THE BAD NEWS BEARS
MOVIE REVIEW
BY JON NELSON
The Bad News Bears consists of four movies, the first three of which were made in the late 1970s, and the most recently in 2005. The original movie garnered great attention when it premiered in 1976 and some people have gone so far as to say it is the best baseball movie ever made. The two sequels and the re-make have been accorded short shrift. It is my contention that the first movie contains numerous flaws and inconsistencies and that the second movie is by far the best of the four.
Most of the reviews of the first movie discuss the camaraderie between Walter Matthau and his co-stars, particularly Tatum O’Neal. I don’t see this at all. In fact, Matthau is totally miscast in this movie. It is well known that he did not like baseball at all, and the idea of his character being a former professional player doesn’t come off at all. On the few occasions when he bats or tries to show the kids something, it just isn’t convincing. Moreover, how can the audience bond with an alcoholic coach that screams and berates his players and throws beer at a girl?
There are no likable adults in the first movie. I find it amusing that so many reviews of the movie proclaim its “realism” when in fact the opposite is the case. Anyone who has ever spent any time watching or participating in Little League baseball will know that coaches acting like Buttermaker and Turner would soon be relieved of their duties. Not just because of their bad temper tantrums, but the use of alcohol would immediately disbar Buttermaker. And the actions of both coaches in the final game are an embarrassment; yelling at their players and each other, Buttermaker throwing one of his kids to the ground and Turner slapping his son. Is this realism? I think not.
Likewise, the racist comments from the kids and the disrespect they show their coaches and other adults would get them removed from the league. Buttermaker and Amanda even litter when they throw out his cigars from a moving car. Hardly positive images for Little League, which is why there was such an outcry from the real Little League when the movie was released. The real Little League is completely different from the way it is portrayed in this film.
Kelly Leak (played by Jackie Earl Haley) is not a likable kid either. I don’t warm up to a fourteen year old that is constantly smoking, riding motorcycles, disrespecting adults and trying to act like arrogant 25 year old. How is this realism? Kelly also threatens to leave his teammates in both movies when things don’t go exactly his way.
No Little League ball player I know of would intentionally let down his team, yet this is precisely what Joey (the Yankees pitcher) does at the end of the game. After being slapped by his father the coach, he catches a ground ball and holds onto it instead of throwing it to get his man out. This was a way of getting back at his father, but he lets his team down in the process. Again, how is this realism? I cannot imagine a Little League player intentionally trying to lose a game just to avenge himself of his father.
The age of the players is also unrealistic; the youngest (Lupus) is only seven years old, while the oldest on the team are fourteen or fifteen. This is a complete contradiction to the way the League is set up.
On a scale of one to ten, I give this movie a five.
By contrast, the second movie is a gem at every level. Kelly is his usual unlikable self (at least until the end when he makes up with his dad) but the other kids are obviously having a great time throughout the film, which displays none of the uncomfortable tensions of the first film. My own favorite Bear, Tanner Boyle, tones down the racism from the first film and his heroics at the end alone make this a must-see film. Plus, we get to see several of the Houston Astros players meeting the kids. The story is far superior to the drunken hysteria that mars Matthau’s performance in the first movie and William Devane, who plays Kelly’s father shows that, unlike Matthau, he really understands and could play the game. The kids’ reactions to him add to the overall positive relationships among the cast members. He really makes the movie. The final game has the feel of a real game, and all the kids seem genuinely excited to be at the Astrodome.
I would have changed one thing in the second movie. The Bears get involved in a pick-up game on their way to Houston and get embarrassed by the other team. They arrive late to Houston, by which time management has hired another team to take their place. Since the Bears are supposed to be the best team in California, it would make sense for them, now with a coach, to play the team that had just beat them and return the favor, showing how much they’ve improved with a good coach. The script writer could have arranged this game with the understanding that the winner plays the Toros. Having the Bears lose in a pick up game and then beat the Toros, the best team in Texas, just isn’t as convincing. I would either have left out the pick-up game or else had the Bears play them twice. In addition, having the substitute team return to El Paso without getting to play seems unfair to them and left a bad taste in my mouth.
I would give this movie a nine rating.
As for the third movie, “The Bad News Bears Go To Japan,” the less said the better. For some inexplicable reason, there is much more focus on martial arts exploits than baseball, and Kelly is more concerned with finding a Japanese girl friend than in playing baseball. Worst of all, Tanner and Devane aren’t in this one.
I rate this movie a one.
The 2005 movie is a re-make of the first movie, and incorporates a lot of its dialog and action. Buttermaker, played by Billy Bob Thornton, is more convincing as a coach than Walter Matthau, but only marginally so. There are a lot more sexual references and jokes than in the original, which is hardly an advancement. The new Kelly is much more likable and obviously a better ball player than the original, and the new Amanda was a real ball player in real life. I might give the original a marginally better rating than this one, but it’s close. Put six on this one.
I have enjoyed watching the second movie time and time again and would recommend it to anyone.
Categories: Movie Reviews