Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

The Bad News Bears Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman April 2, 2021

It's about the wins and it's about the losses but there's more to baseball beyond the scoreboard's final tallies and the season standings. Baseball is about competitiveness, yes, but also about having fun. But what happens when the former becomes so overpowering that the latter is erased, or all but dwarfed, from the equation? Perhaps the two worst outcomes for a baseball team is to, first, play so poorly as to not just be humbled by a better team but humiliated by a better team and, second, to play without joy when winning becomes everything and the "play" is removed from "play ball." In The Bad News Bears, the title ballclub experiences both ends -- the scoreboard crushing defeats and the soul-crushing drive to win at any and all costs -- that the joy of the game, the real reason to take the field, is lost on the players. Director Michael Ritchie's (Fletch, The Golden Child) 1976 film is a baseball classic that isn't so much concerned with the humor of a losing team and the drunkard manager leading the way but rather the consequences on malleable souls who are embarrassed to lose but aren't allowed to have fun when the wins start piling up, either.

Morris Buttermaker (Walter Matthau), once a Major League pitcher (who struck out Ted Williams in spring training), is now a pool cleaner by trade and an insatiable cigar, beer, and booze enthusiast by every waking hour. He’s also the coach of the Bears, a local little league team that can barely lace up their shoes properly never mind play competitive ball, and certainly forget about winning a game. His players are lazy, unmotivated, and not really all that good at the game of baseball. Likewise, he’s not particularly interested in investing in the kids or the team, whether that’s instructing them in the fundamentals or finding a sponsor for the jerseys. Most of the kids know they are no good at baseball but they still love the game and playing it with one another. Rather than be humiliated on the field, or work to play at a more respectable level, they’re more interested in hearing coach’s stories from his playing days and Morris is more than happy to oblige.

When the Bears are crushed in their first game – in the top of the first inning of the first game they find themselves down by a couple dozen runs -- Buttermaker calls for a forfeit. But then, something changes. The team, humiliated to have not even earned a turn at-bat, decides to take practice a little more seriously. And they improve. They only lose their next game 18-0, and they are no-hit, but at least they finished the game. If the Bears are to have any chance to be competitive and, just maybe, win the league championship, the club will need an infusion of new talent, and Morris brings in two little league “free agents:” ace pitcher Amanda Whurlitzer (Tatum O'Neal) with whom he has personal and baseball familiarity, and slugging and athletic outfielder Kelly Leak (Jackie Earle Haley). The team begins to win, even if it’s on the backs of their two new players, but can the Bears rally around the call to win at all costs or would they really rather just play and have fun no matter the outcome at the end?

One of the key reasons that The Bad News Bears played so well then and continues to play well now is a focus that is not on baseball but rather the human condition as reflected within the prism of baseball, and specifically the human condition as it's explored within the context of a child's perspective of winning and losing. At first, the players are despondent that they're no good, that they can't even play with the other teams, never mind play competitively. And their coach's dour, nonchalant-at-best attitude is certainly no help. Their role model for success in life is a man whose former glory has faded into the shell of the person he once was, now defined by alcoholism rather than athleticism. But then things change, the team starts to win, and winning becomes more important than learning the fundamentals. Partway through the film Morris attempts to teach the kids how to get down on one knee to field a ground ball. It's a simple technique that actually helps the kids improve their play. Good stuff. That's contrasted with the bookends where, at first, he doesn't care, and later, when he cares so much that he becomes "that coach" that all the kids, on the Bears or not, despise, someone who has eliminated the human element, and the youthful exuberance, from the game in favor of a win-at-all-costs mentality. This is the film in a nutshell, exploring what is essentially a life metaphor ebb-and-flow sine curve of failure begetting work to succeed and that work replacing the fun until spirits dwindle and it's back down to the valley from the summit. But there's something to learn about life at the bottom, too, and it's there that the movie is arguably at its most valuable.

Casting is excellent in the film. The Bears team gels together and the script manages to make nearly every team member identifiable, even somewhat cliché, while still retaining unique personality. Certainly Amanda and Kelly are the most thoroughly defined, if themselves not walking and talking examples of trite character molding, but the feel for team and real life people through the disparate personalities is one of the film's richest, and best, assets. Matthau is superb in the lead, a natural fit for a character whose better days are behind him and maybe with the worst yet to come. But he embodies Morris Buttermaker with seamless realism from the way he physically carries himself to the personality evolution from detached coach to overzealous, win-at-all-costs monster. It's easily one of the best works in his career.

The Bad News Bears Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Paramount continues its streak of Blu-ray excellence with The Bad News Bears. The 1080p transfer is a delight. The picture is densely, but naturally, grainy. There's no evidence of unwanted or unwarranted digital scrubbing here to lessen the effect. The picture appears very accurate to the source and consistently pleasing to the eye. Textures are resultantly sharp across the board, including basics like skin close-ups and clothes but also extending to the dirt and grass on the ballfield, little imperfections and points of wear in the dugouts, the scoreboard, and a few other choice locales seen throughout the film, like an arcade seen midway through. Color output is steady and pleasing. Depth is efficient and contrast is neutral. There's nice tonal output on green grass, the various team uniforms as well as civilian clothes, and the like. Skin tones are healthy and black levels satisfy. There's not much else going on here. The print is free of serious blemish and there are no encode problems of note. Fans are going to be thrilled with this one.

The Bad News Bears Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Bad News Bears' Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack can't get the ball out of the infield: literally. Despite the 5.1 encoding this is more like a 3.0 track. There's essentially no surround implementation or obvious low end extension. Paramount's track keeps things neat and tidy along the front, and even in the various opportunities for obvious surround usage -- PA announcements throughout the film at the games (notably in chapter four as the season is about to kick off and later towards the end when there's an announcement made concerning the last game of the season) -- the track is quite content to maintain a front stage presence only. Of course these elements -- and add, maybe, some crowd noise and ballfield chatter at the games -- might have benefited from some back channel usage but even holding steady to the front three the capable width and clarity help to offset the almost literal absence of obvious surround sound. As noted, basic elemental clarity -- ranging from those same PA announcements and on-field chatter as well as music and several more intensive baseball action effects (bat hitting ball, sliding into base) -- is very good. And that's really about all this one has to offer. With dialogue clear and center focused the track holds serve quite nicely, and in the end that lack of surround usage isn't really an issue.

The Bad News Bears Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of The Bad News Bears contains four featurettes. A digital copy code is included with purchase. A DVD is not. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

• Sometimes You Lose: Kevin Smith on The Bad News Bears (1080p, 10:47): The acclaimed filmmaker discusses how this film, prior to Star Wars, was the film that defined his movie watching life. He discusses the excellence of the cast, the feel that the movie was made "by kids," his own little league experience, the film's character diversity and cast chemistry, favorite moments, the theme that it's OK to lose, the film's influences on his life and career, and his idea for a sequel. Smith is very well spoken and sincere here. What a gem of a featurette.
• Life Imitates Art: Jackie Earle Haley on The Bad News Bears (1080p, 7:26): The actor who played Kelly Leak reflects on his part in the film: auditions, smoking in the film, learning to ride a motorcycle, life on the set, baseball practice, working with Director Michael Ritchie and Walter Matthau, the movie's themes, and more.
• Get to the Finals: Producer Stanley Jaffe on The Bad News Bears (1080p, 7:44): Jaffe covers script rewrites, story themes and clashes with the studio, casting and performances, Ritchie's direction, and more.
• Shot on Super-8: Jackie Earle Haley's Home Movies (1080p, 2:47): The actor introduces some footage from his time on the set.

The Bad News Bears Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Bad News Bears has withstood the test of time as a classic of not just the "baseball" genre but for its sharp critique of extremes too often found in the world of little league sports: hopelessness and humiliation versus a win-at-all-costs mentality. The Bears experience both ends with a high in the middle in this stellar comedy/drama that's still relevant in 2021. Paramount's Blu-ray delivers video that's a rock, decent enough (if not fully front heavy) 5.1 lossless audio, and a few supplements. Highly recommended.