The sports genre is one that has proven to be extremely divisive, with some absolutely adoring these films, while others being far more cynical. On a personal level, I have rarely found films centred around sports to be all that compelling – they are usually formulaic to the point of being outright predictable, and they often lack the substance needed to actually capture our attention. However, you can’t begrudge those who appreciate the genre, since it has its moments of charm, and when executed right, it is even a delight. This is the case of The Bad News Bears, the hilarious and irreverent baseball comedy by well-regarded but criminally underrated journeyman director Michael Ritchie, who tells the story of an alcoholic, down-on-his-luck former baseball player who is coerced into coaching an adolescent league, believing it to be an easy paycheque and being appropriately shocked when it turns out to be far more difficult than he initially imagined. A film that has often been cited as one of the greatest sports comedies in history, it is not difficult to why it has gained this reputation. The combination of outrageous humour and genuine heart, as well as a story that has some high stakes that can get even the most cynical viewers to become engaged in the story, which is always the sign of a well-made film. A hilariously upbeat comedy that has a lot of merits that feel earned, The Bad News Bears is certainly a valuable experience, and a film that has aged extremely well, with the humour being as sharp and biting today as it was nearly half a century ago, which is one of the great merits of a well-made comedy: the subject matter may age, but the jokes and the scenarios in which they are used are timeless.

In the case of a film like The Bad News Bears, it isn’t difficult to see exactly why it works so well, since this is not a complex film at all, and its foundation is very clear and concise. Not that any good piece of criticism should depend on comparison, especially not when it comes to implying that a certain work is somehow above all the others within its genre, which can be rather tacky at times. However, when it comes to a film like this, it is difficult to not see where this one goes right and others fall apart. Comedy is a fickle subject, and when you add something as tense and adrenaline-fueled as a sport to the narrative, it can become a deft balancing act to try and figure out precisely how to execute its broad ideas without it feeling convoluted or necessarily twee, the two sides of the extreme that can sometimes feel somewhat predictable in these films. For the record, The Bad New Bears is unambiguously just as predictable as many other sports films – it is the story of a hard-nosed, scatter-brained cynic being asked to coach a team of hopelessly incompetent pre-teens, their pairing being unconventional at first but eventually being proven to be the best decision once they set aside their differences and start working hard, defying the odds that were perpetually stacked against them. It’s a traditional underdog narrative, and one that hits all the familiar beats that we would expect, the common elements occurring like clockwork. However, it is difficult to not feel thoroughly charmed by it, since we all enjoy a story that focuses on unorthodox heroes – none of us necessarily want to watch a film where the characters are good at what they do from the start, and constantly win, since there is a lack of conflict and essentially a complete absence of a story. In this regard, The Bad News Bears delivers on all accounts, even if it isn’t always particularly concise about how it tempers its emotions.

However, as much as we can break this film down into the smaller details and try and understand what makes it work, the reality is that this entire film was built from someone having the smart idea to tell a story that essentially entails Walter Matthau spending 90 minutes engaged in psychological warfare with a group of children, who prove to be formidable opponents. Matthau is the kind of actor who could do absolutely anything on screen and have it come across as authentic and entertaining – his wonderful expressivity, his effortless charm (which is often betrayed by his hangdog look, which has rarely been more potent than in this film) and everyman sensibility make him one of our finest actors, and someone who continuously put in incredible work, knowing the value of a story well told and willing to put in the effort to help it get realized to the full extent of its potential. The role of Morris Buttermaker in The Bad News Bears is not a difficult one, and any middle-aged actor with a comedic streak and the ability to maintain a level of deadpan charm could have easily played this role. Yet, it is Matthau who holds court in the lead, and he’s absolutely terrific, which is almost a foregone conclusion when it comes to his work. He is joined by a terrific ensemble, most of them young actors who were doing very early work, if not their first outright acting performance. The two that stand out amongst this cast are the ones that had already been somewhat established as child actors, Tatum O’Neal and Jackie Earle Haley, who are giving star billing alongside Matthau, and often threaten to steal the entire film away from him. Their performances are so charming and compelling, and they are the perfect rivals for Matthau’s off-beat, sardonic coach. The chemistry between the cast is fantastic, and a lot of work is done to ensure that it comes across as somewhat authentic, since without such an approach, the film would not have been nearly as effective.

Predictability is something that should be avoided, but not necessarily be a sign of a complete failure. Hollywood is built on formulae, and some genres benefit when employing familiar structures. A sports comedy about underdogs overcoming their perceived weaknesses (the “loser-to-champion” arc that has always been so popular) has been proven to be really effective, and something that audiences appreciate and to which they have the strongest response. I always advocate for the value of individual perspective, but the reality is that the vast majority of us want to see these characters win, since the alternative (where they lose but still are shown to have grown stronger as a team) is not nearly as effective. The Bad News Bears encapsulates everything necessary for such a narrative, and it keeps us engaged in how it controls its emotions, finding the right balance between the tone and humour to hold our attention. It is a very funny film that softens the humour the more experienced these characters become, their confidence eroding the self-deprecating tone, which allows for the thrilling conclusion where they do come very close to winning, but fall short at the final moment, which does count as a win in some regards, depending on how you interpret the film. Ritchie makes the very smart decision to never push the narrative to a point where it has to depend on saccharine emotions – Buttermaker is just as much a cad at the end as he was at the beginning, and his team still consists of shrill, irritating children with self-inflated egos and limited talents. Yet, this means very little when we are so fully enraptured by the film, which is tender without being overly sentimental, an important distinction that ultimately does work in the film’s favour in many different ways.

It isn’t difficult to understand exactly why The Bad News Bears has achieved such a following, and has remained part of the conversation when it comes to discussing defining sports comedies. However, neither the two sequels nor the variety of remakes, whether the ill-fated direct remake or the films that are clearly built from the same narrative foundation (such as Rodney Dangerfield coaching soccer in Ladybugs or Woody Harrelson giving the old college try to a group of developmentally disabled amateur basketball players in Champions), are able to capture the spirit of this film, which is a deeply meaningful and wonderfully charming film with a lot of heart and even more humour. It has one of Matthau’s funniest performances, and a cast of young actors that are certainly extremely gifted, tied together by a screenplay filled to the rim with terrific jokes and a director who has the skillfulness to keep everything moving at a steady pace. Ultimately, there is nothing at the heart of The Bad News Bears that we have not seen before or since, but the sign of a great film is one that makes even the most predictable of stories feel vibrant and unique, even if we can’t ever truly ignore some of the more overtly familiar tropes that form the foundation of the film. There are many reasons why this film has remained such a fascinating part of the social consciousness, and they all stem from the fact that it is simply a solid story told well, with the right amount of humour and pathos embedded at the heart of the film to make up for its slight shortcomings, which are easily set aside based on the pure joy that comes when experiencing the forthright charm of this lovable underdog story.