Acclaimed director Richard Linklater (THE SCHOOL OF ROCK,
DAZED AND CONFUSED) pays respect to Michael Ritchie’s original film by updating
it rather than reinventing it.
Stepping into the tough-to-fill shoes of Walter
Matthau, Billy Bob Thornton plays the liquor-swilling, foulmouthed Morris
Buttermaker, who has agreed to coach a Little League team for the paycheck.
Unfortunately for him, his assembled team consists of the league’s most inept
outcasts. Gradually, however, Buttermaker’s determination wins out, to the point
where he recruits an ex-girlfriend’s gifted daughter, Amanda Whurlitzer (Sammi
Kane Kraft), to step onto the pitcher’s mound.
The team is complete when local
bad boy Kelly Leak (Jeffrey Davies) lends his overflowing talent to the cause.
Soon, the Bears are climbing their way to the top of the standings, resulting in
a championship showdown with the Yankees, who are managed by the ridiculously
pompous Coach Bullock (Greg Kinnear).
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