You can't not like it! THE BAD NEWS BEARS, with an acidic script by Bill Lancaster, is directed by the 70's premier satirist - Michael Ritchie. Like Ritchie's earlier SMILE, TBNBs pokes fun not so much at an American institution (in this case little league baseball), but at the frequent nitwits who run this type of thing. Walter Matthau, at the height of his acting power, is Buttermaker, a ne'er do well pool cleaner railroaded into coaching a team of troubled (and awful) little leaguers. He gets a lot more than he bargained for as he realizes the kids are actually quite a bit sharper than most of the adults. It's wicked and very funny. Alfred Lutter, Jackie Earle Haley, Chris Barnes, and best of all Gary Lee Cavagnaro (as Engelberg) fight to steal every scene they're in, including the ones they share! Vic Morrow as Matthau's tightly wound coaching nemesis is excellent and Tatum O'Neal is very good as Matthau's secret pitching weapon. O'Neal and Matthau have several great scenes together. Classic.