this story’s down-and-out Jason, an ex-Greek hero with sciatica and a hangover, Walter Matthau is superb; it is to my mind one of his better roles in a long, distinguished career. And with the Bears, that foul-mouthed group of pint-sized Argonauts, director Michael Ritchie treats us to some of the finest sketches of pre-teen suburban dysfunction ever put on film.
To compete for the Little League trophy, Walter and the gang must fight over-involved parents, small minds, and big time Cyclopes, including Vic Morrow as the opposing coach — whom I
still
have nightmares about! And yet the quest these no-names are on is as noble and real as any ancient mythmaker ever put to papyrus: the search for dignity. In the end, the Bears will learn it’s not the trophy, it’s the journey that makes us heroes. Walter and his peewee players will discover that love and friendship of the team trumps gold every time.
GF Type: Sports Fleece
GF Cousins:
The Longest Yard, Slap Shot, Rocky, Major League, Hoosiers, A League of Their Own, Cool Runnings, The Mighty Ducks, Remember the Titans, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
THE BAD NEWS BEARS
Screenplay by
Bill Lancaster
Opening Image: A baseball field watered in preparation for the new season. Morris Buttermaker (Walter Matthau) arrives in a beat-up Cadillac. Walter looks tired; he grabs a beer and spikes it with something stronger, as Kelly Leak (Jackie Earle Haley) watches. Jackie Earle will be key later, but for now he’s a stranger who lights Walter’s cigar. A child shall lead them — or at least have a handy Zippo.
Theme Stated: Walter meets with the parent hiring him to coach the team. A politician, the man says: “I think we’re doing a really fine thing.” Are we? We’ll find out.
Set-Up: The team Walter is guiding has sued to be included. As their coach, Walter gets the brunt of the disdain from the parents who run the league. Of these, Roy Turner (Vic Morrow) is the draconian Yankees’ head, and Joyce Van Patten is the power-mad “Cleveland.” Walter is tossed the rule book and meets his team. They are a collection of misfits, each with a peculiar “Limp and Eyepatch,” each less talented than the last — and each with an unusual “skill” Walter doesn’t have. Tanner is “the mouth” whose racial epithets are hair-curling; Engleberg is “the gut” who can’t stop eating; Ogilvie is “the brain” who knows baseball statistics but can’t play for beans; and Lupus is “the heart” who — though a “booger-eating spaz” according to Tanner — will be worth protecting.
Catalyst: The season starts. At the league kickoff dinner at the local Pizza Hut, Walter is told he better get on the stick. He needs to get the kids’ uniforms. Walter rues the day he agreed to take the job, but now it’s too late to turn back.
Debate: Or is it? Walter half-heartedly “coaches” the team, but mostly he drinks and has the boys cleaning pools for him. On opening day the results are clear: The Bears’ game against theYankees is a disaster. Yankees’ coach Vic emerges as the bad guy — and dark opposite of Walter. In the overall scheme of things, it’s just a game, but the tragic look on Walter’s face while the Bears are embarrassed reveals more. As a metaphor for his life, the loss is a reflection of longtime failure. The humiliation is so bad, one of his team, a Hank Aaron wannabe, Ahmad, runs off the field, strips out of his uniform, and climbs a tall tree (ironically, the exact same reaction I had the day
Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot
came out).
Break into Two: In the aftermath of the game, Walter realizes what he’s done, but does he have the guts to take responsibility? He’s given an out when he’s “fired,” but he won’t give up. This “quitting thing” is a hard habit to break, he tells the boys, then yells at them. Walter is coming alive.
B Story: We meet Amanda Whurlitzer (Tatum O’Neal). The long-lost girl phenom with the great curve ball is
To compete for the Little League trophy, Walter and the gang must fight over-involved parents, small minds, and big time Cyclopes, including Vic Morrow as the opposing coach — whom I
still
have nightmares about! And yet the quest these no-names are on is as noble and real as any ancient mythmaker ever put to papyrus: the search for dignity. In the end, the Bears will learn it’s not the trophy, it’s the journey that makes us heroes. Walter and his peewee players will discover that love and friendship of the team trumps gold every time.
GF Type: Sports Fleece
GF Cousins:
The Longest Yard, Slap Shot, Rocky, Major League, Hoosiers, A League of Their Own, Cool Runnings, The Mighty Ducks, Remember the Titans, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
THE BAD NEWS BEARS
Screenplay by
Bill Lancaster
Opening Image: A baseball field watered in preparation for the new season. Morris Buttermaker (Walter Matthau) arrives in a beat-up Cadillac. Walter looks tired; he grabs a beer and spikes it with something stronger, as Kelly Leak (Jackie Earle Haley) watches. Jackie Earle will be key later, but for now he’s a stranger who lights Walter’s cigar. A child shall lead them — or at least have a handy Zippo.
Theme Stated: Walter meets with the parent hiring him to coach the team. A politician, the man says: “I think we’re doing a really fine thing.” Are we? We’ll find out.
Set-Up: The team Walter is guiding has sued to be included. As their coach, Walter gets the brunt of the disdain from the parents who run the league. Of these, Roy Turner (Vic Morrow) is the draconian Yankees’ head, and Joyce Van Patten is the power-mad “Cleveland.” Walter is tossed the rule book and meets his team. They are a collection of misfits, each with a peculiar “Limp and Eyepatch,” each less talented than the last — and each with an unusual “skill” Walter doesn’t have. Tanner is “the mouth” whose racial epithets are hair-curling; Engleberg is “the gut” who can’t stop eating; Ogilvie is “the brain” who knows baseball statistics but can’t play for beans; and Lupus is “the heart” who — though a “booger-eating spaz” according to Tanner — will be worth protecting.
Catalyst: The season starts. At the league kickoff dinner at the local Pizza Hut, Walter is told he better get on the stick. He needs to get the kids’ uniforms. Walter rues the day he agreed to take the job, but now it’s too late to turn back.
Debate: Or is it? Walter half-heartedly “coaches” the team, but mostly he drinks and has the boys cleaning pools for him. On opening day the results are clear: The Bears’ game against theYankees is a disaster. Yankees’ coach Vic emerges as the bad guy — and dark opposite of Walter. In the overall scheme of things, it’s just a game, but the tragic look on Walter’s face while the Bears are embarrassed reveals more. As a metaphor for his life, the loss is a reflection of longtime failure. The humiliation is so bad, one of his team, a Hank Aaron wannabe, Ahmad, runs off the field, strips out of his uniform, and climbs a tall tree (ironically, the exact same reaction I had the day
Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot
came out).
Break into Two: In the aftermath of the game, Walter realizes what he’s done, but does he have the guts to take responsibility? He’s given an out when he’s “fired,” but he won’t give up. This “quitting thing” is a hard habit to break, he tells the boys, then yells at them. Walter is coming alive.
B Story: We meet Amanda Whurlitzer (Tatum O’Neal). The long-lost girl phenom with the great curve ball is
Similar Books
