"That's a nice-a donut."

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

The Bad News Bears (1976)

Some people may look back on The Bad News Bears and wince at the bad clothing and hairstyles in the somewhat dated and very obvious 70s setting. Or they may recoil with bad memories of the two terrible sequels that were mercilessly spawned by the hit film. Others will complain that the story is derivative and has been done numerous times before. But the fact of the matter is that the original Bad News Bears is a sometimes hilarious, and often funny comedy. It even occasionally has thoughtful introspection and comment on the nature of competition in our society. Sure the time period makes the movie feel less clean and easier to look at then, say, if the film were to be remade today, but it makes no difference to the solid story. This is the forerunner to many modern sports films for the family, where the loveable loser leads a group of even bigger losers to unfathomable success.

In a somewhat hastily filmed beginning, we learn that Morris Buttermaker (Walter Matthau), an alcoholic pool cleaner and ex-minor league baseball player, has been hired by a local leader with the intent of coaching a team of downtrodden kids as sort of a community project. It's clear that Buttermaker is just doing it for the money. And who can blame him given how decrepit the team is, including the fat kid and the "booger-eating moron." In between swigs of his beer spiked with liquor, he manages to find some time to practice with the team in order to teach them a few things (like how to clean a pool and how to make a martini). The team is clearly awful but eventually the coach manages to bribe Amanda (Tatum O'Neal), a no-nonsense ringer, into pitching for the Bears and things start to come together.

Matthau is truly hilarious, yet understated, as the boozing coach. Some of the astonished looks on his face as he watches his team play are priceless. And he has great chemistry with the young ballplayers too. I especially like a scene where the team is having fielding practice and Matthau surprises them with a bunt, intended for the catcher to field. Director Michael Ritchie treats a number of details very matter-of-factly, such as with the team uniforms that the Bears keep clamoring for. Eventually Buttermaker comes through and gets them, but it isn't until a bit later that we see the sponsor: Chico's Bail Bonds, which is in stark contrast to the high profile sponsors of other teams like Denny's, Pizza Hut, and the local sporting good store.

It is very subtle, though quite interesting, how even Buttermaker begins to want to win. He verbally berates his players and at one point takes somewhat unethical measures to ensure success. Another team in the league is represented by a win-at-all-costs jerk, unfortunately so typical of many coaches and parents in little leagues today, yet the Bears have just as strong of a competitive spirit. In a movie filled with plenty of wacky moments and laughs, this fable is handled with a wink-wink, but it is nice to some depth to family comedies.

One fault of The Bad News Bears is that the actual baseball scenes are not all that well filmed. The movie is a bit unfocused with regards to the league standings and scores of some games (it's hard to be sure who is even winning the final game at one point). Further, it's rather incredible that the team starts to regress at one point, just because a new pitcher is in the game instead of Amanda. I also think the story would have been improved if juvenile delinquent Kelly Leak (Jackie Haley) had been more a subplot and less a featured attraction on the team.

All in all, The Bad News Bears is light-hearted tale of redemption and good times. If you’re looking for a baseball movie, look elsewhere. If for no other reason, see it for Matthau. End of the year awards voters are often criticized for not recognizing comedic performances more, and other than a BAFTA nomination, it's a darn shame that Matthau's role wasn't more acclaimed. Nearly 30 years later this holds up pretty well.

The Verdict: B.

Michael Bentley 12:42 PM

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