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Bad News Bears

Bad News Bears

Comedy · 2005

Morris Buttermaker is a burned-out minor league baseball player who loves to drink and can't keep his hands to himself. His long-suffering lawyer arranges for him to manage a local Little League team, and Buttermaker soon finds himself the head of a rag-tag group of misfit players. Through unconventional team-building exercises and his offbeat coaching style, Buttermaker helps his hapless Bears prepare to meet their rivals, the Yankees.

Movie details

Bad News Bears

“Baseball has rules. Meet the exceptions.”

2005 Comedy 1h 53m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

5.8 / 10

Community rating

Morris Buttermaker is a burned-out minor league baseball player who loves to drink and can't keep his hands to himself. His long-suffering lawyer arranges for him to manage a local Little League team, and Buttermaker soon finds himself the head of a rag-tag group of misfit players. Through unconventional team-building exercises and his offbeat coaching style, Buttermaker helps his hapless Bears prepare to meet their rivals, the Yankees.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Bad News Bears?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Richard Linklater

Written by

Bill Lancaster · Glenn Ficarra · John Requa

Billy Bob Thornton

Billy Bob Thornton

Morris Buttermaker

Greg Kinnear

Greg Kinnear

Roy Bullock

Marcia Gay Harden

Marcia Gay Harden

Liz Whitewood

Sammi Kane Kraft

Sammi Kane Kraft

Amanda Whurlitzer

Ridge Canipe

Ridge Canipe

Toby Whitewood

Brandon Craggs

Brandon Craggs

Mike Engelberg

Jeffrey Davies

Jeffrey Davies

Kelly Leak

Court is in session

Put Bad News Bears on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Popcorn Loyalist

“It owes the canon nothing.”

The movie pursues immediacy and audience pleasure without begging institutions to certify its worth.

The prosecution The Big-Idea Head

“Easy pleasure, short half-life.”

It moves efficiently through the moment but offers little reason to keep arguing once the credits end.