Bad News Bears (2005)

"Bad News Bears" (2005) is a likable film about a lousy dad who becomes a decent baseball coach and it can be lewd but there's a genuine caring in it and a willingness to let kids be kids in all their cussing and beating each other up and not caring that much about being polite. I liked it. No complaints from me. Didn't see or know about the original "Bad News Bears" (1976). Maybe this was an average remake, but by no means terrible. Probably better than most remakes these days anyway.

Many older reviews call this adaptation "Bad News Bears" soulless and over-sweary, but I wouldn't go that far. If you are a fan of Billy Bob Thornton's "Bad Santa" character you'll appreciate the scent of desperation and alchohol his "Bad News Bears" character has, as well as his appreciation for hookers and predilection for both swearing at and fathering forgotten kids. There's many tropes that are familiar between "Bad News Bears" and "Bad Santa." There's even a cameo from one of the "Bad Santa" characters. I wouldn't necessarily call "Bad News Bears" PG-13 but it is a lot more PG-13 than "Bad Santa."

"Bad News Bears" even includes several pep talks about winning and not learning to be a total quitter. And for once, the moral message doesn't fall flat. Billy Bob Thornton does have a way of never sounding like he's taking the high road and that's a good thing when it comes to talking straight to kids. I would still want to recommend "Bad News Bears" to a 13 year old who isn't too sheltered because there's some sex references every now and again.

On top of this, "Bad News Bears" boasts some great cast. In addition to Billy Bob Thornton there is Greg Kinnear as the try-hard rival coach, and Marcia Gay Harden as an uptight lawyer mom of one of the baseball players who likes to win. The child actors who play Billy Bob Thornton's ragtag baseball team are believable and rather refreshing-none are overly sweet or doormats. They strike a good balance.

Overall decent film with worthy acting moments from most actors, even if both Billy Bob Thornton and Marcia Gay Harden are somewhat typecast (Thornton as the alcoholic derelict and Harden as the uptight businesswoman). A little bit of a rehash, but enjoyable anyways.

Fmovies: The original "Bad News Bears" was a hit because it was funny and even a bit shocking for it's time. Unfortunately this remake is not funny or original and only shocking in how bad it is.

The original movie had enough character development that you could relate to each of the kids and the adults. This remake does not take the time for character development and instead seems to rely on the viewers knowledge of the previous movie. The kids characters made the first movie interesting but this one chooses to ignore that fact and tries to focus on Buttermaker (Thornton). Tanner Boyle, Lupus, and Engelberg were main characters originally but are uninteresting and one dimensional in this version. While I'm sure these kids are fine actors they aren't given much of a chance to act in this film.

There is no originality in this new version. I assume a couple of very small changes, such as changing the team sponsor, were thrown in so the writers, producers and directors could claim they had not just blatantly ripped off the old movie.

Billy Bob Thornton turns in the same old performance we have seen from him before. When he is given a part that challenges him, Billy Bob seems to rise to the occasion. It is clear this part does not challenge him and his acting can only be described as "the usual."

Jeffrey Davies plays Kelly Leak and Sammi Kane Kraft is Amanda Whurlitzer. Their characters are downplayed to the point that it would be easy to forget they were even in the movie. Again, character development is non-existent and the two actors are not given anything to work with.

If you have not seen the original movie then this might not be a complete waste of your time. It is such a copy of the original movie, although not a good copy, that you might find some humor. Most, if not all, of the politically incorrect humor from the first version has been eliminated in an apparent effort to not offend.

In short, go and rent the 1976 version and enjoy the original for what it is. If you are a die hard Billy Bob Thornton fan and absolutely must see this film then wait for it on DVD and save yourself the trip to a theater.

Billy Bob is no Walter Matthau and this tepid remake of the 70's semi-classic comedy with the terrific Tatum O'Neal is also not nearly as good as the original in any way.

Billy Bob could have slept his way through this dud(maybe he did), as his flaky, drunk, cursing, sleazy, womanizing Buttermaker coach role was just the way he is in real life. The filmmaker obviously hired him for his Bad Santa "presence" and surely not for anything else, as his trashy bad boy act is wearing pretty thin these days as he "plays" it in every film he is in. Maybe filmmakers just love it, but it is really getting old and worn, especially in this film that got no spark at all from his lead character. It just was just plain flat all the way to the end.

The only thing that made me stay to the end was the kids, as their typical rowdy and funny antics were by far the best thing in this movie. Marcia Gay Harden was sabotaged by a dumb part as a hypocritical super-mom, and Greg Kinnear was way too bland and fair-minded for his All-American dad role as an opposing coach of the best team. He played exactly like Pat Boone would have played it, with not nearly enough yin, "win at all costs" opposition to the yang Billy Bob part. Vic Morrow, with his great underlying but veiled "kill or be killed" menace, was so much better in the original it is beyond comparison.

Finally, there was no essential dramatic tension anywhere in the story, even in the final championship game. No good film will ever be made without it. Blah, boring, dull, vapid, banal, ho hum...how many more pejoratives are there for this sorry loser that should have never been made?

See the original instead. Save money and have a way better time.

Bad News Bears fmovies. I love Billy Bob Thornton in Bad Santa and the Bad News Bears remake to 2005 after a 29 years since the original film. The film has changed to modify today's world where computers rule the world which I said at 10 years old to an skeptical neighbor and where even a handicapped wheelchair-bound boy can play baseball. Thornton plays Buttermaker, the major league baseball player who turns coach rather than get a jail sentence. The mother of one his players is played by the divine Marcia Gay Harden. I think the kid from Bad Santa also has a role as does Greg Kinnear who plays a competitive coach. I love watching the kids learn the sport by killing insects since Buttermaker is an exterminator and they sponsored by a strip club. They start getting better in the beginning. They are lovable losers who face ridicule and humiliation every day at school. Suddenly, they get help with a girl pitcher and a guy who's a rebel.

First, let me say that it's been years since I saw the original and not being a baseball/softball player myself, I couldn't remember a thing about it. I thought this movie was funny and had some good messages promoting "team concepts", even though it was hidden sometimes under crude language, sexual innuendo and other subjects not appropriate for very young children. I am a Billy Bob Thorton fan and I thought he played the part well and was exactly the guy for the role. You generally wouldn't expect to see him in a PG-rated movie anyway. I just want families with young children to keep this in mind when choosing a film for all to see. A few families walked out after the first few minutes that contained some language not appropriate for their young children. The child actors in the movie are great and make the picture enjoyable to watch. The other benefit to this film, again for the appropriate aged audience is that it is about two hours long so you feel like you get your money's worth!

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.