Bad News Bears (2005)

[horrorview]

Bad News Bears (2005)
Directed by Richard Linklater
Starring Billy Bob Thornton, Greg Kinnear, Marcia Gay Harden


One of my fondest childhood memories was seeing The Bad News Bears at the theater with my mother. This was just before Star Wars, mind you, so I was easily impressed, especially with the voluminous amounts of profanity spewing forth from the mouths of both adults and children. The film had baseball, vulgar humor, and a really cute girl (Tatum O’Neal); for an eight year old what wasn’t to love?

Now, nearly thirty years later, School of Rock director, Richard Linklater, and Bad Santa co-writers, John Requa and Glenn Ficarra, have teamed up to bring us an updated version of this underdog sports classic, with Billy Bob Thornton taking on the role of a washed-up former pro ball player, Morris Buttermaker, entrusted with a team of misfit little leaguers. Thornton slips into the role effortlessly, with his laid-back demeanor and roguish charm doing all of the work for him. As with School of Rock, Linklater populates the children’s roles with a cast of unknowns, many of which have never acted before. For me, this is the stuff of genius as professional child actors always seem too smart, too cute, or too freakishly adult (see Dakota Fanning) to deliver as authentic a performance as this gaggle of noisy, amateurish, and hilarious kids that make up the Bears. The chemistry between these young actors and Thornton is palpable, and, for those who fear that the political correct machinations of Hollywood may have somehow neutered the Bad News Bears franchise, fear not; this film is still filled with loveable moppets tossing around expletives, alcoholism (without any sort of moral lesson), and underage drinking (although it is non-alcoholic beer, something that didn’t exist when the original film came out).

As a matter of fact, I was actually quite surprised at how faithful this version was to the original. With the exception of a few minor changes (Buttermaker is an exterminator, not a pool cleaner. The team is sponsored by a strip club, not Chico’s Bail Bonds, etc) this is, essentially, a note-for-note remake once the actual baseball stuff kicks in. It’s actually so faithful that I began to sort of wonder what the point of remaking this film was in the first place. I mean, I had great fun watching it, loved the performances, and enjoyed the few changes that were made, but, in the end, I still felt like I was watching the original The Bad News Bears. It’s not a bad thing, but it just didn’t feel like Linklater really put enough of his own personal stamp on it.

The DVD, much like the School of Rock DVD, is loaded with extra goodies, including cast and crew interviews, a making-of, deleted and alternate scenes, gag reel, and much more. There’s also a feature-length commentary that is quite the hoot.

A lot of people complain when a remake deviates too much from the original film, but I’m going against that particular grain here as I was actually a bit bummed that this film didn’t take a few more liberties with the source material. Still, there are worse things than being a faithful adaptation of a comedy classic like The Bad News Bears, and this updated version will still have you rooting for the underdog.


Movie- B-
Extras- A

[altbier]

I am a big Walter Matthau fan, RIP oh great one.

I will have to rent this, thanks!

[illuminatus]

Thanks for the review! I may pick this up, along with the Fantastic 4, just for something to watch this week, since I don't have anymore finals!

[floydp]

We bought it and laughed alot. I've watched it twice. Thanks for the review Jim..

[RPB67]

I love the original a classic. I had to have seen it a few dozen times.

I will definately put this on my list for a rainy night rental or Pay Perview movie.

Thanks for the review.