The Bad News Bears is a 1976 American sports comedy film directed by Michael Ritchie. It stars Walter Matthau and Tatum O'Neal. The film was followed by two sequels, The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training in 1977 and The Bad News Bears Go to Japan in 1978, a short-lived 1979–80 CBS television series, and a 2005 remake.
The Bad News Bears | |
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Theatrical release poster by Jack Davis | |
Directed by | Michael Ritchie |
Produced by | Stanley R. Jaffe |
Written by | Bill Lancaster |
Starring | Walter Matthau Tatum O'Neal Chris Barnes Vic Morrow Jackie Earle Haley Joyce Van Patten Quinn Smith |
Music by | Jerry Fielding |
Cinematography | John A. Alonzo |
Edited by | Richard A. Harris |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 102 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English Spanish |
Budget | $9 million |
Box office | $42.3 million |
The original screenplay was written by Bill Lancaster. Notable was the score by Jerry Fielding, which is an adaptation of the principal themes of Bizet's opera Carmen.
Screenplay
Morris Buttermaker, an alcoholic and former minor-league baseball pitcher, is recruited by Bob Whitewood, a city councilman and attorney who filed a lawsuit against an ultra-competitive Southern California Youth Baseball League which excluded the least skilled athletes (including his son) from playing. In order to settle the lawsuit, the league agrees to add an additional team - the Bears - which is composed of the worst players. Buttermaker becomes the coach of the unlikely team, which includes (among others) a near-sighted pitcher, an overweight catcher, a foulmouthed shortstop with a Napoleon complex, an outfielder who dreams of emulating his idol Hank Aaron, two non-English-speaking Mexican immigrants, a withdrawn and bullied boy named Timmy Lupus, and a motley collection of other "talent". Shunned by the more competitive teams (and competitive parents), the Bears are the outsiders. They play their opening game, and do not even record an out, giving up 26 runs before Buttermaker forfeits the game.
Realizing the team is nearly hopeless, he recruits a couple of unlikely prospects: sharp-tongued Amanda Whurlizer, a skilled pitcher (trained by Buttermaker when she was younger) who is the 12-year-old daughter of one of Buttermaker's ex-girlfriends. At first, she tries to convince Buttermaker that she has given up baseball, but then she reveals that she had been practicing "on the sly". Before agreeing to join the team, Amanda makes a number of outlandish demands (such as imported jeans, modeling school, ballet lessons, etc.) as conditions for joining. Upon hearing her demands, Buttermaker asks, "Who do you think you are, Catfish Hunter?" Amanda responds by asking, "Who's he?" Rounding out the team, Buttermaker recruits the "best athlete in the area," who also happens to be the local cigarette-smoking, loan-sharking, Harley-Davidson-riding troublemaker, Kelly Leak. With Whurlizer and Leak on board, the team starts gaining more confidence, and the Bears start winning games.
Eventually, the unlikely Bears make it to the championship game opposite the top-notch Yankees, who are coached by aggressive, competitive Roy Turner. As the game progresses, tensions are ratcheted up as Buttermaker and Turner engage in shouting matches, directing their players to become increasingly more ruthless and competitive against each other, going as far as fighting, spiking on slide, or the batter getting hit on purpose.
The turnaround point of the game comes after a heated exchange between Turner's son (and Yankees pitcher) Joey and the Bears at-bat catcher Engelberg. Turner orders his son to walk Engelberg, the only Bears hitter he cannot overcome, despite Joey's wish to give it a try. In response, Joey intentionally throws a wild beanball nearly striking Engelberg in the head. Horrified, Turner goes to the mound and slaps his son. On the next pitch, Engelberg hits a routine ground ball back to Joey who exacts revenge against his father by holding the ball until Engelberg has an inside the park home run. Joey then leaves the game dropping the ball at his father's feet.
Buttermaker, realizing that he has become as competitive as Turner, puts the benchwarmers on the field, thus giving everyone a chance to play. In spite of this, the finish-up brings up the best team-play from the Bears. After loading the bases with smart tactics (two walks and a bunt) they nearly recover a four run difference, with the last runner getting taken out at the last moment.
After having narrowly lost the game 7 to 6, Buttermaker gives the team free rein of his beer cooler. Although they did not win the championship, they have the satisfaction of having come a long way. The condescending Yankees congratulate the Bears telling them that although they are still not that good, they have "guts." Tanner, the shortstop, replies by telling the Yankees where they can put their trophy. The Bears cheer and Timmy Lupus overcomes his chronic shyness enough to yell "Wait 'til next year!", then they spray their beers all over each other. The movie ends with a field celebration that makes it look as if they won the game.
Adults
- Walter Matthau as Morris Buttermaker, coach of the Bears: A drunken, loud, ex-professional baseball pitcher and part-time pool cleaner, who drives a blue Cadillac convertible
- Vic Morrow as Roy Turner, coach of the Yankees who is competitive and aggressive
- Joyce Van Patten as Cleveland Ohio, league manager who favors Turner and the Yankees
- Ben Piazza as Bob Whitewood, city councilman and lawyer who sued the league to allow the Bears (in particular, his son) to play and who convinces (and pays) Buttermaker to coach the team
Kids
- Tatum O'Neal as Amanda Whurlizer, 11-year-old pitcher who feels insecure about her tomboy image. She is proven to be a good pitcher. Her mother is Buttermaker's ex-girlfriend. Wears number 11.
- Chris Barnes as Tanner Boyle, short-tempered shortstop with a Napoleon complex; after suffering a horrible loss on their first game, he picks a fight with the entire seventh grade from his school (and loses). He tends to curse more than the others, and often insults and bullies Timmy, although they're friends and he's protective of him. He is close friends with Ahmad. Wears number 12.
- Jackie Earle Haley as Kelly Leak, local troublemaker who smokes and who rides a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Also the best athlete in the neighborhood. He alternates between left and center field and has a crush on Amanda. He is seen to be close with Tanner, Ahmad and Ogilvie. Wears number 3.
- Erin Blunt as Ahmad Abdul-Rahim, A Black American Muslim who plays in the outfield and adores Hank Aaron; strips off his uniform in shame after committing errors, but is convinced to return to the team by Buttermaker. He is close with Tanner. Wears number 44 in honor of Hank Aaron, his hero.
- Gary Lee Cavagnaro as Mike Engelberg, an overweight boy who plays catcher; a great hitter, he frequently teases Tanner about his size. His jabs at Yankee pitcher Joey Turner ignite a rivalry. Wears number 5.
- Alfred W. Lutter as Alfred Ogilvie, a bookworm who memorizes baseball statistics. He's mostly a benchwarmer who assists the coach with defensive strategy. A backup outfielder/first baseman, but reluctant to play as he feels he's one of the worst players on the team. Wears number 9.
- David Stambaugh as Toby Whitewood, an unassuming boy who plays first base. He knows about the other players' personalities, is intelligent and well-spoken, and at times speaks for the team. Son of councilman Bob Whitewood, who secretly paid Buttermaker to coach the team. Wears number 2.
- Quinn Smith as Timmy Lupus, a "booger-eating spaz;" plays right field and is considered to be the worst player on the team, but surprises everyone in the final game by making a key play to keep the Bears in the game. He is the most quiet and shy player, but showed the odd ability to properly prepare a martini for Coach Buttermaker while the team was assisting the coach with pool cleaning. Wears number 4.
- Jaime Escobedo as Jose Aguilar, Miguel's older brother who plays second base; doesn't speak English. Wears number 6.
- George Gonzales as Miguel Aguilar, Jose's younger brother; mostly plays right field. He doesn't speak English either; so short that the strike zone is non-existent. Wears number 7.
- David Pollock as Rudi Stein, nervous relief pitcher with glasses who is a terrible hitter; asked by Coach Buttermaker to purposely get hit by pitches in order to get on base. Also a backup outfielder. Wears number 10.
- Brett Marx as Jimmy Feldman, Fairly quiet third baseman with curly blond hair. He has a strong resemblance to Harpo Marx. Actor Brett Marx is the great-nephew of Harpo Marx. Wears number 8.
- Scott Firestone as Regi Tower, fairly quiet, red-headed third baseman whose dad vocally attends practices and games. Also plays first base. Wears number 1.
- Brandon Cruz as Joey Turner, the star pitcher for the Yankees (wears number 2 for that team). Coach Roy Turner's son. He has a rivalry with Engleberg and regularly bullies Tanner and Timmy. Allows Engleberg an inside-the-park home run, then quits the team after Roy slaps him in anger for almost beaning the Bears' catcher.
Tatum O'Neal was paid $350,000 plus a percentage of the profits. These were later estimated to be $1.9 million.
The Bad News Bears was filmed in and around Los Angeles, primarily in the San Fernando Valley. The field where they played is in Mason Park on Mason Avenue in Chatsworth. In the film, the Bears were sponsored by an actual company, Chico's Bail Bonds. One scene was filmed in the council chamber at Los Angeles City Hall.
Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 97% based on reviews from 30 critics and an average rating of 7.6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Bad News Bears is rude, profane, and cynical, but shot through with honest, unforced humor, and held together by a deft, understated performance from Walter Matthau."
In his 1976 review, critic Roger Ebert called the film "an unblinking, scathing look at competition in American society".
Awards
Walter Matthau was nominated for a BAFTA award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Comedy. The screenplay by Bill Lancaster, son of actor Burt Lancaster, was winner of a Writers Guild of America award.
Saturday Night Live did a parody of the film with Matthau as the guest host called The Bad News Bees with John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd and the rest in their recurring bee costumes for what would be their final time. This subtly referenced masturbation which was aluded to as "buzzing-off".
American Film Institute
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs—nominated
- AFI's 10 Top 10—nominated sports film
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers—nominated