The Bad News Bears

The Bad News Bears. 1976 Paramount Pictures.
Starring: Walter Matthau, Tatum O'Neal, Chris Barnes, Vic Morrow, Jackie Earle Haley, Joyce Van Patten, Quinn Smith, Brett Marx, Brandon Cruz
Director: Michael Ritchie
Buy the original movie from Amazon.

Former minor league pitcher, pool cleaner, and professional alcoholic Morris Buttermaker (Matthau) becomes a coach of a terrible Little League team called the Bears. The Bears are only in this league because one of the fathers sued the league to allow the Bears (he intended the suit to benefit just his son) to play. Morris finds that his kids are mostly social misfits with limited skills at baseball. Buttermaker even passes out drunk during one early practice session. At first, the Bears routinely get creamed by the other teams, and the players' parents demand that the team disband to save their kids any further humiliation.

Morris agrees to disagree, and brings in two new players. Amanda Whurlizer (O'Neal) is the eleven-year-old daughter of one of Buttermaker's old girlfriends, and she has some decent pitching skills. The coach also notices that local cigarette smoking troublemaker and future Rorschach player Kelly Leak (Haley) has a decent throwing arm, whenever he's not trashing baseball fields with his motorcycle. The Bears start winning games, and make it to the championship game against the Yankees, coached by competitive Roy Turner (Morrow), who isn't above striking his own son, pitcher Joey (Cruz) whenever his performance isn't to his dad's standards.

Good movie, and not just because the young actors have the foulest mouths you've ever heard. Recommended.