THE BAD NEWS BEARS (1976)—TCM is celebrating the work of Walter Matthau for Summer under the Stars; one of the featured films was THE BAD NEWS BEARS. What a great movie! Where were you in 1976? When I think back, for me, 1976 represents a seminal year, I was eighteen, I had just finished high-school, and I was preparing to enroll in Michigan State Technical School. 1976 was also the year Jodie Foster received her Best Supporting Oscar nomination for her portrayal of a twelve-year-old prostitute in Taxi Driver. Jodie didn’t win that year, she lost to Beatrice Strait. POP QUIZ, what was the name of the movie? * 1976 was also the year of Rocky, All the Presidents Men, A Star is Born and Network.
The Bad News Bears, directed by Michael Richie tells the story of an aging, down-on-his-luck ex-minor leaguer Morris Buttermaker (Walter Matthau) a beer swilling, cigar chomping pool cleaner who agrees to coach a bunch of eclectic pre-teen misfits whose penchant for elementary school high jinks is only exceeded by their seemingly boundless maladroit lack of baseball ability. All the usual archetypes are brilliantly portrayed by the then unknown cast. There is your clichéd fat kid with the loud mouth, the shrimp with a hot temper, Alfred Lutter, from Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, as the know-it-all smart kid, the nerdy Jewish kid (complete with glasses), the African-American kid who wants to be “Just like Hank Aaron” and then there’s Kelly Leak, (Jackie Earl-Haley) the local bad-boy who rides a motor-cycle and smokes Marlboros.
While Buttermaker may be a poor excuse for a little league baseball coach, The Bears don’t give him much to work with. I think Tanner Boyle summed it up best in one of the movie’s classic politically incorrect lines: “What do you expect? All we got on this team . . . is a bunch of Jews, spics, niggers, pansies . . . and a booger-eating moron.” The Bears loose their first game in appalling fashion; all while Buttermaker drinks himself into oblivion he hardly even notices. After seeing the kids humiliated—and after being insulted one-too-many times himself by the arrogant Yankee coach Turner (Vic Morrow)—Buttermaker decides to pull out all the stops. He reveals his secret weapon: his former girlfriend’s eleven-year-old daughter Amanda Wurlitzer (Tatum O’Neal). Amanda is a pitching ace, as Buttermaker tells it, “The best pitch I ever taught her was the curve ball . . . not only a curve ball, but the most tantalizing knuckle ball you ever saw in your life.”
Tatum O’Neal . . . (my god, I had such a crush on her!) In her first screen role since winning the Oscar for Best Supporting actress for her portrayal of Addie Pray, the worldly-wise eleven-year-old shyster in Paper Moon. Tatum has the most to prove, while Amanda Wurlitzer is no Lady Macbeth, Buttermaker’s relationship with Amanda remains complex. Amanda cooly trys to win his affection, Buttermaker, adamantly refuses to admit how much he cares about her, even when she practically begs him . . . In one particularly memorable scene Buttermaker splashes beer in her face; I’ll have to say to anyone who thinks Tatum O’Neal can’t act, this scene is required viewing.
Tatum O’Neal . . . (my god, I had such a crush on her!) In her first screen role since winning the Oscar for Best Supporting actress for her portrayal of Addie Pray, the worldly-wise eleven-year-old shyster in Paper Moon. Tatum has the most to prove, while Amanda Wurlitzer is no Lady Macbeth, Buttermaker’s relationship with Amanda remains complex. Amanda cooly trys to win his affection, Buttermaker, adamantly refuses to admit how much he cares about her, even when she practically begs him . . . In one particularly memorable scene Buttermaker splashes beer in her face; I’ll have to say to anyone who thinks Tatum O’Neal can’t act, this scene is required viewing.
Even with Amanda’s ninety-mile-an-hour fast ball on board, the Bear’s can’t win if they can’t score. There is one more piece of the puzzle and it’s left to Amanda to use her pre-teen feminine wiles to snare local bad boy and top athlete Kelly Leak. Now with a batting offence and competent outfield, the Bears make a serious challenge for first place and end up in the play-offs against the hated Yankees.
There are many things to like about this film, the music, the script by Bill Lancaster, but ultimately I think the most important aspect is the film’s unflinching, unapologetic look at the underbelly of little league baseball. This is no Disney movie, the film is refreshingly unsentimental. When the story starts the kids dislike Matthau and he dislikes them, he’s a bum. By the story’s end, they still aren’t wild about each other, he’s still a bum, but they’ve developed a mutual respect. In the final reel, the Bear’s loose the championship, no sad faces here, there’s beer for everyone! The arrogant Yankee’s make a pathetic attempt to rub the loss in the Bear’s face. The Bears remain undefeated. Once again it’s spunky Tanner Boyle who delivers the films classic closing line: “Hey, Yankees! You can take your apology and your trophy, and shove it straight up your ass!”
There are many things to like about this film, the music, the script by Bill Lancaster, but ultimately I think the most important aspect is the film’s unflinching, unapologetic look at the underbelly of little league baseball. This is no Disney movie, the film is refreshingly unsentimental. When the story starts the kids dislike Matthau and he dislikes them, he’s a bum. By the story’s end, they still aren’t wild about each other, he’s still a bum, but they’ve developed a mutual respect. In the final reel, the Bear’s loose the championship, no sad faces here, there’s beer for everyone! The arrogant Yankee’s make a pathetic attempt to rub the loss in the Bear’s face. The Bears remain undefeated. Once again it’s spunky Tanner Boyle who delivers the films classic closing line: “Hey, Yankees! You can take your apology and your trophy, and shove it straight up your ass!”
* “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!”
—Peter Finch, NETWORK (1976)
The Bad News Bears (1976) ****
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