The Bad News Bears (1976)

 In the 1970s, a golden era in American film making was taking place.  This era was sandwiched between the musicals and glamour films of the sixties and the blockbuster action/adventure hits of the 1980s.  While Spielberg was first tinkering with his mechanical shark, and Lucas constructing the Death Star, the last few gritty dramas and dark comedies were being made.  The Bad News Bears is one such film; a movie that is in my pantheon of great ones. 

 This was a time for actors; actors who could really make a character their own.  Enter Walter Matthau.  He’s not good in this, he’s great.  Matthau plays Morris Buttermaker, an alcoholic pool cleaner who was once a minor league pitcher.  Boilermaker, as he is known, has a passion for beer and baseball, in that order.    At the tail end of his middle-years and his life going nowhere, Boilermaker agrees to coach a little league baseball team.  You see, this team was added to the little league via a lawsuit.  Matthau’s character is hired to lead this talentless group of boys by the attorney who filed the lawsuit.  A disastrous season begins, and the Bears turn losing into an art-form. Then, Boilermaker reaches bottom, and decides he won’t go out like this.  His solution to this horrible baseball team?  An eleven-year-old girl, played by Tatum O’Neal, who can throw a killer breaking ball.

 O’Neal’s perforrmance equals that of Matthau.  In fact, Tatum O’Neal, who is the youngest recipient ever of the Oscar for Best Actress, gives her career performance in this film.  She is street-wise with the other kids, but naïve when it comes to Boilermaker.  She sees Boilermaker as a father figure, making her oblivious to the fact that he is using her to build a winning team.  And win, they do.  In fact, the Bears go from the worst team in the league to playing in the championship game. 

 The supporting cast in The Bad News Bears knocks it out of the park (sorry).  My dad always says that the villain makes the movie.  Vic Morrow, as Yankee’s manager Roy Turner, proves his point.  Roy Turner is that little league coach that we shake our head at.  In his mind, every game is the seventh game of the World Series.  And one day, if he wins enough little league championships, maybe his high school coach will adequately appreciate his baseball talent.  However, this villain is not cookie-cutter.  Morrow gives his character depth through an honest performance.  Watch for any dialog between him and Matthau: excellent tension.

 Who are the Bears?  While the other little league teams have respectable sponsors such as Pizza Hut, the Bears are backed by Chico’s Bail Bonds.  It’s your classic group of Misfit Toys; a formula which has been replicated in countless sports films.  However, these characters are authentic and interesting.   One of my favorite scenes is a dialog between Boilermaker and the Bear’s catcher; an overweight and opinionated kid named Engelberg.  Engelberg gets chocolate on a ball he hands to Boilermaker.  When the coach complains, Engelberg goes on an outrageously funny tirade.  Also, look for Tanner: a pint-size, blonde kid with a foul mouth and no fear.  While the kids are awesome, my favorite supporting character is the music.  A year before John Williams gave Star Wars a musical pulse, Jerry fielding brought passion and intensity to The Bad News Bears through his adaptation of Carmen.  Carmen is an opera written by Bizet in 1875.  Why would a baseball film set in the 1970s have a 19^th century, french score?  Because it’s awesome! 

 While these performances make the movie great, the movie’s feel keeps bringing me back for more.  This film is special because it is a portal to life as a suburban boy in the 1970s.  There were no play-dates.  Our parents drove station wagons and all of our phones had dials and cords.   Fast food wasn’t very fast, people only drank diet soda if they were actually on a diet, and beers were macro rather than micro brewed.  Life was fundamentally different from our society today.  My generation did not have helicopter parents.  They were more like long-range bombers.  No hovering; they showed up when needed and dealt with the issue at hand.  Our parents let life teach us lessons, and they were simply there to referee. 

 Therefore, there were two Americas: one for kids and one for adults, and rarely did the two intersect.  That’s what makes this film interesting; these previously disparate groups collide under the backdrop of our nation’s favorite pastime.  Even if you don’t think you like baseball, this film will grab you and take you on an intense ride.  Does boilermaker find redemption?  Do the Bears beat all odds and win the championship?  Grab a Tab, or your favorite mass-produced brew, and find out.

Aloha,

Mark

Film: The Bad News Bears

Director: Michael Ritchie

Year of Release: 1976

Genre: Drama/Comedy

Rating: 4 out of 4 Minivans

Why I Love Bob Costas

I love Bob Costas, I truly do.  This isn’t my first rodeo; I’ve had man-crushes before.  In fact, I’ve had several bromances over the years.  In chronological order: Lee Majors, Pele, the dude from Emergency (dark hair), Harrison Ford, Earl Campbell, Tom Selleck, Steve Largent, Luke Perry, Matt Hasselbeck, Duane “The Rock”  Johnson, Naveen Andrews.  They will always have a special place in my heart, but Bob is different; special.  First of all, Bob is a man, not a boy.  He brings sophistication and class to the table.  While I admire his maturity, I am amazed by his Dick Clark-like youthfulness.  Bob has not only found the Fountain of Youth, he regularly bathes in it. 

I don’t want to sell Bob short.  He is more than eye candy, he has substance.  Mr. Costas is what you call a great interviewer.  Exhibit A: The Lindsey Jacobellis interview at the 2006 Winter Olympics.  Bob was relentless in his questioning of Jacobellis over her showboating “method grab” that cost her the gold medal in the Women’s Snowboard Cross.  She initially told Bob that she grabbed the rail, “to maintain stability”, but he wasn’t buying what she was selling.  Exhibit B: The Michael Phelps interview early in the 2012 Summer Olympics.  Costas questioned Phelps’s conditioning after he had become the Greatest Olympian of all time.  Many people accused Bob of shaming Phelps, at a historic moment, when he should have been praised.  Sorry, please excuse Bob for doing his job, and not kissing up to the Great Michael Phelps.  Bob Costas is a journalist, and a journalist’s job is to ask tough questions.  Michael Phelps’s job is to eat 12,000 calories a day, look like a Muppet, and occasionally smoke ganja. 

The last thing I admire about Bob Costas is his cool.  His mood, like his quaff, never changes.  Bob’s voice is soothing and reassuring.  I could listen to him all day.  In fact, I would like Bob to follow me around and give the play-by-play of my day.  Then, at night, he could analyze my day and interview the people I interacted with.  I love Bob Costas, and I don’t care who knows it.  However, you have probably noticed that Bob doesn’t even know who I am.  That’s alright Bob; I have enough love for both of us.

King of Kong

I’m sick of the modern hero; conflicted and flawed.  Take Al Pacino in Heat: the gritty detective whose morals are indistinguishable from the criminal he is chasing.  Who wants to see that?  Call me old fashioned.  I like my heroes good and my villains evil.   Throughout cinematic history, we have enjoyed epic clashes between foes.  Vader/Kenobi, Ness/Capone, Drago/Balboa.  Add Mitchell/Wiebe to the list.  Who?  Bill Mitchell and Steve Wiebe are two middle-aged white guys who play classic video games, and in the process, provide us with clear insight into the human soul.  Sound made up?  Nope, it’s a documentary.  More evidence that reality is severely stranger than fiction. 

 Picture a Machiavellian Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon, only skinnier.  That’s Billy Mitchell, a video game champion from the early ‘80s.  He has nerves of steel, supreme dexterity, and a feathery mullet that would make Martin Riggs jealous.  Mitchell has held the top score in several classic video games including Pac Man and Donkey Kong.  In fact, his Donkey Kong score of 874,300 was regarded as unbeatable.  While rising to Greek god status in the world of video games, Mitchell has also managed to build a modest BBQ and hot sauce empire in his hometown of Hollywood, FL.  This unlikely mogul is smart, deliberate and media savvy. 

 In contrast, Steve Wiebe is mild-mannered, humble, yet athletic.  Think Donny Osmond meets Eli Manning, but with less self-confidence.  After being laid off from his engineering job, Wiebe moves a Donkey Kong machine into his garage and begins his quest to best Billy Mitchell’s score.  Wiebe video tapes his record-breaking game and sends it to Twin Galaxies, the governing body of competitive classic gamming.  They review the tape and award Steve Wiebe the title of World Donkey Kong Champion.  Everything’s peachy, right?  Not so fast.  Guess who’s an official judge for Twin Galaxies, and is charged with determining if Wiebe’s record is legitimate?  Billy Mitchell.  Predictably, Twin Galaxies declares Steve’s score invalid, and Wiebe spends the remainder of the film fighting for the record that was taken from him.  The movie speaks to the part of all of us that questions, “Am I good enough?  Do I deserve success?”  In Steve Wiebe, we see an incredible talent being choked by external pressures and self-doubt. 

 While this film concentrates on the struggle between Mitchell and Wiebe, the supporting cast steals the show.  I don’t know how to describe these individuals completely and accurately, but I’ll try.  We’re talking more Napoleon nerdy than Kip nerdy.  These guys are the “Star Wars: A New Hope” t-shirt types.  If you put them all in a hotel ballroom, William Shatner would be yelling at them; asking if they have ever kissed a girl.  The best moments in the film come from mini interviews of these socially-challenged gamers.  They all have names but I gave my own nicknames to a few of them.  Watch for “Weight-lifting Glove Guy,” and “Crazy Eyes,” as they’re my favorites. 

 This movie is not about Donkey Kong, it’s about people, and people can be more unpredictable than a giant gorilla rolling barrels down a ladder to crush you.  Will Steve Wiebe claim his rightful spot atop the gaming world?  Will Billy Mitchell ever love anyone more than himself?  Could you possibly have more males with Asperger’s syndrome in a single film?  Watch and find out.

 Aloha,

Mark

Film: King of Kong

Director: Seth Gordon

Release Year: 2007

Genre: Documentary

Rating: 3 out of 4 Minivans