What is going on here?! Where are The Bears? This is a Tony Curtis film. And his character wears out after 5 minutes. There are lengthy stretches of the film where The Bears barely appear, if at all! Like the 15 minute karate exhibition, or the 10 minute Game Show nonsense. And how bout some subtitles for the long conversations in Japanese. Viewers outside of Japan don't need the realism of communication breakdown. The heart and cleverness of the original are completely missing here, and we're left with Tony Curtis (a great actor) rambling on like a cheap salesman. The newly added Mustapha (Scoody Thornton) gives us a few cute moments, but Kelly (Jackie Earle Haley), the leader of the team, is little to be seen. And where's Tanner!! Don't poke this bear.
25 Reviews
Ground to a halt
bkoganbing7 September 2015
Tony Curtis in his memoirs said he was not pleased with the results of The Bad News Bears Go To Japan. Probably he thought when signing on for this film in the first place he was going to be part of a hit series like James Bond. Unfortunately this film came up way short and The Bad New Bears ground to a halt.
Try as I might I could not wrap my mind around the concept that the parents of this club would send their kids unchaperoned to Japan with an unregenerate conman like Tony Curtis. Not like Curtis hasn't played hustlers on the big screen, he has and quite successfully. But that character he has done is jarringly out of place in a family type film.
Curtis is a down and out promoter who has the idea to promote the Bad News Bears to play the champion team of Japan. That's roughly like getting the Harlem Globetrotters to play the NBA champions, the Bears play in a style like the Globetrotters.
When it proves successful all kinds of people want to cash in and Curtis has to reexamine his own life.
Couldn't buy it and I doubt audiences in 1978 were buying it.
Try as I might I could not wrap my mind around the concept that the parents of this club would send their kids unchaperoned to Japan with an unregenerate conman like Tony Curtis. Not like Curtis hasn't played hustlers on the big screen, he has and quite successfully. But that character he has done is jarringly out of place in a family type film.
Curtis is a down and out promoter who has the idea to promote the Bad News Bears to play the champion team of Japan. That's roughly like getting the Harlem Globetrotters to play the NBA champions, the Bears play in a style like the Globetrotters.
When it proves successful all kinds of people want to cash in and Curtis has to reexamine his own life.
Couldn't buy it and I doubt audiences in 1978 were buying it.
Was Bill Lancaster On Crack!?
just_another_innocent_fa28 July 2006
This 3rd and final installment in which the Bear's appear on the big screen is nothing but a big mistake, you'd think, after the sequel turns out to be surprisingly good, considering it was a different writer, director, etc. and the only thing that was the same was the cast. Exactly. The cast. That's one of the many flaws of this movie I will begin with, lack of cast. I guess a majority of the team are still there as Kelly, Stein, Feldman, Ahmad, Miguel, Toby, and Engleberg are all still in this, but the missing character's are the one's that are missed the most, one of the most notable absent is Tanner, who from my understanding had to back out've this because the kid who played him parent's were becoming "Increasingly uncomfortable with the profanity of his character". Whatever.....I've never been all that big a fan of Tanner, but even I know the movie will be dull without his shrill outbursts, racial slurs, and fighting everyone, I mean, he, other than Kelly is pretty much the only character that you can't just drop without an explanation. Other missing character's would be our beloved nerd Ogilvy, Our bugger eating moron Timmy, The English speaking Mexican Twin/brother Jose, and the Chachie Clone, Carmen.
Next, there is the story, I guess it starts out somewhat promising, with a somewhat half smile humor of the opening. Then cut to the Bears watching some war movie and Ahamd and Feldman playing Chess, and Stein nagging at them to be more careful, then Engleberg of course, raiding the refrigerator. Then nothing but blah until one final funny part where the team is practicing their first practice since arriving in Japan and everyone keeps arguing about who's playing where then in the last awesome moment ever, Kelly pushes Ahamd and yells "God Damn it! Play Left!". But other than that it's boring. And the kid's are given little to do, with the exception of Kelly and Ahmad, but they don't do anything special here either.....
Like the other film, this one is really bad on continuity, as they're going to Japan, like they were going to do when they won the game in Houston, but in this they're going for a different reason, which explains why they appear on a talk show with Regis looking for a coach, and it's there, the introduction of Coach Marvin Lazar, then they meet him at some restaurant and they get things set up. And in that part Kelly leaves and goes inside the bar in the restaurant and what else, flirts with older woman in the bar. But there's only one problem. HE DOESN'T LOOK 12 YEARS OLD ANYMORE. SO THEREFORE IT'S NOT FUNNY. And other stuff like, mainly, as much as it's hard to see the Bear's go, this movie just didn't work out.
Next, there is the story, I guess it starts out somewhat promising, with a somewhat half smile humor of the opening. Then cut to the Bears watching some war movie and Ahamd and Feldman playing Chess, and Stein nagging at them to be more careful, then Engleberg of course, raiding the refrigerator. Then nothing but blah until one final funny part where the team is practicing their first practice since arriving in Japan and everyone keeps arguing about who's playing where then in the last awesome moment ever, Kelly pushes Ahamd and yells "God Damn it! Play Left!". But other than that it's boring. And the kid's are given little to do, with the exception of Kelly and Ahmad, but they don't do anything special here either.....
Like the other film, this one is really bad on continuity, as they're going to Japan, like they were going to do when they won the game in Houston, but in this they're going for a different reason, which explains why they appear on a talk show with Regis looking for a coach, and it's there, the introduction of Coach Marvin Lazar, then they meet him at some restaurant and they get things set up. And in that part Kelly leaves and goes inside the bar in the restaurant and what else, flirts with older woman in the bar. But there's only one problem. HE DOESN'T LOOK 12 YEARS OLD ANYMORE. SO THEREFORE IT'S NOT FUNNY. And other stuff like, mainly, as much as it's hard to see the Bear's go, this movie just didn't work out.
The Bears are BAD.
jrs-817 July 2001
It had to happen. After the success of "The Bad News Bears" and "Breaking Training" the film execs at Paramount knew they had a goldmine on their hands and couldn't leave well enough alone. They started on the right track by enlisting Bill Lancaster to write the script. He also authored the original. Sadly that is where the similarities end.
"The Bad News Bears Go To Japan" is one of the worst films of the 70's. It's so bad the many of the kids from the first two don't even appear in this one. The ones that do are given little to do save for team leader Kelly Leak who gets to romance a young japanese girl. The love story is laughably bad.
The coach this time around is Tony Curtis playing a con man looking for his next score. Curtis looks as if he is in a trance as he sleepwalks thru the film.
And the worst part? There is very little baseball in a movie about little leaguers!!! We get more scenes of sumo wrestling. The one baseball game we DO get is badly directed and comes so late in the film you may have either fallen asleep or turned it off.
And why send the kids all the way to Japan? A bit far fetched don't you think? Apparently the first film was a smash hit in Japan, playing in one theater for over a year. That says it all. The filmmakers knew that no matter how badly it bombed here (and it did) that they would have a hit in Japan (and it was). Too bad they didn't care that the product they were presenting was no better than a student film on a tiny budget. No. Take that back. A student film on a tiny budget would have to be ten times better than this pathetic "comedy."
"The Bad News Bears Go To Japan" is one of the worst films of the 70's. It's so bad the many of the kids from the first two don't even appear in this one. The ones that do are given little to do save for team leader Kelly Leak who gets to romance a young japanese girl. The love story is laughably bad.
The coach this time around is Tony Curtis playing a con man looking for his next score. Curtis looks as if he is in a trance as he sleepwalks thru the film.
And the worst part? There is very little baseball in a movie about little leaguers!!! We get more scenes of sumo wrestling. The one baseball game we DO get is badly directed and comes so late in the film you may have either fallen asleep or turned it off.
And why send the kids all the way to Japan? A bit far fetched don't you think? Apparently the first film was a smash hit in Japan, playing in one theater for over a year. That says it all. The filmmakers knew that no matter how badly it bombed here (and it did) that they would have a hit in Japan (and it was). Too bad they didn't care that the product they were presenting was no better than a student film on a tiny budget. No. Take that back. A student film on a tiny budget would have to be ten times better than this pathetic "comedy."
Breaking Chop Sticks.
tfrizzell7 June 2005
Sleazy hustler/promoter Tony Curtis (looking old and tired here) talks our pint-sized heroes into going to Japan to play an international little league game with the best team in the Orient. Sleep-inducing third installment lacks the wit and charm of the original and even lacks the minimum credibility that the first sequel had. Jackie Earle Haley and the rest of the ballplayers seem like little more than spoiled adolescent performers that are just going through the motions. Curtis' one-liners and used car dealer-styled part wears thin before we are even settled in. More proof that sequels rarely work, particularly in the 1970s. Turkey (0 stars out of 5).
One of the Worst Productions Ever Recorded Onto Celluloid and Released by a Studio
dkallem30 January 2005
This--dare I call it--film is, IMHO, one of the worst productions ever recorded onto celluloid and released by a studio. Our daughter loved the original BNB, and seeing original director Michael Ritchie as this installment's Producer gave us some reason to hope, but 3 minutes of this extreme dog-of-a-movie was enough to dispel all of THAT! It's hard to believe this was made only two years after the original came out. From Tony Curtis' boozy, utterly amoral character (was this an acting job?), to the very incoherent script and equally helpless direction, this is a testament, I can only imagine, to the power of greed. Greed by a studio and production company that had had a hit with the first BNB movie and was determined to milk it for all it was worth--regardless of the #&%@! they had to serve up! Thanks folks! Save yourself the considerable bother and DO NOT watch this movie!
Convoluted Mess
kandit19 April 2014
This movie didn't know what it wanted to be. The whole plot simply doesn't make sense. Like with the first sequel, main characters disappear without explanation and new ones are added. Also like the sequel, they play horrible ball to start with despite being such a good team. Can talent be switched on and off like offense in a wrestling match?
The whole story of the team going to Japan just doesn't make sense. The side plot of Kelly pursuing a relationship is also thrown in without any thought. By the end, you don't care who wins or even if they play at all. In fact, baseball is not even the focus of the movie and the child actors play very minor roles.
Just a terrible movie that never should have been made.
The whole story of the team going to Japan just doesn't make sense. The side plot of Kelly pursuing a relationship is also thrown in without any thought. By the end, you don't care who wins or even if they play at all. In fact, baseball is not even the focus of the movie and the child actors play very minor roles.
Just a terrible movie that never should have been made.
I can see why most of the original cast didn't return for the third installment
Smells_Like_Cheese8 December 2006
Well, I explained before my love of the first Bad News Bears and how I wanted to see the sequels thinking maybe they were not given a fair chance. But I was so sad to see that there was no Buttermaker in either films since technically he made the story what it was and the second one took on more to the team's story, which wasn't so bad, but it wasn't needed. The Bears now are more annoying and it wasn't appreciated what the writers did to the story or the characters, because the story became desperate.
The Bears apparently didn't win any trip to Japan despite that's what they said in the second sequel that they'd win a trip to Japan if they won the game like they did in the astrodome, but Japan is upset with the fact that no teams have come to America or they decline because Japan has beaten the American teams 9 to 11 games. The Bears get a sponsor who takes them to Japan anyways to help them win a game against the Japenese team, but apparently that's nothing written in the script about the Bears being talented in Baseball.
The third installment of The Bad News Bears is pretty bad and I was disappointed with how the sequels were made, I mean, were they absolutely necessary? I don't think so, I think honestly the die hard fans of the first Bad News Bears would agree that this was insulting to the original story, and I'm sorry that I rented the sequels, maybe I could say it was an accident and I was out of it when I picked them out.
2/10
The Bears apparently didn't win any trip to Japan despite that's what they said in the second sequel that they'd win a trip to Japan if they won the game like they did in the astrodome, but Japan is upset with the fact that no teams have come to America or they decline because Japan has beaten the American teams 9 to 11 games. The Bears get a sponsor who takes them to Japan anyways to help them win a game against the Japenese team, but apparently that's nothing written in the script about the Bears being talented in Baseball.
The third installment of The Bad News Bears is pretty bad and I was disappointed with how the sequels were made, I mean, were they absolutely necessary? I don't think so, I think honestly the die hard fans of the first Bad News Bears would agree that this was insulting to the original story, and I'm sorry that I rented the sequels, maybe I could say it was an accident and I was out of it when I picked them out.
2/10
Maybe the worst movie ever made
Mg621 September 2014
It boggles the mind to think that this steaming pile of crap was in some way related to the brilliant 1976 classic with Walter Matthau and Tatum O'Neal. Perhaps having to follow the original was too much for any movie, maybe. HOWEVER, let's not let the makers of this terrible film off the hook so easily. This movie is rancid in every sense of the word. Although it is made under the pretense of following the Bears (or at least the actors that continued to be in these films), the Bears become so secondary during the film, they are almost entirely forgotten. What we are left with is Tony Curtis trying to do a one- man show, and failing miserably. There were so many openings for potential comedic spots that were just completely missed by the makers of this film. For one, could you imagine what kind of hijinks the Bears could have gotten into on a plane flight from the US to Japan? Apparently none, because that was glossed over completely. Seriously, to itemize a list of problems with this turd would take twenty pages. Just know that most of the talent from the original skipped this thing and rightfully so. What you have is a confused cast trying to follow an incoherent and completely ridiculous script and story, that at best, is awful. I don't fault Curtis for this film, no actor or actors could have made this "story" work.
This Movie Sucked Bricks!!!
possumopossum26 September 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I got this as part of a three DVD set, the entire Bad News Bears series. (The set was a disappointment by the way. Yes, it was only $23, but there were no frills. It was in mono, no extras.) So, like I said, this movie was unbelievably bad. I put this in, dozed off for a few minutes, then woke up thinking I was watching some bad Japanese movie. Then I remembered, no, it's the Bad News Bears. I didn't even recognize it as a BAB movie. It looked like Godzilla on his day off. There was this really terrible sequence where those kids were on some Japanese variety show, and then something about a karate champion. I thought I was dreaming this damn movie. Then there was this sequence that looked to me like one of these kids pounded Godzilla into submission with a baseball bat. Maybe it was just as well they ended the series with this movie. Those kids were getting too old anyway. As it was, they just played secondary rolls here and you felt removed from them. And Kelly's love interest? How contrived can you get? He falls in love with a Japanese geisha girl, one he will probably never see again once he gets home? Get real, people!!! And they couldn't understand each other at all when they first met each other. How is it that by the end of the movie either she's able to understand English or he's able to understand Japanese? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think that was ever explained.
The baseball game was a joke. How do you suppose they could have had a fight on the field without causing an international incident? And this business with the coach and the little kid was a little too incredible as well. Hard-hearted hustler is won over by a sad little kid? How corny can you get? I loved the Bad News Bears series. At least I did the first two movies. This one is a real turkey turd. 2 out of 10.
The baseball game was a joke. How do you suppose they could have had a fight on the field without causing an international incident? And this business with the coach and the little kid was a little too incredible as well. Hard-hearted hustler is won over by a sad little kid? How corny can you get? I loved the Bad News Bears series. At least I did the first two movies. This one is a real turkey turd. 2 out of 10.
A Film I'm Sure Tony Curtis Wishes He Could Forget.
meddlecore19 August 2022
Without question the worst film in the trilogy.
They manage to proceed with some semblance of consistency from the previous film, but again, half the characters have mysteriously gone missing (Carmen, the pitcher, one of the mexican brothers, and several little blonde kids...including the feisty racist one).
In their place, they've picked up a token Jewish boy and a fundamentalist christian kid...to ensure all bases are covered.
Still without a coach, the Van Nuys team wants to go to Japan to face off against their best little league team in a friendly international contest, despite the fact that the state is against the endeavour.
Their prayers are answered, however, when a small time hustler- played by Tony Curtis- steps in- with hopes he can exploit the children in order to make enough money to pay off his gambling debts, by securing a network tv deal for the game.
So he sets off to the island nation, with 9 members of the team, plus Ahmad's little brother Mustafa.
With no money behind him, their new "promoter" must engage in a number of schemes, he hopes will allow him to cash in.
But as each one fails, he only grows more frustrated.
The kids, on the other hand, are out for a cultural experience...with most hoping to learn from the other team...except for Kelly, who hopes to learn a few things from a young lady he becomes infatuated with.
Somehow, the team has gotten substantially worse than they were when they played at the Astrodome in the previous film.
Which doesn't make much sense.
Nor does the acknowledgement that they are only the second best team from their league (which directly contradicts the claim that they are the "California Champs" made in the previous film).
Anyways...by the time they manage to get a game going...the whole thing breaks out into a brawl, which nearly creates an international incident.
And, in the spirit of the original, it's Tony Curtis' character (alongside the Japanese coach) who gets the coming of age lesson in the end.
The acting is probably even worse, overall, that the second film.
And the sound quality is pretty bad (at times, you must strain to hear the dialogue through the background noises).
Really, it's just a bad film.
And that's saying a lot, considering the previous film is also bad.
But it's not THIS bad.
2.5 out of 10.
They manage to proceed with some semblance of consistency from the previous film, but again, half the characters have mysteriously gone missing (Carmen, the pitcher, one of the mexican brothers, and several little blonde kids...including the feisty racist one).
In their place, they've picked up a token Jewish boy and a fundamentalist christian kid...to ensure all bases are covered.
Still without a coach, the Van Nuys team wants to go to Japan to face off against their best little league team in a friendly international contest, despite the fact that the state is against the endeavour.
Their prayers are answered, however, when a small time hustler- played by Tony Curtis- steps in- with hopes he can exploit the children in order to make enough money to pay off his gambling debts, by securing a network tv deal for the game.
So he sets off to the island nation, with 9 members of the team, plus Ahmad's little brother Mustafa.
With no money behind him, their new "promoter" must engage in a number of schemes, he hopes will allow him to cash in.
But as each one fails, he only grows more frustrated.
The kids, on the other hand, are out for a cultural experience...with most hoping to learn from the other team...except for Kelly, who hopes to learn a few things from a young lady he becomes infatuated with.
Somehow, the team has gotten substantially worse than they were when they played at the Astrodome in the previous film.
Which doesn't make much sense.
Nor does the acknowledgement that they are only the second best team from their league (which directly contradicts the claim that they are the "California Champs" made in the previous film).
Anyways...by the time they manage to get a game going...the whole thing breaks out into a brawl, which nearly creates an international incident.
And, in the spirit of the original, it's Tony Curtis' character (alongside the Japanese coach) who gets the coming of age lesson in the end.
The acting is probably even worse, overall, that the second film.
And the sound quality is pretty bad (at times, you must strain to hear the dialogue through the background noises).
Really, it's just a bad film.
And that's saying a lot, considering the previous film is also bad.
But it's not THIS bad.
2.5 out of 10.
Major Flashback
barney518 August 2005
I just turned on the telly this afternoon and was rather surprised to hear people speaking Japanese without subtitles. Turned out I was halfway through this film and I can't recall ever seeing a more realistic depiction of Japan (I lived there for five years). Another user commented on the Godzilla advert - a nice touch was the phrasing of the catch line. "With this bat you can beat the anyone!" An excellent film for anyone who has ever lived in Japan, and one which is surprisingly undated considering its age.
I also think it was very brave - and realistic - of them to release a film in which more than half of what goes on does so in a language that most of the audience doesn't understand, leaving them in the same position as the characters. Lost in translation? Perhaps.
I also think it was very brave - and realistic - of them to release a film in which more than half of what goes on does so in a language that most of the audience doesn't understand, leaving them in the same position as the characters. Lost in translation? Perhaps.
Paramount, how could you release this movie upon the movie viewing public?
hagg8 July 2002
After repeated viewings i have some comments..Paramount, how could you release this movie upon the movie viewing public? The story is weak, Tony Curtis should have never been brought on board, nobody when i was a kid watching in the theatre could have cared less about his involvement or the endless scenery he chewed and what is worse is that the Bears are nowhere to be seen for over half the movie! And speaking of the Bears, a good chunk of the team is missing!! However, the most glaring omission of them all...where is Chris Barnes AKA Tanner Boyle? Outside of Jackie Earle Haley, you could have dumped anybody else from the team and nobody would have cared, but Tanner was the heart of the team in the original and the sequel. This movie singlehandly killed the Bears franchise.
Had it's Moments.
nikeno7126 June 2005
THE BAD NEWS BEARS GO TO JAPAN was decent because you still have a majority of the cast still there. They still have foul mouths and can play the game, but Tanner was sorely missed and a few of the other boys. Ogilvie is really missed as well. The brain has to be in the movie. He's the baseball whiz. Amanda would've been good in 2 and 3 but Tatum wouldn't have done them. And the late great Walter Matthau would've been good in all of them too. That would've made the story much better. Originality. Same cast would've made this film really, really good. But I can say this, Kelly Leak and Ahmad Abdul Rahim were the only ones really representing in this one. Being the only tough guys left from the last two. Ahmad's little brother Mustapha made a cool introduction as the little guy. And Kelly and the girl subplot was kind of weird. All in all, more baseball and less wrestling would've been better. But you gotta love the Bears.
Collapses long before reaching home plate
Wizard-810 April 2014
In his autobiography, Tony Curtis blasted this movie, the final entry of the "Bad News Bears" series. Watching this movie, it doesn't take long to figure out why Curtis hated this movie. The strange thing, however, is that despite his less than adequate surroundings, Curtis gives a pretty good performance. He's lively, and manages to deliver a few quips in his trademark sarcastic manner that manage to provoke a few chuckles. Aside from Curtis, however, this movie is a terrible mess. I know these movies aren't supposed to be politically correct, but there are some touches that today could be considered racist. But the storytelling is even worse. For some reason, the kids in this movie don't get a lot of focus, and there's even less footage of them playing baseball. And most of the movie is one scene after another that doesn't advance the thin plot the slightest. It's hard to believe that Bill Lancaster, who wrote the sharp first movie, wrote this sloppy script.
What is wrong with this picture?
drystyx28 April 2017
The first thing you would say, probably, if you watch this, is the question "What is it that makes this such a poor movie"? There are many minor answers, notably the over-zealousness to make fun of the Japanese people in the movie.
The main problem is the main character. Tony Curtis plays another of the same character Hollywood stuffs down our throats, the "superiority complex" guy who has to change. The character that only Hollywood people can relate to, and which keeps them out of touch with the world.
We have a story about American kids playing baseball against Japanese kids. Okay, except we have about the worst script imaginable. The actors and director do the best with what they have. The minor plot love affair of two kids is okay, considering the script for them is on the poor side, but it isn't anywhere near as boorish as the main plot.
There is positively no way to remotely care whether the bore that Curtis portrays changes or not. He's so superiority minded that he is a god, and no normal person could be that ignorant a god. Most would make mistakes, but none would be as arrogant and ignorant as this guy.
Sure, a few other characters on the side are okay, but this character is too dull a central character, and gets his way too often. He may as well be named "God".
The script is the main problem, and if the script is bad, the movie is bad.
The main problem is the main character. Tony Curtis plays another of the same character Hollywood stuffs down our throats, the "superiority complex" guy who has to change. The character that only Hollywood people can relate to, and which keeps them out of touch with the world.
We have a story about American kids playing baseball against Japanese kids. Okay, except we have about the worst script imaginable. The actors and director do the best with what they have. The minor plot love affair of two kids is okay, considering the script for them is on the poor side, but it isn't anywhere near as boorish as the main plot.
There is positively no way to remotely care whether the bore that Curtis portrays changes or not. He's so superiority minded that he is a god, and no normal person could be that ignorant a god. Most would make mistakes, but none would be as arrogant and ignorant as this guy.
Sure, a few other characters on the side are okay, but this character is too dull a central character, and gets his way too often. He may as well be named "God".
The script is the main problem, and if the script is bad, the movie is bad.
"Three little leagues from school."
mark.waltz20 February 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This is "Foul Ball", not "Foul Play", even though both 1978 films utilized part of Gilbert and Sullivan's score for "The Mikado" as a part of its background. Tony Curtis seems like he'd rather be looking camp in ancient Rome as "Antonious, singer of songs" or looking for "da castle of his fadda" in the middle east of the middle ages than in touristy Tokyo (complete with McDonald's) with these little bears, way more than three.
Scoody Thornton, as series regular Ahmad's kid brother, will have you in stitches from the start, and he's the reason why this gets an extra star above bomb for me. He reminds me of the type of youngster you'd see on "Kids are people too!" with his deadpan reactions to everything that Curtis does. In fact, I decided early on that this was going to be dreadful but stuck around only to see what he would do next.
Jackie Earle Haley gets little to do, his character obviously having outgrown the rebel without a cause stage of his life, so he stalks a Japanese lady in geisha clothes who keeps trying to tell him to get lost in her language but is secretly smiling at his attentions. In fact, this seems to be trying to cover pretty much every stereotype out there. The subject of baseball seems lost for most of the script and sumo wrestling takes over. You can call this the greatest disaster to hit Japanese soil since the Enola Gay flew over.
Scoody Thornton, as series regular Ahmad's kid brother, will have you in stitches from the start, and he's the reason why this gets an extra star above bomb for me. He reminds me of the type of youngster you'd see on "Kids are people too!" with his deadpan reactions to everything that Curtis does. In fact, I decided early on that this was going to be dreadful but stuck around only to see what he would do next.
Jackie Earle Haley gets little to do, his character obviously having outgrown the rebel without a cause stage of his life, so he stalks a Japanese lady in geisha clothes who keeps trying to tell him to get lost in her language but is secretly smiling at his attentions. In fact, this seems to be trying to cover pretty much every stereotype out there. The subject of baseball seems lost for most of the script and sumo wrestling takes over. You can call this the greatest disaster to hit Japanese soil since the Enola Gay flew over.
West meets East...
sethn17228 February 2006
...in the sequel to the very good and marvelous dark baseball comedy "The Bad News Bears!" In this movie, the baseball team with hard-cussing coach we all have known and loathed cross the date line to play, well - baseball - in the country of...Japan! Yes! What I like the best about this movie is how the two cultures - American and Japanese - come together in this wonderful time! Yes, we Americans love our baseball, and so do the Japanese - and they love some of our Western cultures and stuff, despite them being Eastern! And "The Bad News Bears Go to Japan" is such a marvelous example of this, and this movie might as well have started the "American Invasion" on Japan much like the Beatles made the "British Invasion" on our country back in the 1960s.
This is another uneven movie, much like the second film
kevin_robbins25 March 2023
The Bad News Bears Go to Japan (1978) is a movie that I recently watched with my daughter on HBOMAX. The storyline follows our Bears, coming off winning nationals, wanting to face the Japanese little league team for a chance to be champions of the world. A business man agrees to make that happen with delusions of grandeur to capitalize off the game. When the business man runs out of money there's a chance the game will never happen...
This movie is directed by John Berry (Claudine) and stars Tony Curtis (Some Like it Hot), Jackie Earle Haley (The Watchmen), George Wyner (Spaceballs), Lonny Chapman (The Birds) and Regis Philbin (Jack and Jill).
This is another uneven movie, much like the second film. I enjoyed seeing Regis Philman on television and the commercials in Japan were awesome - definitely a good use of Godzilla, martial arts and wrestling to switch things up. There's a love story in this that felt awkward and unnatural and why are the Bears still bad? There are some fun circumstances, dialogue and Tony Curtis nailed his performance. Mustapha was a great character and the best part of the movie.
Overall, this is more a fun watch more than it is good, but it's still a must see. I would score this a 6/10 and recommend seeing once.
This movie is directed by John Berry (Claudine) and stars Tony Curtis (Some Like it Hot), Jackie Earle Haley (The Watchmen), George Wyner (Spaceballs), Lonny Chapman (The Birds) and Regis Philbin (Jack and Jill).
This is another uneven movie, much like the second film. I enjoyed seeing Regis Philman on television and the commercials in Japan were awesome - definitely a good use of Godzilla, martial arts and wrestling to switch things up. There's a love story in this that felt awkward and unnatural and why are the Bears still bad? There are some fun circumstances, dialogue and Tony Curtis nailed his performance. Mustapha was a great character and the best part of the movie.
Overall, this is more a fun watch more than it is good, but it's still a must see. I would score this a 6/10 and recommend seeing once.
It's the third strike and this series is out
soranno26 October 2002
The franchise is getting very old and tiring here and the once funny antics of those rambunctious little leaguers on the Bears baseball team aren't even the least bit funny anymore. Many of the kids from the first two films chose not to appear in this one (that may be one of the problems) and Tony Curtis seems lost in his role as the team's new coach, a shifty con man who attempts to make some big money by sending the Bears off to Japan for a highly publicized exhibition game against Japan's best little league baseball team. Paramount wisely chose to end the series after this one.
Bad Script!!!
chubbybunnyjim25 May 2000
This film didn't follow-up to the first two successful sequels! John Berry, was not a good director, and especially a bad script!!!
Tony Curtis (Father of Jamie Lee, starred in "Halloween" the same year), did an Ok job, and I say that this film was disaster!!!
NO STARS!!!
Tony Curtis (Father of Jamie Lee, starred in "Halloween" the same year), did an Ok job, and I say that this film was disaster!!!
NO STARS!!!
The Bad News Bear Go to Japan
Coxer999 July 1999
Misadventures of the delinquents of the diamond came to an end with this unmemorable third and final film with Curtis, flashy in his 70's getup, leading the charge. This time the Bears travel to the Orient to take on a champion Japanese team and somehow return without starting World War III.
Unbelievably and horrifically bad
stevenfallonnyc14 November 2004
OK, so in the "one line summary" I use the words "horrifically" and "unbelievably" to describe how bad this film is. That's only because coming up with words strong enough to describe how incredibly and unfathomably (there's two more) bad this film is, is actually very difficult.
Why did I even view this? I did like the first one, and the second kinda sucked. So in the video store one night a few years back, looking for something new to view, I rented this because I had never seen it, and it was 70's Japan so I thought maybe there would be some cool Godzilla references, because I am a huge Godzilla fan.
This film was so awful, it shocked even me. As the film ended, I got very angry. Angry at myself, angry at those who made it, angry at everything. I took action. I wrote a fierce letter to the director demanding he send me my $2.00 rental fee back. (I know, "whoo boy you told him!"). Hey, I wanted my money back! Of course I never heard from him. Maybe he was dead. Maybe he heard it all many times before!
Anyhows, yes this film is a joke and a half. And the Godzilla references? Nothing direct, just a "tv commercial" for a baseball bat featuring a kid who uses the bat to knock down a monster trampling over cheesy miniature buildings. It had absolutely nothing to do with anything and was obviously stuck in there just to show the monster trashing some cardboard little buildings. Oddly enough, it was the best part of this film.
Why did I even view this? I did like the first one, and the second kinda sucked. So in the video store one night a few years back, looking for something new to view, I rented this because I had never seen it, and it was 70's Japan so I thought maybe there would be some cool Godzilla references, because I am a huge Godzilla fan.
This film was so awful, it shocked even me. As the film ended, I got very angry. Angry at myself, angry at those who made it, angry at everything. I took action. I wrote a fierce letter to the director demanding he send me my $2.00 rental fee back. (I know, "whoo boy you told him!"). Hey, I wanted my money back! Of course I never heard from him. Maybe he was dead. Maybe he heard it all many times before!
Anyhows, yes this film is a joke and a half. And the Godzilla references? Nothing direct, just a "tv commercial" for a baseball bat featuring a kid who uses the bat to knock down a monster trampling over cheesy miniature buildings. It had absolutely nothing to do with anything and was obviously stuck in there just to show the monster trashing some cardboard little buildings. Oddly enough, it was the best part of this film.
Cocaine and Pro Wrestling
rcress887222 April 2017
Years later, Tony Curtis admitted that at this time he had a major drug problem and went broke, so he agreed to do this movie only because he needed money to buy cocaine. Since they needed to attach a name star as the coach to get the film green lit, this movie literally only exists because of cocaine.
The most interesting part of the film is the Antonio Inoki stuff, as he's supposed to have a match on US TV against an American martial artist as part of his push towards getting a rematch with Muhammad Ali. Not that it's good (neither was Ali vs. Inoki) but with that match taking on retroactive historical significance following the rise of MMA/UFC (it's now considered the "first MMA fight") it's interesting to see it referenced as a plot point in this film here. So pro wrestling and MMA fans may want to see it for the inclusion of Antonio Inoki and Judo Gene LaBell.
The most interesting part of the film is the Antonio Inoki stuff, as he's supposed to have a match on US TV against an American martial artist as part of his push towards getting a rematch with Muhammad Ali. Not that it's good (neither was Ali vs. Inoki) but with that match taking on retroactive historical significance following the rise of MMA/UFC (it's now considered the "first MMA fight") it's interesting to see it referenced as a plot point in this film here. So pro wrestling and MMA fans may want to see it for the inclusion of Antonio Inoki and Judo Gene LaBell.
Was this the inspiration behind Lost In Translation?
bud-2418 April 2004
After watching Lost In Translation and seeing Bill Murray's character awkwardly appear on a quirky Japanese TV show called 'Matthew's Best Hit TV', I couldn't help but be reminded of the Bad News Bears Go To Japan and the Bears appearance on a 70's Japanese variety show.
Both movies tried to show the quirky aspects of modern Japanese society, although the subplots in LIT were a bit more subtle than those of BNBGTJ. Think you can compare all movies made about Japanese society with LIT and come up with the same similarities? Two that come to mind, Mr. Baseball and Black Rain don't even come close. As strange as it may seem, LIT and BNBGTJ are more closely related than it would seem on the surface.
Both movies tried to show the quirky aspects of modern Japanese society, although the subplots in LIT were a bit more subtle than those of BNBGTJ. Think you can compare all movies made about Japanese society with LIT and come up with the same similarities? Two that come to mind, Mr. Baseball and Black Rain don't even come close. As strange as it may seem, LIT and BNBGTJ are more closely related than it would seem on the surface.
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