It seemed like most of the kids I met in school or out on the playground were like the Bears, or various shades of gray. A lot of kids with Anglo genes mouthing off to whoever wherever they pleased, smoking, drinking beer, drawing pornographic graffiti wherever they pleased, and swearing up a storm. That's the Bad News Bears, and that was how most of the American youth in the 1970s and 1980s behaved. How I avoided it I'll never know.It's fine film for what it is. It's a bit on the low budget side with lots of hand held shots, but it has a good story and a certain integrity to it. This is how kids behave when their parents aren't around, and when this film was released it was a smash hit among kids because this showed my peers to adult America how they were "in the raw", so to speak. The geeky uncoordinated kid, the feisty short blonde kid, the gentle or effete kid (colloquially referred to as "the wussy" in pre-teen speak), the athletically talented black kid, the proverbial fat kid, and the "bad boy" along with a host of others. If you lived in California anywhere south of Shasta, then this film and the scenes it portrays are all too familiar.It's a rags to riches and almost bag to rags story with a lot of scrappy attitude. We see these kids behave as a lot of boys behaved when things didn't go right. Whether it was fate, bad luck, or lack of preparation, when all those factors met, or just one reared its ugly head, mayhem ensued, and we usually threw our gear on the ground and cursed the world and fell into a minor kid like depression.I remember the hype more than the actual film. I remember everyone talking about this movie. I remember everyone saying how great it was. I remember how both kids and parents (and even some teachers) alike would mention the name of the movie, and then the kids who had seen it would say what a great film it was.Well, as a middle aged man seeing this for the first time in over forty years, I think I can rightfully say that it's a decent film, but that I had the same misgivings about it then as I do now, and that is it's essentially a window on un-parented boy behavior.There's a parable here about talent and good parenting verse being an abusive coach, but I'm not sure the message hits home with the not-so-ironic poetic ending. There's also a message about how girls can play boys' sports, but this film was made in an era of supposed psychological discovery, and how boys and girls are the same (well, we weren't then, and still aren't now) and do all the things that boys can. Eh, sure, if so inclined, and that's the ultra important point that the arrogant social psychologist of a screenwriter missed. But never mind.All in all The Bad News Bears is an okay film. It was worth seeing once for a nostalgia blast, but man do I remember those days, and seeing this film reminds of just how much I wanted to forget them. Kids with attitude problems may make for an interesting film, and it certainly is a reminder of an era past, but, like I say, I'd just assume forget it.If you grew up in California, then see again one time. If you're looking for a good film about little league, well, I'm thinking there's a better film out there somewhere.

Bad News Bears stars Walter Matthau and a young Tatum O'Neal in a film about an aging former baseball player and the team of misfits he is financially coerced into coach little league baseball. Michael Ritchie directs a sports movie that takes a different approach than the all too common paint by numbers avenue sports movies usually travel. Bad News Bears, a 1976 feature, is a fun deviation from the usual sports movie, not even requiring the audience to be sports fans in order to enjoy the film. Considering the cast is largely made up of a collection of minors, Bad News Bears shines as a fun movie able to be enjoyed by all. Former baseball player and current pool cleaner, Walter Matthau (Morris Buttermaker) who spends his time greeting the bottom of every beer can and cigarette butt he can, is roped into coaching a little league team made up of the misfits no other team would take. Roy Turner (Vic Morrow) even agrees to pay Buttermaker for his troubles of coaching the team, a responsibility he takes flippantly when he sees how poorly the team performs. Drinking beer and smoking in the dugout while he lets the kids run the show, Buttermaker is clearly only in the coaching gig for the money. As the story develops, and he secretly begins to care for the children on his team, he begins to take a more active coaching role, still with the beer in hand and wants to make sure the team does well. Buttermaker has a secret weapon up his sleeve when he recruits his ex- girlfriend's daughter, Amanda Whurlitzer (Tatum O'Neal) a feisty sporty 12-year old. The team also gets a huge bump when the local punk, Kelly Leak (Jackie Earle Haley) turns out to have an incredible natural talent for baseball. With more weapons in the dugout, and a confidence in themselves and each other growing with every game, the Bears begin to win games and have fun doing it. Somehow the misfit team makes it all the way to the championship game, proving that all you need is direction and a chance to prove yourself. The Bad News Bears is a brilliant ensemble piece. Typically in such a film, actors will deal with each other for screen time presence. In this film, made up mostly of children, that problem doesn't present itself, and it is to the audience's benefit. The character development in this film is unlike any I've seen in awhile. Not just the character of Morris Buttermaker is expanded, but each of the children's characters as well, to one extent or another, another aspect that is often lacking in ensemble films. I enjoyed learning through this film that Walter Matthau is much more than a grumpy man, as sadly, those are the only film roles I've seen of his. His acting is subtle, yet commanding, a trait that is missing from many modern day actors and was fun to see again. Of the many good features of this film, the best was that it was an unpredictable sports film. After watching a month's worth of sports films and learning that one is almost always the same as the next, The Bad News Bears was a fun departure from such boring predictable sports movies. What's also unique about this film is that it is packed with a message, yet avoids coming off preachy and overly moralistic. A fun movie all around, The Bad News Bears is a sports movie fit for athletic audiences and couch potatoes alike.The best takeaway from this film, for me, is seeing Walter Matthau in a role I have never seen him in before. He always came off a little muted and one-dimensional before; I am happy that misconception was dispelled with The Bad News Bears. It is rare to see such standout acting performances from such a young cast, but The Bad News Bears is a prime example of such a film. If you are going to seek out this great film, I would recommend going with the original (actually, in almost every scenario) and taking in some great Walter Matthau, along with some other big names in early roles and taking in 1976's The Bad News Bears.

Buttermaker (Walter Matthau) is a drunken ex-minor leaguer. He gets hired to coach a little league team of misfits. One of the fathers had sued to get the kids into a competitive league. However after a humiliating opening loss, the father figures the team should quit and so do the kids. Buttermaker try to save the team by getting a couple of ringers, his former girlfriend's kid (Tatum O'Neal) who happens to be a little girl and a juvenile delinquent (Jackie Earle Haley).This isn't simply a good kids movie. Quite frankly, parents today wouldn't want their kids to see this. The language is rough. A parent hits his kid. The kids swear, smoke, talk sex, and drink beer. I don't know how they got PG.The kids are great. Walter Matthau is his grumpy best. Tatum O'Neal is wonderful. It works as a good underdog movie. And then the last act explodes into something wonderful. It's heartbreaking when Buttermaker rejects Amanda for simply wanting a father figure. Then it goes all out as both coaches go super competitive. It's a real indictment of the ugliness of kids' sports culminating in that slap. It's not just a simple underdog movie, but a movie about real sportsmanship. It is a great original that the 2005 remake cannot touch.

Michael Ritchie's "The Bad News Bears" is a classic American comedy film starring Walter Matthau as Morris Buttermaker, a former minor league ball player is recruited to coach a gang of misfit kids into winning the local sandlot baseball tournament. To start off, I had actually seen like the last 10 minutes of the 2000-whatever remake of the film on "TBS" or something. I wasn't really impressed. However, after sitting through all 100-some minutes of the original I can say that it is entertaining and at least worth checking out some time. Walter Matthau is. . .well, he's Walter Matthau. He's great in this and he's a great actor altogether. A young Jackie Earle Haley was in this and it was pretty interesting to see the movie where he first planted his feet into Hollywood. The script is alright from what I've seen - it had quite a few hilarious one-liners in it. The movie in general was fairly funny, but It also featured a lot of really touching moments between its characters that I honestly did not expect to see. Overall I felt the movie was pretty good and worth checking out if you have nothing else to watch on TV.