Man, I'm getting old. You know you're getting old when Hollywood commences remaking movies you fondly remember from your youth (geez, has it been 29 years already?). And you know you're getting REALLY old when you start scoffing at the idea of updating movies you think are timeless classics because they'll undoubtedly screw it up by homogenizing it as teenage fodder ("The Longest Yard"), raunching-it-up to keep those same teenagers amused ("The Nutty Professor"), or remaining so faithful to the original that it's rendered redundant ("Psycho"). This update of "The Bad News Bears" could initially be seen as redundant. It tells the exact same story, features some of the exact same dialogue, same gags, even samples of the same classical music score. A few of the kids in the movie even resemble their 1976 counterparts. That faithfulness to its source material is sort of a double edged sword, though. Yeah, it's great that this version is as politically incorrect, foul-mouthed & funny as the first, but at the same time, why bother if all you're really doing is retracing someone else's footsteps?

Anyone over the age of 40 knows this story, in which a has-been lout takes a team of athletic misfits and eventually turns them into winners (all while having a few epiphanies of his own). There are numerous occasions when this plot of this one follows the original scene-for-scene. A few slight variations occur at times - this time the Bears' sponsor is a strip club, whose busty employees show up at every game; the overbearing lawyer who hires Buttermaker is now a single mother with designs on him; one member of the team is in a wheelchair - but for the most part, fans of the original will know everything that's coming next. Hell, even if you've never seen the original, the premise itself has been done so many times that you'll predict nearly every scene before it happens. So why remake it? Well, I guess if you never saw the original, it's all new to you (which is probably the point). Besides, this movie has three aces up its sleeve that make this road worth traveling again: Billy Bob Thornton and writers Glenn Ficarra & John Requa, all of whom previously worked together to make "Bad Santa." In fact, this movie could be seen as "Bad Santa"-lite. Assuming the role of washed-up ballplayer Morris Buttermaker (originally immortalized by Walter Matthau), Thornton uses his own public image to turn this into another star vehicle, while still retaining the traits that made the character so endearing to begin with. He's self indulgent, lecherous and almost continuously drunk, and seemingly the worst choice to coach a little league baseball team. While he makes no apologies for his behavior (you sure as hell wouldn't entrust him with your kids), he's essentially a nice guy, and much more perceptive and smarter than the other adults insinuating their ideals on him. The writers also give him the choicest lines (many of which are hilarious), which Thornton delivers with the same blurry-eyed weariness that made "Bad Santa" such a hoot. But for the most part, Thornton is the sole reason for the movie to exist. Yes, it's great that "Bad News Bears" hasn't been diluted into a family-friendly sitcom (parents are forewarned...it definitely earns its PG-13 rating), but the kids here (mostly newcomers) are nowhere near as funny or endearing as those in the original. And in the 29 years since the first, hearing children swear is no longer the novelty it once was; simply having these kids spew forth twice the number of obscenities feels like a forced attempt to make it fresh again.

The film is presented in 1.85:1 widescreen, enhanced for 16 x 9 televisions, and it's an overall good image, with sharp lines and decent color. The soundtrack is also quite good, rendered in both 5.1 & 2.0 Dolby Surround, though the dialogue occasionally seems a little muted.

Lots of extras are included on this disc, like a full-length audio commentary by director Richard Linklater and co-writers Ficarra & Requa, all of whom have a lot of interesting details and anecdotes to share about the film. There are also several short features, mostly running about ten minutes each, covering casting, writing, the making of the movie and baseball training; they are all pretty interesting, and just about everyone pays their respects to the original 1976 film at least once. Cast bios are offered in a unique way, in the form of animated baseball cards. Also included are some trailers, deleted scenes and three outtakes.

While "Bad News Bears" is well made and very funny, it sometimes so closely resembles the first film that some may wonder why anyone even bothered. Still, Thornton is his usual awesome self, and does a nice spin on the classic character (choosing wisely not to simply ape Matthau's performance). Curious parents unfamiliar with either version (what planet did YOU grow up on?) may want to check it out before letting their kids watch, since it's definitely not the fuzzy family comedy the box makes it look like. Similar Movies: "The Bad News Bears" (1976); "The Mighty Ducks"; "The Longest Yard" (1974 & 2005); "Little Giants"; "Bad Santa"