Bad News Bears, The (2005)

2005 vs. 1976, by Robert Braxton

I should preface this review with my rating of the 1976 original (and still champ'een).
The original was cleverly witty (Walter Matthau), unpredictable (our heroes lose!), and heartfelt (the scene with Matthau and Tatum O'Neal's tears (although fake) streaming down her broken-hearted face pure magic.
The original, not perfect, was akwardly edited in places and hardly seamless. But, an original story and well acted, even by the kids in it.
At least 3 stars, no question.

On to 2005.
This one suprisingly stayed very true to the original storyline, and made a lot of necessary small fixes that a real fan would notice & appreciate. I.e., the kid playing Kelly Leak looks like he can really play ball (even if he did turn 16 today), and the Yankees at the end ALL get trophies (as is almost always the case in youth sports, even in the 70's). Tanner & Engelbert are funny as ever in this version, if not funnier.
However, there are MAJOR flaws in this seemingly sincere remake-effort.
Some major ball-dropping on the Direction in the following areas:
1. The girl is a TOTAL miscast. No emotion, and the biggest scene in the movie is non-existant & massively dissapointing.
2. Billy Bob Thornton is good but its not funny when Buttermaker cusses; (especially every 5 seconds). Kids cussing is hilarious; adults cussing is just awkward and embarrassing.
3. The kid playing Lupus is another horrible miscast. I know he's just a kid, but the acting is not there at all and the Casting Director should have been fired at this point for certain.

All the kids & cast could have used better Direction.
Despite that, Greg Kinnear was his usual talented self adding a LOT to the movie when he could.

Bottom-line...disappointment.
What could have been and SHOULD have been a very satisfying remake ends up falling very flat. At the (predictable) end, I didn't even care about anyone associated with the Bears.
2 stars, and that's being nice (for nostalgia's sake).