Michael Ritchie keeps his dead-end cynicism in check and produces a genuinely funny comedy (1976) about a Little League team managed by a lovably drunken Walter Matthau. Sometimes Ritchie goes too far in avoiding the family-movie cliches the subject invites and indulges in some pointless vulgarity, but all in all, it’s one of his best films.
The Bad News Bears
PG • 1 hour 42 min • 1976