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Bad News Bears (2005)

tomatometer

46

Average Rating: 5.7/10
Reviews Counted: 143
Fresh: 66 | Rotten: 77

This too-faithful remake aims low for laughs, turning off the easily offendable; despite another lovably irascible contribution by Thornton, it lacks the ensemble strength and originality of the 1976 version.

54

Average Rating: 5.9/10
Critic Reviews: 35
Fresh: 19 | Rotten: 16

This too-faithful remake aims low for laughs, turning off the easily offendable; despite another lovably irascible contribution by Thornton, it lacks the ensemble strength and originality of the 1976 version.

audience

55

liked it
Average Rating: 3.1/5
User Ratings: 73,881

My Rating

Movie Info

A washed-up ballplayer is put in charge of a pack of kids scarcely more mature than himself in this remake of the 1976 comedy hit. Morris Buttermaker (Billy Bob Thornton) is a former major league baseball player whose career and life has hit the skids thanks to his overwhelming fondness for booze and women. Needing a break, his lawyer (Marcia Gay Harden) arranges for Buttermaker to take on coaching responsibilities for the Bears, a Little League baseball team comprised of a handful of hapless

PG-13, 1 hr. 53 min.

Comedy

Glenn Ficarra, John Requa

Dec 13, 2005

$32.8M

Paramount Pictures

Cast

All Critics (152) | Top Critics (35) | Fresh (68) | Rotten (79) | DVD (18)

There are many lingerings over communal feelings other directors might pass through more quickly to get to the next giggle or guffaw more efficiently.

August 4, 2005 Full Review Source: New York Observer | Comment
New York Observer
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Billy Bob Thornton is the best weapon against cute that a kid baseball movie ever had.

July 28, 2005 Comment
Rolling Stone
Top Critic IconTop Critic

More irksome is the ordained focus on plot undulation and simplistic motivation, as if nobody remembered that the first film was a social satire.

July 26, 2005 Full Review Source: Village Voice | Comment (1)
Village Voice
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At least Linklater isn't just picking the bones of his forebears; he honors them as they deserve.

July 23, 2005 Full Review Source: Salon.com | Comment
Salon.com
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Fortunately, in the process of pursuing a box office winner, Linklater has crafted an entertaining motion picture.

July 23, 2005 Full Review Source: ReelViews | Comment
ReelViews
Top Critic IconTop Critic

But you don't watch Bad News Bears for the action out on the diamond. You hang out with that hangdog coach so you can catch every slurry, sour-mouthed retort coming out of his mouth. Now that's color commentary.

July 22, 2005 Full Review Source: Washington Post | Comment
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Thornton is the real reason to watch. He plays most of his scenes with an understated unrepentant scumbaggishsness that makes him easy to simultaneously hate and like. It's a tricky balance to pull off, but he manages it well.

January 7, 2011 Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net | Comment
ComingSoon.net

Linklater's "Bad News Bears" doesn't approach the giddy comedy of Ritchie's original, but it does inspire an attentive contemplation on the similarities and differences between adults and children in approaching the game of life.

June 21, 2009 Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | Comment
ColeSmithey.com

Scatological remake of a not-so-innocent movie.

July 24, 2008 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment
Common Sense Media

There are worse ways to spend an afternoon.

July 23, 2007 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | Comment
eFilmCritic.com

Bad News Bears is packed with laughs, but almost all of them are cheaply won

March 1, 2007 Full Review Source: Film Journal International | Comment
Film Journal International

I'm not sure why filmmakers think we want to see kids put into dark situations and berated with profanities by Billy Bob Thornton.

September 8, 2006 Comment (1)

...what should've been a fun and breezy comedy is ultimately transformed into an incredibly tedious ordeal...

July 15, 2006 Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | Comment
Reel Film Reviews

Ainda que esquemático, gera boas risadas graças à dinâmica entre Thornton e o elenco infantil.

December 25, 2005 Comment
Cinema em Cena

A potty-mouthed reconfiguration of a sports classic for our Bad Santa age. Funny stuff.

December 9, 2005 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | Comment
Slant Magazine

Too tame to attract now middle-aged viewers who remember the original and want to see Billy Bob Thornton play it like Bad Santa, it's still a little too raunchy to secure parental approval for pre-highschoolers.

December 2, 2005 Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | Comment
Urban Cinefile
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Bad News Bears

I enjoyed this remake of Bad News Bears, although not as memorable as the original, this film still has plenty of enjoyable crazy moments. The cast do a pretty good job and the film is pretty funny I very much enjoyed this film and it was lots of fun to watch. Billy Bob Thornton delivers a good comedic performance, and

October 1, 2011
TheDudeLebowski65
Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski

Super Reviewer

It was a good try and Thorton did a really great job as coach, but in the end its not as good as the original.

April 19, 2011
DreamExtractor
Brad Wright

Super Reviewer

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