Bad News Bears
A good stab at a remake,
Directed by Richard Linklater, known for films that include “The School of Rock” and co-producer “Fast Food Nation,” “Bad News Bears” the 2005 remake of the 1976 original bases its plot on the typical group of misfits picks themselves up off the ground with the help of a dead beat second rate baseball player turned coach (Billy Bob Thornton) .
While not as raunchy as the original, “Bad News Bears” is still politically incorrect, and Morris Buttermaker(Thornton) is still his usual drunken trailer park-esque self. The team is pretty close in comparison to the original team, made up of Toby (Ridge Canipe), who can’t play baseball to save his life, handicapped Matthew Hooper (Troy Gentile), and of course foul-mouthed Tanner Boyle (Timmy Deters) . But lest we forget that every team of misfits needs to have some actual muscle/athletes on the team so they can actually compete, here come the “athletes” Amanda Whurlitzer (Sammi Kane Kraft) and Kelly Leak (Jeffrey Davies). Ray Bullock (Greg Kinnear) gets to play the anal retentive villain of the movie, a coach who bullies his players around to win in little league games so that he can feel like his life wasn’t a total waste at the end of the day. The story goes almost as most typical losers become winners’ comeback stories go, with a little less morality and a little more debauchery thrown into the mix.
“Bad News Bears” isn’t for everybody, but if you enjoyed the original, but thought it was a little on the obscene side, then this watered-down version may be for you. Thornton is always a blast to watch as well, so if you want to see a drunken bumbling baseball coach “Bad News Bears” is probably a good pick.
Written by: Carrie Ng
Reviewers Rating: 6.5
Reader's Rating: 5.00
Reader's Votes: 1
Added: 31-Mar-2006
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