- Film Review
- Reviewed By Stella Papamichael
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3 out of 5
Billy Bob Thornton steps up to bat (and into Walter Matthau's shoes) as grouchy Coach Buttermaker, in Richard Linklater's remake of the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears. Linklater's film is faithful to the source but delightfully disrespectful in every other way - evoking a similar mood of mischief to his 2003 hit The School of Rock. Not surprisingly, this story of an alcoholic ex-baseball pro who's hired to coach a motley team of kids is very formulaic and, as the competitive stakes are raised, the clichés come thick and fast. But, as in Bad Santa, it's impossible not to laugh at Thornton's outrageous antics and stinging one-liners - and his laissez-faire lout does provide the movie's freshest moments. Even after getting drunk and battering the kids with poorly pitched balls, his slovenly charm wins through. Among his young co-stars, newcomer Troy Gentile makes a great comic foil as a wheelchair-using whiner. But there's no doubt who the key hitter is in this line-up.
Plot Summary
Comedy starring Billy Bob Thornton and Greg Kinnear. Failed major-league baseball pro Morris Buttermaker - now a boozing pest control man - is persuaded to coach the Bears, a junior team with a losing streak. Can he train them in time to take on their arch-rivals the Yankees and their overbearing coach?
Cast and crew
Cast
- Morris Buttermaker
- Billy Bob Thornton
- Roy Bullock
- Greg Kinnear
- Liz Whitewood
- Marcia Gay Harden
- Amanda Whurlitzer
- Sammi Kane Kraft
- Kelly Leak
- Jeffrey Davies
- Tanner Boyle
- Timmy Deters
- Mike Engelberg
- Brandon Craggs
- Toby Whitewood
- Ridge Canipe
- Timmy Lupus
- Tyler Patrick Jones
- Prem Lahiri
- Aman Johal
- Matthew Hooper
- Troy Gentile
- Miguel Agilar
- Carlos Estrada
- Jose Agilar
- Emmanuel Estrada
Crew
- Director
- Richard Linklater
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