Bad News Bears (2005)
1h 53m | PG-13
Morris Buttermaker is a burned-out minor league baseball player who loves to drink and can't keep his hands to himself. His long-suffering lawyer arranges for him to manage a local Little League team, and Buttermaker soon finds himself the head of a rag-tag group of misfit players. Through unconventional team-building exercises and his offbeat coaching style, Buttermaker helps his hapless Bears prepare to meet their rivals, the Yankees.
Director: Richard Linklater
Studio: Media Talent Group
Genre: Comedy
Video: 720p
Cast
Billy Bob Thornton
as Morris Buttermaker
Greg Kinnear
as Roy Bullock
Marcia Gay Harden
as Liz Whitewood
Sammi Kane Kraft
as Amanda Whurlitzer
Ridge Canipe
as Toby Whitewood
Brandon Craggs
as Mike Engelberg
Reviews
Decent watch, probably won't watch again, and can recommend. I'm not a fan of baseball on any level, but this is a surprisingly charming movie, and Billy Bob Thorton is great with inappropriate humor. After this watch, I'm thinking this is from where "Benchwarmers" might have been inspired. I think it's more of the "misfits working together" trope that gets me, and you see it in lots of kids sports movies: "Kicking & Screaming", "The Sandlot", "Little Giants", "Mighty Ducks". This rolls in a lot of adult humor as well, so while you might have to have a few talks with your kids (which you should have had before watching a movie that would unexpectedly prompt them), but I think it's a movie that the whole family could actually watch. It's not great, but it was fun.
Good movie. Billy Bob Thornton doing what he does best being an a-hole. More coaches need to be like this guy lol.