Bad News Bears (2005)

A grizzled little league coach 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 & 4 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

To scrape up some extra cash, the semi-inebriated, cigar-smoking, former minor-league pitcher and now professional exterminator, Morris Buttermaker, agrees to coach the inept little-league baseball team of young misfits, the Bears. Against the backdrop of a tough championship and an intense rivalry with the impeccable Yankees, Coach Buttermaker goes as far as to recruit Amanda Whurlitzer, the twelve-year-old daughter of one of his ex-girlfriends and star pitcher, and the troubled bike-riding baseball hitter, Kelly Leak. Under those circumstances, do Morris' uncoordinated boys have what it takes to start winning? Did the maladroit Bears bite off more than they could chew?

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Plot Keywords:

team | coach | baseball | alcoholic | little league | 

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Taglines:

The bases are Loaded... So is the coach.

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Buttermaker can also be seen drinking Schaefer Beer in the film.

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Goofs

Garo bats in front of Kelly twice, getting hit by the pitch once, and making out once. Then in the final inning, he hits after Kelly, an unacceptable change in the batting order. There is a way this could have happened under Little League rules, but it would have required Garo to be removed from the game for a substitute and to then return to the game and replace someone else. That didn't happen.

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Quotes

Morris Buttermaker: Listen, kid, you don't want to go to Salt Lake, trust me. They don't even like Africans up there.
Garo Daragebrigadian: Armenian
Morris Buttermaker: Yeah, right.

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Connections

Referenced in School Bus Diaries (2016)

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Soundtracks

Shinin' On
by Don Brewer and Mark Farner
Performed by Grand Funk Railroad (as Grand Funk)
Courtesy of Capitol Records
Under license from EMI Film & Television Music

User Reviews

If you liked Bad Santa, you'll like this

Okay, sometimes I go for a mindless film. This movie was pretty mindless but I expected it to be. It was foul mouthed and showed the kids trying to beat the snot out of each other. After "Bad Santa", I really didn't expect any less.

Someone else commented that there were long pauses left in for laughing. I'm not sure where he lives, but the people in my theater were all laughing their butts off most of the movie. Maybe it's an age difference - this was a mostly 20-something crowd enjoying this film.

Under no circumstances would I want my children seeing this film until they're at least 15, though. It IS an adult film and I don't think that kids need another movie to get bad ideas from. An R rating would have suited the film better, especially if it meant raunchier scenes.

All in all I enjoyed myself. It's not a film for everyone, that's for sure - but if you enjoyed "Bad Santa", you'll probably like this film.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

22 July 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bad News Bears

Filming Locations:

Skatelab Skatepark, 4226 Valley Fair St, Simi Valley, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,382,472, 24 July 2005

Gross USA:

$32,868,349

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$34,252,847

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