Review of Bad News Bears (2005) by Peter B — 08 Nov 2008

Ok, so this movie isn't quite as cool as the original, but I didn't hate it and it didn't make me want to turn it off and watch the original. some of the wildly inappropriate things from the original have been taken out, but there was a surprising amount of non kid friendly stuff for a family film released in 2005. Billy Bob Thornton is effective as a washed up drunk and manages to create that aura of sleaze to a degree that one rarely sees in a movie geared at children. it was nice to see that the more or less ambiguous nature of the message was preserved. I think the Bad News Bears is notable for being one of the few sports films where the heroes don't win. not only that it seems like a good thing, like winning would perhaps be below our band of misfits. the mentality at the end is basically "fuck you! we lost!" this was the order of the day back in the 70s when the original was released, but in today's world it seems sort of out of place. it also seems like its a message that we've been lacking in recent years.

Also the last shot of the movie where there's an american flag for no reason was completely over the top but somehow summed up what this movie was all about.