cokezero99
This film is basically that type of film most of us growing up have seen: a group of delinquent/reject/loser kid stereotypes are involved in some sport. They suck badly. Along comes an unlikely coach. Insert about an hour of the same jokes you'd expect, for example how gross the fat kid is, how unsporty the nerd is, etc. Along comes an aloof/rebellious outsider who is amazing and comes to help the team out. They make it to the finals where they battle the other team, most certainly made up of mean bully types with a narcissist for a coach! We have seen this formula in a number of films: The Big Green, The Mighty Ducks, Little Giants, and even the adult Chinese film Shaolin Soccer to name a few. It's not a bad formula and while not super complex it is nonetheless usually enjoyable and amusing. However this film has a pacing issue I felt. Some things just didn't click as well as these other films. It made me think how some scenes were just overstaying their welcome.Basically it's this: if you are wanting to watch the kids team underdog trope then you're better off with Mighty Ducks or Little Giants. If you want to watch Billy Bob Thornton make some comedy with some kids then watch Bad Santa.
Spikeopath
You know, sometimes a low expectation of something can really give you a pleasant surprise. This Richard Linklater remake of a great 1976 Walter Matthau movie isn't close to being brilliant or remotely fresh. In fact the term "if it ain't broke then why fix it" springs to mind, because an update wasn't needed at all. But to me, and a few other hardy {foolhardy} souls, this Bad News Bears is immensely funny and far from hindered by its predictability {Linklater and his team stick rigidly to the original film}. And while nobody, and I mean nobody, can do sarcasm and hang-dawg like Matthau, Billy Bob Thornton is no bad substitute to have coming off the bench. His delivery of some truly priceless lines alone make the film worth watching. That he is at ease with the array of child actors on show also eases the film thru its sticky {potentially sickly} moments.In a sports based genre that is full of like for like pictures, The Bad News Bears original is still one of its acerbic highlights. This remake does fall well short in the class department, but on a gags to laughs ratio? It nicely hits the ball out of the park.5.5/10 to many weary observers, 7.5/10 for me and the rest of the Morris Buttermilk appreciation society.
wes-connors
Boozing rat exterminator Billy Bob Thornton (as Morris Buttermaker) was once a major league baseball player
for about three minutes. Then, he got ousted for punching an ump. Presently, low-cut Marcia Gay Harden (as Liz Whitewood) hires him to lead son Ridge Canipe (as Toby)'s Little League team, against tight-shorted rival coach Greg Kinnear (as Roy Bullock). Can Mr. Thornton transform a "ragtag group of inept players" into a group of successful ballplayers? Well, duh...The filmmakers were obviously struggling to see how many times they could get the letters "s", "h", "i", and "t" to appear consecutively in the script. Yes, "Bad News Bears" is a tailor-made PG-13-rated pre-teen pseudo-comedy. Yet, it manages to funny. You can watch it if you're post-teen, and occasionally laugh. Sammi Kane Kraft (as Amanda Whurlitzer) and the age appropriately cast baseball team are the most valuable players, overcoming clichés with natural performances.***** Bad News Bears (7/22/05) Richard Linklater ~ Billy Bob Thornton, Sammi Kane Kraft, Greg Kinnear, Jeffrey Davies
Michael_Elliott
Bad News Bears (2005) *** (out of 4) Workable remake of the 70's classic has Billy Bob Thornton taking over the role originally played by Walter Matthau. This isn't a great film and it's certainly miles behind the original but it still works pretty well on its own. Ol' Billy Bob manages plenty of laughs and I'm glad they kept in (most) the politically incorrect humor. Making one of the kids wheelchair bound was pretty brave in this day and age but it gets some nice laughs. The biggest problem is that the film runs nearly two hours long and the final game itself goes on for nearly thirty minutes, which is just way too long.
AD
