badnewsbears05

I like Billy Bob Thorton. I do. But lately, I can't seem to get into his movie choices. I didn't like "Bad
Santa" and the fact that they came out with a home video version of "Badder Santa" didn't improve
my opinion. This movie is done in the same style. It's masked as a children's movie, but comes
across as cold and needlessly vulgar.

The story is the same as any other little league sports movie. A washed up has-been gets
assigned to coach a team of horrible players and somehow turns them into pros. "The Mighty
Ducks," "Hardball," "Ladybugs"...All have the same set up. This movie has a bunch of kids that
have been cut from the other little league teams and include a massively overweight kid on Atkins,
two kids who don't speak English and a kid in a wheelchair. Somehow, this drunk dead beat,
played by Thorton, rallies his team to victory upon victory. At least they sort of use reality since he
recruits his daughter to be the pitcher and a local misfit to play basically all the other positions.
These two are supposedly the same ages as the rest of them, but... I don't know.

Anyway, these two lead the team so that the Bears can play in the championship against the
Yankees led by their coach, played by Greg Kinnear. Kinnear is the only one in the film who keeps
his line deliveries in the realm of a children's film. He does the kind of over-the-top ridiculous things
that kids like to see adults do in movies. However, he's the only one who does it so it makes this
good actor seem like he's mentally challenged.

There are supposed to be some touching moments between Thorton and his pitcher daughter, but
they come across kind of dirty and only occasionally humorous. My biggest objection to the whole
film happens at the end when, to celebrate their moral victory over the Yankees, Thorton gives
them all beer to celebrate. Don't worry...it's non-alcoholic beer...but wait...non-alcoholic beer still
has a percentage of alcohol in it. That's why kids can't order it in restaurants. So...he's still giving
them beer, it's just a little more watery than normal beer. And no one else in the movie seems to
bat an eye at it. I don't know. I think it would have been funnier if he'd have just given them the
beer as opposed to trying to make the audience think he'd changed from the beginning of the
movie... Whatever. If you want to see this movie for a couple (and only a couple) of laughs...be my
guest. But don't bring your kids to see it.