Bad News Bears (2005)

best movie i've ever seen.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Bad News Bear: Directed by Richard Linklater and written by Bill Lancaster, Glenn Ficarra and John RequaThis movie is completely pointless. This copy of a movie attempts what the original did but waters everything down to the point where it was lackluster in the worst way. It's not shocking to see kids cuss in a very PG-13 fashion. It's not shocking the juvenile delinquent decides to join the team. It's not shocking for the girl to join up. Too many films have aped from the original that the remake feels been there and done that.We've got Billy Bob Thornton running with his ornery old man routine he perfected with Bad Santa. He rode this train for so long and this was part of it from the very beginning. He seems like he wants to do better and comes to this realization very quickly. His stubborn boorish side doesn't seem natural for this. It's not funny. It was pretty painful to sit through even though ultimately I found more dull than bad. Skip it and watch the original. Richard Linklater is better than this in every way and so is Billy Bob Thornton. I give this movie a D.

As an 11 y/o when the original BNB was released, my opinion of the remake is as follows. This movie not only sucks,it swallows. Kid in a wheelchair? For crying out loud.So pc it hurts.Billy Bob Thornton is the only decent character in this tripe.Too bad some of the original cast were not invited to make at least a cameo. It is a trueism that most re-makes fail to hold a candle to the original. This one demonstrates that,cubed! Thanks for trying guys, but maybe one day we as a society will awake from all of this myopia, cut the chase and begin to allow filmmakers to "capture a moment" as it is/was, rather than insist that self esteem or some equally irrelevant concept must be applied to the process. Another addition to the wimpification of our once great film industry! Flame away all of you Dr feelgoods.

Someone said it was pointless to compare this movie to the original "The Bad News Bears" of 1976. What? This is a remake of that film, so not comparing the two would simply be willful ignorance. But I suppose ignorance is bliss to some.However, even if you don't compare the two, anyone with a semblance of standards would realize that the 2005 "Bears" incarnation is simply a colossal waste of enormous talent, starting with director Richard Linklater (whose "Dazed and Confused" and "School of Rock" were spot-on), to its stars, the great Billy Bob Thornton and the sublime Greg Kinnear, to its co-stars, including the always great Marcia Gay Harden to a cast of some very talented child actors.The 2005 script was, at best, a broad farce, whereas the original was sharp-edged and authentic. What's more, the new version includes a variety of pointless changes (changing the Yankees coach's name from Roy Turner to Roy Bullock?) alterations clearly designed to titillate (Councilor Whitewolf in 2005 is now a man-hungry cougar; the team's sponsor is no longer Chico's Bail Bonds "Let Freedom Ring" but a strip club; the league dinner has been moved from Pizza Hut to Hooters), yet the "evolution" reveals the new film's true lack of sack. (Appropriate, I suppose, since science is showing men now in their 20s apparently are exhibiting a decline in testosterone and other male reproductive markers.) Even the smoking-hot Turner's mom (Shari Summers) of the original film has been replaced by a thin-but-frumpy housefrau. Don't even get me started on the new Kelly Leak comparison to the ultra-cool one portrayed by Jackie Earle Haley.Some other reviewer said if you liked "Bad Santa" you'll like this. I'm wondering if he saw either film: "Bad Santa" was brilliant, an amazing display of Thornton's unchecked id surrounded by career-making performances by Tony Cox, the late Bernie Mack and other talent at the top of their game. The 2005 "Bad News Bears" was simply a bummer.

I saw this movie expecting it to be like the original. In some ways it was, but mostly it wasn't. That is a good thing. The plot revolves around a drunk coach, Morris Buttermaker(Thornton)as tries to coach and cope with a group of misfits that call themselves baseball players. I was laughing from beginning to end at this comedy spectacle. I don't know why people are being so negative. They must have something wrong with them. The script was excellent as well as the jokes. They are not as crude as movies like Austin Powers or American Pie. The music was alright, but that does not really matter because the music is not significant. This movie is the best comedy of 2005 and I give this film a 10/10.