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The Diva's review of
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WARNING - SPOILERS BELOW.
The Digest
Morris Buttermaker’s (Billy Bob Thornton) only real claim to fame is the 3 minutes he spent on the mound in a professional Baseball game. Since that time he has drank himself into an oblivion. He runs (barely) a pest control company but generally is too drunk to do a good job.
He is given the chance for redemption – if he can stay sober- when he is approached by “SuperMom”, Liz Whitewood ( Marcia Gay Harden) who approaches him to coach her sons little league team. There is something a little different about this team, though. The team is made up of kids who didn’t make it on the other teams.
One would think that the seriousness of this task would be enough to make Buttermaker straighten up and fly right. It does not. He even gets a stripe joint to sponsor the team. It’s the competition of an upper crust and hoity-toity coach in the name of Roy Bullock (Greg Kinnear). Spurred on by Bullock, Buttermaker is determined to turn his team around. He brings in bad boy Kelly, a delinquent who can knock the ball out of the park and Amanda, the daughter of a former girlfriend, but an ace pitcher who can bring the heat.
But they have to figure out which is more important – winning or building up self confidence and learning to be part of a team.
The Dish
Bad News Bears was one of my favorite movies when I was a kid. After watching the movie, I insisted on playing softball and I did, I was short stop and second base and my team had yellow and white uniforms just like The Bears. Having such a memorable history with this movie, I had reservations about it being remade. No one could fill the shoes of Walter Matthau or Tatum O’Neal, in my opinion. And I think Billy Bob knew that and didn’t even try and neither did you young woman playing Amanda. I thankful for this more than I can express. But as different from the original that it was, it’s the same. And it was some of the sameness that I loved – those potty-mouthed little boys. I felt like I was a kid again with the feeling of secret naughtiness
of hearing little kids cuss like sailors.
Billy Bob was freakin’ hilarious and convincing as someone who selfishly and almost criminally apathetic. Marcia captured a woman trying to do it all, yet wanting to throw caution to the wind. And Greg Kinnear was able to put his finger on someone who has this will put together persona that he shows the world, yet underneath he is a volcano waiting to explode.
The Directive
I really enjoyed this movie, but please understand that it is not for young kids despite what the rating says. The language is a bit too adult for the young ones. Leave it to your discreition, but the closer to age 13, the better.
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Rated PG-13; running time of 1 hour and 51 minutes 
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3BlackChicks™ review(s) for this week: (movies reviewed 07-22-05): |
The Diva's reviews:
The Devil’s Rejects | The Bad News Bears |Hustle and Flow|The Island
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