Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that there is profanity and some very bad behavior on display here (kids smoke, gamble, and ride motorcycles). During the end celebration, the coach gives beer to the eleven-year-olds. One character is an alcoholic. The parents push their kids to win at all costs, and the kids are often bratty and mean.
Families can talk about sportsmanship and about the pressure that kids who play sports often feel. They might also want to discuss the questionable behavior that goes on here (the smoking, drinking, name-calling, etc.)
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Todd S. Yellin
A boozing former baseball player leads a bunch of little league underdogs to the championship game. This thrilling, funny, and, at times, poignant baseball film reflects the taboo-testing 1970's. Though edgy, particularly when adults push their kids to win at all costs, BAD NEWS BEARS is a winner with a tremendous amount of heart.
Ex-minor leaguer Morris Buttermaker (Walter Matthau) spikes his beer with liquor before taking a check to manage a little league baseball team. An assortment of misfits, the Bears share one thing: they're all terrible players. At first, Buttermaker cares little for them. But after the boys get humiliated, he recruits secret weapon number one. More interested in ballet than baseball, Amanda (Tatum O'Neal), throws a knee-buckling curve. With Amanda pitching, and the others improving, the Bears gain respectability.
For an eleven-year-old, Harley-riding Kelly (Jackie Earle Haley) wields a Ruthian bat. After this local hood joins, the Bears become contenders. In the finals they play the Yankees, whose manager (Vic Morrow) mercilessly drives his players. Caught up in the competition, Buttermaker mistreats his team, until he realizes that they're only children playing a game. In the end, though the Bears lose, they regain their pride as Buttermaker tastes redemption.
A Rocky-style sports movie packed with thrills, THE BAD NEWS BEARS maintains a level of intelligence that its knock offs, like The Mighty Ducks, can't approach. This movie never condescends as it unblinkingly portrays the not always wholesome world of little league baseball. It's a world where children often brutalize the less skilled while parents insensitively encourage this cutthroat attitude. This theme of adults relentlessly pushing their offspring to succeed, usually more for themselves, is far too recognizable, and can lead to a fruitful conversation with your own children.
Besides this cold dose of reality, the movie also offers a steady supply of laughter. Much of it comes from the colorful collection of characters on the team, ranging from the feisty, undersized Tanner Boyle (Chris Barnes) to the too cool Kelly Leak. Not surprisingly, even more humor emanates from master curmudgeon Walter Matthau and his lively interplay with Tatum O'Neal. O'Neal creates an emotionally rich character who hides her need for a father behind a veneer of precocious independence. The refusal of both stars to appear in the two sequels, partly accounts for the drop off in quality.
If you're looking for another quality sports movie with a softer center, then you might want to check out the football/teen romance Lucas, which happens to include Winona Ryder's debut performance.
Rate It!
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Sexual ContentFemale maturation comes up. |
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ViolenceChildren frequently scuffle. Father slaps son. Coach throws things at his players (including a can of beer). |
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LanguageNo f-word, but almost everything else. Adults and children use extensive profanity --- true to life but potentially offensive. One boy spouts racial epithets (though he isn't really a racist). |
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Social BehaviorLots of bad behavior all around. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoThe star eleven-year-old player smokes. During the end celebration, the coach gives beer to the eleven-year-olds. |
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