Review of Bad News Bears (2005) by Joel M — 05 Oct 2008

Director Richard Linklater has once again done a bad, bad thing that has made him so so good. He has directed a movie about perverse characters who you cannot shy away in rooting for. He did it in "The School of Rock", he did it in "Suburbia", he did it in "Before Sunset" & "Before Sunrise", and he did it in "Dazed & Confused" and he did it in "Bad News Bears".

So let us focus on the latter of Linklater's directorial resume: "Bad News Bears". The remake of the 1976 little league baseball classic film was pretty much errorless. Billy Bob Thornton stars as Coach Morris Buttermaker, the same role which Walter Matthau claimed to fame in the original.

Thornton yet again has managed to execute another impressive performance as a drunken rebel with a cause. The premise of the remake remains loyal to the original: a bunch of outcast little league baseball kids led by an inebriated manager whose pitiful play gets a inspiring makeover and become winners of all baseball movie fans.

As far as the lineup of kids: the remake still consist of the power pitching gal Amanda Whurlitzer, the rebel baseball kid Kelly Leak, the plump catcher Engelbert, the bratty shortstop Tanner Boyle, and the gentle black kid Ahmad Abdul Rahim.

However, the remake does include a few lineup enhancers which empower its comedic hitting average: Matthew Hooper the paraplegic and Prem Lahiri the intellect Indian. The junior auteur ensemble of "Bad News Bears" was clear of any foul play, at least not in their acting.

Many of these child actors have never performed before which made it even more of a reason to single them out as the "Rookie Child Actors of the Year'. Greg Kinnear was antagonistically superb as the obsessed opposing coach who definitely "auto focuses" himself on winning instead of enjoying the game.

Screenwriters Bill Lancaster & Glen Ficarra, who also scribed "Bad Santa", continue to deliver the comical dialogue goods with uproarious wordage. Those are my "bear" facts why the 2005 "Bad News Bears" will not strikeout with movie fans.

***** Excellent.