve up what is essentially an extended episode of his shtick from "Seinfeld" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (the man knows his niche), with an entertaining narrative that holds up over its feature length.

David plays Nathan Flomm (presented without glasses and with a hippie's shoulder length hair and a beard), a cranky PR specialist for a fledgling electric-car company run by Will Haney (the dependable John Hamm), who is naming the car after his son, Howard (a quaint tribute to Edsel Ford?). They have a falling out, and Flomm quits, tries to reconsider, but then is ousted, losing his stake in the company. The car becomes a hit, and Flomm loses out on a billion dollars.

Crushed, Nathan disappears to Martha's Vineyard, and when we see him 10 years later, he finally looks like Larry David, unrecognizable to those who knew the tragic Flomm story. There, as Rolly DaVore, he falls in with a great group of friends and poker pals, played by some fine character actors, including a restrained Danny McBride, Lenny Clarke and bawdy filmmaker Peter Farrelly. Soon Haney shows up, having bought the island's biggest estate, which he begins to turn into a garish monstrosity, to the horror of the locals.

The film is essentially the story of Rolly seeking to exact revenge on the man who cost him a billion dollars. Once the narrative is established, the story unfolds smoothly, propelled by a stellar cast. Amy Ryan (our favorite from "Win Win") plays Rolly's waitress ex-girlfriend and the butt of a very funny running joke about whether she, 20 years earlier as a young woman, went backstage at a concert by the group Chicago and serviced a bunch of the band members (or "Chicagoans" in David's vernacular). Philip Baker Hall is the contractor overseeing the mansion's remodel; he owes a favor to Rolly, giving Rolly access to the place. Rolly then meets and tries to seduce Haney's wife, played by Kate Hudson, who is likeable for the first time ever. Rolly conspires with the island's eccentric, Joe Stumpo (a manic Michael Keaton); Stumpo and his crazy sidekick (Bill Hader) like to blow stuff up (a quaint nod to "SCTV"?). Keaton hams it up like his old self.

The list goes on. J.B. Smoove is back to show off that awkward chemistry he has with David. Eva Mendes plays an ex-fatty whose engagement is sabotaged by Rolly. Liev Schrieber has a memorable turn as Tibor, an ignition salesman from Chechnya.

David finds a fine balance between traditional feature-film storytelling and sitcom farce. He tosses in his patented quirks (annoyance at electrical outlets not being reachable, a fender bender resulting from confusion over a wave goodbye versus a "go ahead" wave). He still has an ear for one-liners (when Rolly storms off after (re)meeting Haney, one of the poker pals shrugs and explains, "His ex-girlfriend blew Chicago"). He uses classic Chicago hits to good effect.

David has assembled his go-to writers and a diverse cast of actors who all dive in head first, seemingly like they had a blast. It has the air of a throwaway project, with a cozy familiarity that goes down smooth. 

BAD WORDS (B) - Make no mistake: This is not a fully realized film. Instead, it's a platform for Jason Bateman to create a memorable comic character and run wild with it.

Bateman is often hilarious, in his understated way, as a 40-year-old who finds a loophole in the rules (he never completed eighth grade) and crashes the annual junior high spelling bee. Bateman plays Guy Trilby, a bitter man on the brink of middle age who has personal reasons for wanting to sabotage the annual spelling contest.

He is not shy about psychologically attacking any of the pre-teen challengers who get in his way. He quickly falls in with perky Chaitanya Chopra (a delightful, bright-eyed Rohan Chand), whose infectious bubbliness ("What's your favorite word, Guy?!") at first annoys Guy but then melts his icy heart. When Chaitanya insists that not all women have nipples, Guy pays a prostitute $10 to flash the awestruck boy for a ten-count.

Guy doesn't have a filter, so he doesn't edit out his foul language, no matter whom he's addressing -- kids, parents, tournament officials. In some ways, this is an extended acting exercise for Bateman. And from his childlike crewcut to his bug-eyed mugging, he disappears into the character. He has fun behaving badly.

Of course, there's a plot needed, and the writers manage to construct something out of cardboard. There's not much to suspense, but the final showdown is clever, and Bateman and Chopra have wonderful chemistry to the very end.

The supporting cast is strong. Baker Hall is the dictatorial founder of the tournament who does color commentary on the telecast. Allison Janney, in an unflattering old-maid wig, is the stuffy head of the tournament who vows to stop Trilby. In a subtle running gag, she badgers the proctor over his pronunciations and diction, even though he seems to speak perfectly fine. Kathryn Hahn is delightful as the blogger who sponsors Trilby and who is physically addicted to him. (Their goofy sex scenes are amusing.) Rachael Harris ("Natural Selection," "The Hangover") makes the most of a minor role as the flustered parent of a contestant.

The production values are a bit sketchy, but Bateman and Chopra are so entertaining that you don't mind. "Bad Words" satisfies as an 89-minute guilty pleasure.

 * - An occasional series. See a previous entry here.