MovieChat Forums > The Bad News Bears (1976) Discussion > great movie, terrible ending!

great movie, terrible ending!

posted 19 years ago by pilarp-1
80 replies | jump to latest

I've loved this movie since I first watched it, but the ending is really sad and disappointing (even if it doesn't look so at first). The members of the Bears team look happy right before the end of the movie, they're jumping, dancing and laughing, but I don't believe they're really happy-happiness is not what they really feel after the final game. Look at the moment when Buttermaker gets a second place trophy-does he look happy? Look at those kids when they face the Yankees team after the game and listen to that speech from the Yankees team member-they look as if they were going to cry. Do you really think this second place is what they dreamt about? After a year of being laughed at, discouraged and humiliated they shouldn't have lost the final game. Everyone but Buttermaker thought they were a team of losers. In the final game they had the only real chance to prove that everyone who thought so was wrong, they had a chance to be the first team to beat the Yankees and they really were able to do it (Turner was really uncertain about the final score and some actions during the game were not too fair for the Bears)! I think the idea was to make an original movie, by which I mean that in all movies of this kind someone who's really weak at the beginning gradually becomes better and better and finally becomes the best and beats everyone else, while here the intention was to make the movie "realistic" and "unexpected" and show that those who are expected to win in the end not always win...but why did it have to be shown in this movie??? I think I've never seen any other movie in which anyone would deserve to win as much as the Bears team did in this one. After all they've gone through (which was almost a miracle as they all wanted to quit after the first game), for all their effort and astonishing progress they made from the first match with silly score 0-26 to the final game, when they were at the same level as the Yankees (or probably even a little better), they deserved a REAL success, which second place was not. Do you remember what that Yankees team member told them after the match? The Yankees apologized and appreciated a good game, but still didn't think the Bears were a good team! Their situation almost didn't change! They weren't losers anymore, but still not a good team either! Some could say second place is a great success anyway, because no one but Buttermaker expected to see the Bears in the final, but I don't think it was enough for them. Come on, it wasn't fair, they deserved that first place and we all know it! Is there anyone else who thinks the final result was very disappointing? Personally I blame the one who was responsible for that terrible ending of "The Bad News Bears", because it's the only weak point of the movie.

[–] Rickinator69 16 years ago

The point was not that they won or lost the game but that they were ready to give up in the beginning and didn't. They tried, they each found self-confidence and that they were better than they thought. Of course after only one season they weren't a great team, but again the point was that they were far better than when they started out, whereas if they would have quit, they never would have realized this about themselves.

A lesson was learned when Buttermaker saw that he was viewing winning the game the same as the other coach and treating his players in much the same way. When he realized this, he changed the emphasis from winning no matter what, to getting out there and doing your best, an important life-lesson for a group of kids. It wasn't a lesson just for the game but one with farther reaching implications than just the last game of the season in Little League. But within the confines of the story, it meant believing in themselves and their teammates. So ask yourself, was "real success" defined in terms of 1st place vs. 2nd place or in how determined and spirited the Bears were, how far they had come since their disastrous beginnings and how much they'd grown and learned about themselves personally?

They didn't look happy getting the 2nd place trophy because they knew they were better than that. Is anyone ever happy with 2nd place? But also probably because they lost the 1st place trophy to a team like the Yankees. And after all, as was said in the film's last lines, there was always next year.

~Rick

[–] nicolefaith20 16 years ago

I wish they'd won too, pilarp-1.

[–] jlkap 15 years ago

I can see what pilarp-1 is saying...but it sounds more like a directing inconsistency than a bad ending. Sad faces but a sudden burst of happiness - perhaps he thought it was done unrealistically?

If that's the view...then perhaps he should point to the fact that each Bear had a beer in his hand while their parents watched and did nothing to stop it.

If not...then sometimes it takes other folks' perspectives to help someone look at a film in a different way.

[–] hodie 15 years ago

I liked the ending. It wasn't trite. The Bears didn't become the best team, but they definitely did become a team. And I can't imagine less likely material than Butterworth and the Bears as they were at the beginning of the film. They achieved a lot more than they ever thought they would.

Don will fix it. He knows what that nut means to Utz and what Utz means to us.

[–] stephan-128 15 years ago

love the ending

[–] fuzzynormal 15 years ago

Yeah, I think your opinion stinks and you missed the entire theme of the film.

And I glad as hell that movies weren't focused grouped to within an inch of their life back in 1976, because then we'd have another mediocre baseball movie ending rather than an honest one.

I saw this film when I was 7 years old and it profoundly affected the way I viewed sports and competitiveness. The lesson went much deeper than a typical and simple feel-good conclusion to a baseball movie.

So you can take your opinion "...and your trophy and shove 'em straight up your ass!" [pours beer on self]

[–] nicotinequeen63 15 years ago

Don't you get it? They WERE the winners. & the only reason the scoreboard didn't show it was because Buttermaker refused to play just to "win". That was his defining moment. Everybody knew who the better coach was, who the better man was, & who the better team was. The score just didn't matter. The ending was perfect.

[–] cryptical70 15 years ago

I think that another reason why it ended that way was to put the arrogant Kelly Leak in his place. Kelly was more or less another antagonist in the movie even though he wore the Bears uniform. He was obnoxious, full of himself, and didn't really care for the other people on his team. Even though he was the best player, it was he who screwed up in the end. Everybody else started to improve and couldn't be blamed for the final out and loss. Kelly Leak was the real loser.

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] canuckteach 13 years ago

want to add a reply to cryptic who states.. 'it ended that way .. to put the arrogant Kelly Leak in his place...' . you are entitled to your opinion -- but you might be the only viewer to think it (ought to tell you something). You add that it was his fault they lost.. ??

The transformation of Kelly Leak--from 'the most dangerous 12-year old on the planet' to a productive, supportive member of this misfit team--is one of the great tent-pole moments of the film. Even Amanda's lights-out pitching couldn't elevate the Bears to the level they needed to compete, especially after the rocky start. After he joins the team in defiance of the rival coach, we see no rebellious behavior or defiance toward his fellow players or Coach. He quiets down and gives friendly rides on the Harley to his team-mates. When he hits homeruns, even players on the opposing team high-five him as he runs the bases, showing that he is a changed kid.

The problems in the final league game are caused by Buttermaker, asking Leak to take all the plays in the field - even then, Kelly runs afoul of him by letting a team-mate try for a catch (that he flubs). In the Championship game, during the brawl, he sticks up for his fellow players: he pulls a Yankee off a smaller team-mate and says 'all right.. let's see if you can kick my butt'.. but afterwards, he isn't hollering at the opposing team or coach - he just plays his game. Even on the final big play of the game, he waits for Buttermaker to instruct him to swing, when the Yankees are trying to give him an intentional walk -- he doesn't do it on his own - and only a great throw and tag at the plate stops the game from being tied (the Yankees were a great young team, after all - just arrogant pussheads, like the real Yankess).

I think you missed the subtleties of the story-telling - there was a novella by Richard Woodley, based on the screenplay, that some Amazon resellers still sell - it was a good read, and filled in some gaps we didn't see in the film, for example that Kelly Leak was 'the most dangerous 12-year old on the planet'.

:-) canuckteach (--:

[–] JackRabbitRutherford 15 years ago

The overwhelming majority of people seem to disagree with you, OP, so failure on your part. To answer your question of why did it have to be shown in this movie that they would lose...why not? Sometimes life doesn't turn out the way you want no matter how hard you try and throws you a curveball (pun intended) that you really can't do anything about except try harder next time. Of course you're entitled to your opinion but it's safe to say this movie wouldn't be as loved as it is if they had won in the end.

[–] sschind 15 years ago

I watched this movie last night with my two nephews who are in little league. After the first game where they were beaten soundly My oldest nephew says, with a big smile on his face "I know how this is going to end" "Oh yeah, How" I asked. He says "just like all the other movies, they will get better and better and come back and beat the same team in the end for the championship"

At the end he just looked at me with a dumbfounded look on his face and said "they lost"

This is the only way this movie could have ended. Having them win would have been a happier ending maybe but as others have said, so much would have been lost. Its this ending that makes this a classic movie. Any other way and it would just be an OK movie.

[–] goudgy 14 years ago

How daft! You've missed the whole point!! The story tells us that the winners aren't always better, that those that lose can be winners. Ever hear that it's not how you win, it's how you play the game?

"Celebrating because you should be damn proud of yourselves," as Buttermaker says. They earned the respect of the league, and of the Yankees. Then the quiet kid screams "just wait til next year!" Priceless!

I was 6 when it came out, and I loved it, and I'm proud that I've always believed in doing things the right way, win or lose. Old school, but that's the good stuff this country is based on.

Stoic. Look it up. You might learn from it.

Guess you hated Rocky as well? You, as a viewer, force Holywood to make the crap the rest of us despise. Movies with integrity, originality and pithiness are harder to find. Thanks.