Bad News Bears (2005)

A grizzled little league coach (Thornton) tries to turn his team of misfits into champs.

Director:

Richard Linklater

Writers:

Bill Lancaster (screenplay), Glenn Ficarra (screenplay),

Stars:

Billy Bob Thornton, Greg Kinnear, Marcia Gay Harden

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Billy Bob Thornton	...	Morris Buttermaker
Greg Kinnear	...	Roy Bullock
Marcia Gay Harden	...	Liz Whitewood
Sammi Kane Kraft	...	Amanda Whurlitzer
Ridge Canipe	...	Toby Whitewood
Brandon Craggs	...	Mike Engelberg
Jeffrey Davies	...	Kelly Leak
Timmy Deters	...	Tanner Boyle
Carlos Estrada	...	Miguel Agilar
Emmanuel Estrada	...	Jose Agilar
Troy Gentile	...	Matthew Hooper
Kenneth 'K.C.' Harris	...	Ahmad Abdul Rahim
Aman Johal	...	Prem Lahiri
Tyler Patrick Jones	...	Timmy Lupus
Jeffrey Tedmori	...	Garo Daragabrigadien

Storyline

Morris Buttermaker (Thornton), an alcoholic pest removal worker and former professional baseball player (for a very short time), is recruited to coach and train a failing baseball team of 12-year-olds which is about to be thrown out of the league.

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Plot Keywords:

baseball | coach | alcoholic | little league | father son relationship | 

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Taglines:

Baseball has rules. Meet the exceptions.

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Genres:

Comedy | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for rude behavior, language throughout, some sexuality and thematic elements

Details

Official Sites:

Paramount Pictures [United States] UIP [Spain]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

22 July 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Los osos de la mala suerte

Filming Locations:

Barone's Famous Italian Restaurant - 13726 Oxnard Street at Mammoth Avenue, Van Nuys, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$159,042 (Australia) (9 December 2005)

Gross:

$159,042 (Australia) (9 December 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Media Talent Group, Detour Filmproduction

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the trailer, the baseball bat with the film's title on it says, "Est. 1976", this was the year the original film was released.

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Goofs

No less than four times does Hooper roll his wheelchair to the left to exit the dugout. Given that there are steps this would make his exit a little tricky. However, on the third base end of the dugout in the championship game it is clear that Hooper rolls down a ramp.

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Quotes

Morris Buttermaker: You guys swing like Helen Keller at a Piñata party.

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Connections

Referenced in Crossover (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Shinin' On"
by Don Brewer & Mark Farner
Performed by Grand Funk
Courtesy of Capitol Records
Under license from EMI Film & Television Music

User Reviews

No news is good news

When filmmakers get the idea to remake a classic movie, often it's because he or she feels that something was missing from the original. They feel that, by placing their unique stamp on the new film, they can satisfy unanswered questions, plot points, etc, while maintaining the basic dignity and character of the original.

So...based on that theory, Billy Bob Thornton's rationale for the remake of "The Bad News Bears" was that the original had too many letters in the title (in a bold and highly daring move reminiscent of Ed Wood at his finest, Thornton decided to drop "The", changing it simply to "Bad News Bears"), not enough swearing...and a kid in a wheelchair. Oh, and he changes enemy Yankee pitcher's last name from "Turner" to "Bullok" for reasons unbeknownst to anyone but himself. With revolutionary alterations such as these, don't be surprised if you pick up the rental box half a dozen times while watching the movie to make absolutely sure that you have indeed rented the correct film.

Basically, the plot can be summed up as "Bad Santa coaches a group of misfit kids". Yawn. We've seen this role, this performance, from Billy Bob Thornton one too many times. Thornton wants to bowl us over with the 'shocking' vulgarity of youth, but a trip to "Hooters" and Tanner teaching a boy in a wheelchair to curse both turn out to be so lightweight that it is likely that only the Reverend Jerry Falwell would take offense.

At best, the casting was marginal, and at worst, the audience is forced to wonder if the director actually auditioned the kids or merely closed his eyes and chanted 'Eenie, Meenie, Mynie, Mo" while holding a stack of acting resumes. Sammi Kane Kraft (as Amanda) was a great baseball player with limited acting ability, and Timmy Deters was only modestly successful in trying to recreate the role of Tanner Boyle. Tyler Patrick Jones as Timmy Lupus was far and away the most talented of what basically amounted to a mediocre cast of child actors, but he was utterly wasted in this film and was limited to a few one-liners that must have ended up on the cutting room floor from "Bad Santa". Naturally, Thornton is no match for the venerable Walter Matthau as Buttermaker. Whereas Matthau was irascible and cantankerous in a lovable 'Grandpa's dipping in the cider again' kind of way, Thornton's version of Buttermaker is creepy enough to make us think of adequate background checks and the stupidity of parents who would willingly leave their children alone with him.

Per his film tradition in his post "Sling Blade" days, Thornton goes out of his way to remove any heartfelt sentiment from the plot, and thus the friendship between Timmy Lupus and Tanner Boyle never materializes. That adds to what is perhaps the most irritating part of the film: the introduction of a new player (Tony Gentile as Matthew Hooper). It is an unnecessary plot device, possibly added only because the always classy Thornton had some good 'kid in wheelchair' jokes that he was just itching to use, and adds a touch of surrealism to a movie that should be imminently grounded in realism. In fact, Thornton changes one of the most touching moments of the original movie by handing it to Hooper (a character who, let's face it, has no redeeming qualities other than the fact that he's in a wheelchair) in one highly unrealistic scene; he thereby successfully strips even more of the heart away from the original film. Which, judging from Thornton's film-making history, was probably exactly what he intended to do.

In short, there are undoubtedly worse remakes out there ("War of the Worlds" and "Bewitched" come to mind), but not many. If you're thinking of renting this film because you're desperate for some true seventies banality, allow me to suggest that you save the money and instead try catching either the rerun of "Alice" where Flo says "Kiss my grits" for the eighteenth time or the action-packed episode of "My Three Sons" where Fred MacMurray lights his pipe. If you choose to rent the film anyway...well, don't say I didn't give you any other viable options.