Bad News Bears (1976)
Last Watch Date - April 7, 2026
Total Times Watched - Twice
Comments
It's been years since I saw this last. Decades even! But I heard Rich Eisen mention it on his show and thought "you know what, I'm going to see if it's like I remember."
You see, he mentions how it's from "a different time" and how his kids were shocked by it. What's funny is that it felt very similar to my own time in little league in the early 90s. We didn't have enough people to have as many slurs as this movie, but if we did, you bet they would've been saying them all over.
That said, it is absolutely different than when my own kids were in little league 5-8ish years ago. Baseball is pretty big here (note: this is a different area than where I played as a kid), but it's also very sanitized in comparison to when I played. I think there's more attention to how people come off, how the kids talk, and how the coaches talk to the players. I had a woman coach one of my teams who was very much like "I want you boys to have fun!!!" all the time. We weren't great, obviously, but she was super nice. I hope she's doing well.
Back to this movie! It's a pretty solid kids baseball movie. The underdog-turned-competitive team trope is strong on this one, but it does at least end with them losing. I would say spoiler but this movie is 50 years old, so deal with it.
The kid actors are pretty good in this. Who would've thought the kid who rode a motorcycle around the field would turn into a child rapist/murderer who was burnt to death by his town, only to return in their dreams in a remake of a classic!! Tatum O'Neal was good as well. Also the little kid with an attitude, he was funny. Walter Matthau was exactly what I remembered him as. I feel like my grandfather kind of looked like him at times and probably had a similar attitude without the drinking.
If anything, it's a touch long at 1 hour 42 minutes. This is pre-never-ending credits, so it actually does go about that long.
Recommended?
Yeah it's a classic baseball movie.
