The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training (1977)

What makes it different from others?

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Hey whoah! Now I know this movie may be lacking in some eyes, but this is 1977. I was 11 years old when I saw this and I LOVED it. If you remember, the one that sucked was the one AFTER this one called "The Bad News Bears go to Japan". William Dane did fine, I don't know why all the bashing? This movie was a very memorable one and to this day I still think about it and I'm downloading it as I write this. Tatum O'Neal and Mathau were probably busy or whatever but the theme sort of changed direction anyway to be geared towards Kelly Leak and his estranged father whom I will again say was played very well by William Dane. It was Kelly Leaks father for cryin' out loud, who do you want, Charlton Heston? The casting was fine, the movie was great. I can guarantee your kids (or any kid for that matter) will not give it a bad review.

"The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training" (which should've just been called "The Bad News Bears 2" takes off a year after the first one. The boys led by Kelly Leak (Jackie Earle Haley) jump into a stolen van and drive from Southern California to Houston Texas to play against the reigning Little League Baseball Champs, The Toros. I love how most of the boys returned and that it is a worthy sequel. I also like the subplot with Kelly and his father, Mike (William Devane), showing why Kelly was so bad to begin with. Things that did make me mad about this film is the disappearance of Walter Matthau and Tatum O'Neal, if they were in this film, it would've been good, and Kelly's Dad could've been the co-coach. Kelly and Tatum also could've had a little romance blossom in this one. And the only other thing I didn't like is why Timmy Lupus is in the film, but for a maximum of three minutes! But you gotta love Tanner Boyle, Ahmad Abdul Rahim, and smart whiz Ogilvie. Jimmy Baio's Carmen Ronzanni I could've did without, but he was good towards the end. I recommend this for all "Bad News Bears" Fans.

The subject is a reference to my review of the original (The "Mighty F***s"). There's no getting around it: this movie SUCKS.It would have been okay if they did this as a separate movie, and it might have found a home on cable, but to piggyback it onto one of the best films of all time was a disgrace.No Matthau and O'Neal? Are they KIDDING? What made the original work was those two great actors taking a great script and making it even greater. This movie reminds me of watching the Chicago Bulls after Jordan retired and Pippen moved on; the supporting cast was fine when they were letting the two heavyweights shine, but on their own they were as bad as those "Baby Bulls." Do we really need to know Kelly Leak's backstory? Bill Devane as his father was a miscast, but it was hard to notice because the entire cast stunk. The plot -- they are playing for the national little-league championship -- is also far-fetched, since the Bears were about having fun rather than winning, and you can only go so far on Kelly Leak's back.I wish I could say I remember more about the plot, but most of it was about how the Bears had to navigate their way to Texas without adult supervision (creating tons of complications whenever they needed to be of age for something), and it becomes painfully obvious in this film why Jack Earl Haley is a competent #3 guy in a movie, he is no Jordan or Pippen on the screen.Calling this movie a sequel is a bit of a stretch as well, as the characters, the plot, and the movie as a whole bears little if any resemblance to the original. Matthau is probably still turning over in his grave at what they did to this movie, and I'm sure Vic Morrow has done the same.A movie as strong as the original deserved a much better continuation than this one, and it could have been done.

Call me crazy, but this is my favorite movie of the Bad News Bears movie series! The story of the Bears travelling from California to Texas for a game at the Astrodome san parental supervision might be far fetched for some to swallow, but overall the charasmatic leads of Jackie Earle Haley and William Devane make it all work. However, the real star of the show is Chris Barnes as Tanner Boyle, whatever happened to you Chris i do not know, but your portrayal of Tanner has always had me and my friends rolling on the living room floor for decades! Great to see on DVD, too bad Paramount couldn't even see fit to include even a lousy trailer! oh well, it is good to have the Bears back!