Why It Ranks
The Bad News Bears invented the misfit-team sports comedy. Matthau's Buttermaker is the original reluctant coach. The film's refusal to deliver a fairy-tale ending gives it integrity. It spawned two sequels, a TV series, and countless imitators.
The Film
The Bad News Bears is the original misfit-team comedy — Walter Matthau as a beer-swilling, pool-cleaning coach who leads the worst Little League team in the San Fernando Valley. Unlike its many imitators, the film has a sharp, cynical edge. The kids swear, the adults are selfish, and the team does not win the championship. It is the anti-Disney sports film, and it is brilliant.
Fun Facts
Tatum O'Neal was 12 years old and already an Oscar winner when she made the film.
Walter Matthau drank real beer during filming, insisting it looked more natural than prop beer.
The film's cynical tone was considered groundbreaking for a 'kids' movie in 1976.
Jackie Earle Haley, who played Kelly Leak, returned to acting decades later in Watchmen.
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