Bad News Bears (2005)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Richard Linklater

Writers (WGA):

Bill Lancaster (screenplay) and
Glenn Ficarra (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

22 July 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Sport

Tagline:

Disorganized. Disrespected. Dis summer.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Coach | Baseball | Alcoholic | Little League | Portable Toilet

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

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

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:MG6 | Sweden:Btl | Argentina:13 | Brazil:16 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #41880) | Finland:K-7 | Singapore:PG | Iceland:12 | Australia:M | South Korea:12 | Italy:T | USA:PG-13 | Canada:14A (British Columbia) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | UK:12A | Ireland:12A

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Detour Filmproduction

Trivia:

Casting calls for actors with baseball skills were held in: Phoenix, Los Angeles, Toronto, Chicago, Dallas, Vancouver, New Orleans, Atlanta and Seattle, Orlando,FL and Washington D.C.

Goofs:

Factual errors: It is revealed that Buttermaker only pitched two-thirds of an inning in the majors, and left with a 36.00 ERA. This is statistically impossible, as a pitcher completing two-thirds of an inning must have an ERA that is a multiple of 13.50.

Quotes:

Timothy Lupus: [after Timothy has been jumped by two members of the Yankees] No one's ever stood up for me before.
Tanner Boyle: Maybe if you weren't such a spaz all the time, I wouldn't have to!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Crossover (2006)

Soundtrack:

Centerfield

Not a Masterpiece, but Enjoyable

With some skepticism and fairly low expectations, I rented this film. Understand, I'm a big fan of Richard Linklater, and an admirer of Billy Bob Thornton's work, hence there were certain expectations coming into this viewing. For the most part, my expectations were met. This film is certainly worth a watch.

There is no point in comparing this film to the original, so I won't bother to do so. The two were made during different eras by different actors and filmmakers, so why stack them up against each other. This film stands nicely on its own. Richard Linklater has simply become the master of the early teen film. He beautifully handled his mostly non-professional cast in 'School of Rock' (though it must be said, he did have Jack Black to help him pull it off), and the same can be said for this cast of mostly neophyte actors. Linklater is somehow able to draw a certain feeling of realism from his youthful actors. I think this is because he's not afraid to go for naturalism, and he certainly doesn't pull any punches. Linklater allows his young cast members to be just as crass, cruel and feisty as you would expect from a group of 10 to 12-year olds in this modern era. At the same time, however, he is able to instill in his characters a sense of youthful innocence and a continuing level of 'wide-eyedness' that make his characters lovable. In addition, Linklater is careful in his characterization, he makes sure to provide a distinct personality for each of the kids in this film, something that isn't easy to do with 12 kids in under two hours.

The other big bonus of this film is the enjoyment of watching Billy Bob work. Billy Bob is great in these roles as the 'sexy sleazoid' who just manages to skim the surface of life. Beneath the somewhat reptilian outer skin of Billy Bob's Buttermaker is a human being who has compassion and understanding for others who are in his 'peer group', that is, the rejects and also-rans of life. He does a convincing job creating an empathy within his character for these kids who are all castoffs from the mainstream. In addition, Billy Bob delivers a lot of very funny lines that are steeped in naturalism, and thus guaranteed to create a great deal of offense to anyone concerned with propriety and/or political correctness.

I'm not guaranteeing a cinematic masterpiece with this review, but I will suggest that if the film is given a chance by objective viewers, it will be guaranteed to provide nearly two hours of laughs and entertainment. Don't expect a 'Little Giants' here, with a lot of gross sentimentality...this children's sports film gives you something a bit different!