Bad News Bears

A Modern Remake of a Classic

The 2005 film Bad News Bears is a sports comedy directed by Richard Linklater, known for films like Dazed and Confused and School of Rock. It's a remake of the popular 1976 movie of the same name, aiming to bring its unique blend of humor and heart to a new audience. Starring Billy Bob Thornton, Greg Kinnear, and Marcia Gay Harden, the film set out to capture the same rebellious spirit.

Meet Coach Buttermaker

Our story begins with Morris Buttermaker, a washed-up alcoholic ex-baseball pitcher, now a crude exterminator. His glory days with the Seattle Mariners are long past, having ended dramatically after a run-in with an umpire. This less-than-heroic figure is unexpectedly hired by Liz Whitewood to coach the Bears—a local children's baseball team that, to put it mildly, lacks any discernible talent.

The team's first game is an unmitigated disaster. They can't even manage a single out before Buttermaker, in a fit of exasperation, forfeits. Discouraged, the entire team considers quitting, but Buttermaker, perhaps seeing a reflection of his own past, manages to persuade them to stay, promising to turn over a new leaf and actually coach them.

The Ringer and the Rebel

To boost the team's chances, Buttermaker recruits Amanda Wurlitzer, a skilled 12-year-old pitcher and the daughter of an ex-girlfriend. Her talent is undeniable, but her reluctance to play ball requires some convincing. Shortly after, the team gains another crucial member: Kelly Leak, a local troublemaker with a powerful bat and a reputation for being a loner.

With Amanda's pitching prowess and Kelly's hitting power, the Bears begin to transform. What was once a hapless squad slowly starts winning games, much to everyone's surprise—especially Buttermaker's. Their newfound success carries them all the way to the championship game, a dramatic turnaround from their embarrassing beginnings.

Championship Drama

Before the big game, Liz Whitewood congratulates Buttermaker on his unexpected success, leading to a fateful night between them. This, in turn, is accidentally discovered by Toby, Liz's son and a player on the team, adding another layer of awkwardness to the already tense atmosphere of the championship. The stage is set for a memorable showdown.

The championship game against the rival Yankees is intense. Tensions boil over when a play at the plate leads to a fight after Amanda is shoved. Later, in a moment of unsportsmanlike conduct, the Yankees coach, Ray Bullock, orders his son Joey to intentionally walk one of the Bears' best hitters, Mike Engleberg.

Joey, however, refuses to intentionally walk Engleberg and nearly hits him with a pitch instead. Ray, enraged, pushes his own son to the ground. In an act of defiance, Joey then throws Engleberg an easy pitch, which is promptly smacked for a home run, and Joey leaves the game with his mother, abandoning his father's team.

In a controversial move, Buttermaker decides to change the lineup, benching some of his best players and putting in the lesser-skilled benchwarmers. This causes the Bears to fall behind significantly as they head into the final half of the inning, leaving the outcome hanging by a thread.

With two outs and the game on the line, one of the benchwarmers, Garo Daragabrigadien, steps up and drives in two runs. He attempts to score the tying run but is thrown out at the plate on a very close call. The Bears lose the championship game 8–7, a heartbreaking but hard-fought defeat.

A Different Kind of Victory

Despite the loss, the Bears gather after the game. Buttermaker hands them non-alcoholic beer, and they joyfully spray it all over each other in a celebratory frenzy. They didn't win the trophy, but they gained something more profound: the satisfaction of having tried their absolute best, realizing that true victory isn't always about the score.

Box Office and Critical Reception

The 2005 Bad News Bears opened on July 22, 2005, and debuted at number five at the North American box office. However, it ultimately grossed just over $34 million worldwide against its $35 million budget, making it a box office bomb—a stark contrast to the original film's success.

Critically, the film received mixed reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gave it an approval rating of 48% with a critical consensus suggesting it was a 'too-faithful remake' that 'lacked the ensemble strength and originality of the 1976 version.' Metacritic, however, offered a slightly more positive score of 65 out of 100, indicating 'generally favorable' reviews.

Famed film critic Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars, singling out Billy Bob Thornton's performance for praise. He noted that Thornton crafted a 'morose loser who we like better than he likes himself,' effectively merging elements of his roles in Bad Santa and Friday Night Lights.

James Berardinelli of ReelViews also awarded it three stars, calling it an 'entertaining motion picture' that, while not surpassing the original, was strong enough to stand on its own. These positive remarks highlighted the film's ability to entertain despite the weight of its predecessor.

However, not all critics were as kind. Don R. Lewis of Film Threat found it had 'a few laughs' but ultimately 'just trudged on,' lacking spark and suffering from 'the unbearable, crushing weight of political correctness.' Others criticized it as an 'unnecessary remake' that relied on 'crassness and dumbness' without offering anything new.

Life Imitating Art

In a quirky instance of life imitating art, a real-life Los Angeles-area little league facing financial difficulties in 2012 received an anonymous donation. It came from the owner of a local strip club, allowing the league to continue operating. The parallels to a scene in Bad News Bears were immediately drawn.

In the film, the Bears team famously receives a donation from 'Bo-Peeps Gentlemen's Club' and is required to put the strip club's logo on their uniforms. Fortunately, the real-life club made no such demands, preferring to donate anonymously. However, local civic leaders eventually encouraged the club to reveal itself, so they could receive proper recognition for their generosity.