The Bad News Bears

Director: Michael Ritchie Michael Ritchie

Overview

In this family-oriented comedy, dour, rumpled, and beer-swilling ex-Minor League player Morris Buttermaker has seen better days. When he agrees to coach a Little League team comprised of the worst players (most of them potty-mouthed misfits and mischief-makers) in his Southern California town, Buttermaker's life is thrown into further chaos.

Product Details

Release Date:	04/25/2017
UPC:	0032429271280
Original Release:	1976
Rating:	PG
Source:	PARAMOUNT
Language:	English
Time:	1:41:00

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Walter Matthau	Coach Morris Buttermaker,Athletic
Tatum O'Neal	Manda Whurlizer
Vic Morrow	Coach Roy Turner
Joyce Van Patten	Cleveland
Ben Piazza	Councilman Whitewood
Jackie Earle Haley	Kelly Leak
Alfred Lutter	Ogilvie
Brandon Cruz	Joey Turner
Shari Summers	Mrs. Turner
Joe Brooks	Umpire
Maurice Marks	Announcer
Quinn Smith	Lupus
Gary Lee Cavagnaro	Engelberg
Erin Blunt	Ahmad
David Stambaugh	Toby Whitewood
Jaime Escobedo	Agilar Boy
George Gonzales	Agilar Boy
David Pollock	Other Boy
Scott Firestone	Other Boy
Brett Marx	Other Boy
Chris Barnes	Tanner Boyle,Actor
Timothy Blake	Mrs. Lupus
Bill Sorrells	Mr. Tower
George Wyner	White Sox Manager
Howard Culver	Newscaster
Jerry Fielding	Composer

Technical Credits

Bill Lancaster

Stanley R. Jaffe	Producer
Michael Ritchie	Director
Bill Lancaster	Screenwriter
Polly Platt	Producer
Jesse Wayne	Stunts
Stanley Jaffe	Producer
John Wilkinson	Sound/Sound Designer
Gene Cantamessa	Sound Mixer

Editorial Reviews

Bad News Bears is one of the most delightful blends of family and adult entertainment ever made. The underdog-made-good story may please and kids in the audience, but it's only one facet of the film's entertaining, realistic portrait of little league baseball. The real appeal comes from spot-on performances by Tatum O'Neal and Walter Matthau. Their relationship, as a grizzled divorcé and the pubescent girl trying to make him her father, is finely tuned and immensely enjoyable. Their natural stubbornness yet vulnerability comes through, helping to keep the story out of the realm of the sentimental. The entire script, by Bill Lancaster, is full of authenticity, capturing both the different personalities of the kids and the often embarrassing and bizarre world of Little League. Director Michael Ritchie achieves all of the story's drama without losing any of the innocence of the youngsters. Considering that his three previous films (Prime Cut, The Candidate, and Smile) were all distinctly adult fare, Bad News Bears was a surprising movie from Ritchie. But he brings his mature sensibility to his characters, never expecting them to be perfect but never judging them either.