Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Greg Kinnear, Marcia Gay Harden

7 out of 10 stars: Bad News Bears did not need to be remade but since it was going to happen I'm glad that these are the guys they got to do it. Director Richard Linklater (School of Rock, Waking Life) and Billy Bob Thornton bring a funny, serviceable update to the screen.

It's interesting to note the differences between the 1976 The Bad News Bears and this version because it's a reflection on what we consider shocking or controversial now as compared with that Bicentennial film.

In the original the little league was sponsored by Chico Bail Bonds, in this one by Bo-Peeps, a Gentleman's Club. I think Chico is funnier; there's something more dangerous and seedy (and sad, in a way) about a bail bondsman supporting a little league team versus a strip club (though the girls show up to root their team on, which is funny). In the final scene, when the Bears celebrate their last game of the season, Buttermaker (a droopy, irascible Walter Matthau) provided them with cold beer. In this version it's non-alcoholic. And there's something rather non-alcoholic about this Bad News Bears, even though the language is coarser and the coach more of a reprobate, it's missing that kick.

Billy Bob Thornton (nope he's not gonna win the Oscar for this one either, dang it) plays Buttermaker in this update. He's a complete drunk and takes a check to coach the baseball team (none of the fathers of the kids are available) but he has little motivation to actually teach them anything. They in turn have little to offer in the way of talent. The best is Tanner, a foul-mouthed toe-head and his only attribute is his cussed hatred of losing. The other kids know they're so crappy that they don't care either.

Buttermaker goes out and recruits his own daughter, Amanda (real-life baseball player Sammi Kraft), to pitch. He then goes after Kelly, the local tough and rebellious kid who is actually a good and honest kid who doesn't like the way the world works very much. But the Bears start to win because of their new infusion of talent, ultimately sending them to the championship game.

One of the great things about this story (which they've thankfully left intact) is that during the final game the whole film turns on a minor character, the son (and star pitcher) of the opposing team's coach, played by Greg Kinnear.

Kinnear is less of an intrusive creep than Vic Morrow was in the original and the mellowing of the character is a bit of a problem. Morrow played him as an aggressive, ultra-competitive over-achieving coach. Kinnear plays him as an overachieving father; a butt of joke, the a-typical type-A personality. Morrow's coach would have never been a figure of fun. He was too consumed with winning and his final upbraiding of his child on the mound (for what's actually a pretty good reason) brought Buttermaker to his senses and the film to a more lasting place in the pantheon of sports movies than ones with a triumphant final score. That happens in this update as well but it doesn't smart like it did in the original.

With the exception of Sammi Kraft, who just isn't very good frankly (though I seem to be alone in this opinion), Linklater brings out believable performances in these kids, though to a lesser extent than he did in School of Rock. This versatile director's continued varying choices of subject matter and style (sometimes successful, sometimes not, always evolving) puts him in the craftsman class with William Wyler and Howard Hawks. Think you could handle a screwball comedy next, Mr. Linklater?