Rent Bad News Bears (2005)

Not half as good as the original - Bad News Bears review by CP Customer

The basic plot of 'Bad News Bears' revolves around a group of young misfit boys on a losing little league baseball team who get an alcoholic coach who eventually cleans up their act, and his own. Anyone who loved the1976 Michael Ritchie original will watch this remake with horror. For every new ingredient added to the film, (a kid in a wheelchair, Hooters waitresses on the sidelines, and a skate band musical interlude), there's a classic sequence dropped, funny lines omitted, coupled with a cast of uncharismatic child actors. Billy Bob Thornton is a terrific substitute for the original films coach played by Walter Matthau, but the trouble is that the film relies too heavily on Thornton's character to carry the film. It totally misses the point that what made the original so good was that is was about a group of misfits coming together, not just focusing on one individual character. Overall this is a film that lacks the characters, the story, and the laughs of the original. If you're a Billy Bob Thornton fan then obviously you'll want to see this film, but if you're not, rent the 1976 version and enjoy the original for what it is.