MovieChat Forums > The Bad News Bears (1976) Discussion > Turner family drama.

Turner family drama.

posted 10 years ago by mphsss
6 replies | jump to latest

No question Coach Turner is a dick. However, I couldn't blame him for being pissed his son threw a ball at somebody. I can't excuse his reaction but understand what brought it on. From there I think his son saw him for the prick he'd always been and I highly admired his protest despite accepting that his father was initially upset with him.

But am I perhaps misunderstanding the scene a little bit? There's so much going on in that final game. Yankees throw the game but don't lose, Bears play but lose in a time when people still fought to win instead of being told everyone's a winner, they decline their 2nd Place trophy and therefore emerge as winners in my opinion, you've got Turner's personal life unfolding before him with his wife and son finally pissed at him for how he's always been with a bit of parenting style conflict thrown in, a man who cares more about winning a baseball game than his son's feelings (a kid I assumed otherwise wouldn't play!), some coaching/life lessons conflicting, blending, and contrasting with Buttermaker choosing to let everyone play even though it risks losing the game they'd probably have been able to win since the Yankees were imploding. Buttermaker also give his team beer, capping off their already memorable for life season. Might have been root beer, I can't entirely tell by the bottles, but with every other button the film pushed I always assumed it was beer not soda.

So anyway, like I said there's just so many elements going on in that scene that in all these years I've never quite been able to determine exactly what it all means, or could mean. I guess this sounds similar to my other post where I ask what the film means to people but I hope it's slightly different from that. My original primary intent was to just talk about the Turners, another topic I've talked about here before but again asked differently! I'm curious if anyone blames Turner for getting upset with his kid, if anyone forgives his reaction, and if anyone loves/dislikes his son's response - destroying Daddy's stupid game.

If anyone has the patience for it I'd gladly read an interpretation of that epic finale. One the remake could barely touch in my opinion. Part of my issue was casting. Kinnear didn't feel right for Turner. Robert Duvall in Kicking & Screaming was a better villain!

[–] SayNoToRemakes 10 years ago

It was the 70's. Things were so different back then, and I really miss it.

[–] mphsss 10 years ago

I didn't get to live it unfortunately. Luckily I missed the generation of kids that because of airbags can't sit in the front of a car until they're 12 and have to ride around in a booster seat if they're under 48 inches or whatever. We had an '83 Cutlass Ciera that I don't think had airbags. I remember one time my older brother calling shotgun before we went somewhere like he always did, and we ended up sharing the seat. I think we were even able to get the belt on. I really don't even remember it being uncomfortable.

[–] SayNoToRemakes 10 years ago

Ah yes, the good old days. When I was a kid we didn't have seatbelts in the back seats, and no shoulder belts at all. My first child was born in 1978, and that was the year our local Dr. Sanders started the mandatory car seat thing.

Back to your original topic, I'm not even sure what that scene was supposed to mean to us. Did the kid intend to hit the batter with the ball, or did the dad just lose it and accuse him of it? It's been a while since I've watched it. It seemed like an odd scene to just throw in there, but it did make them have to change pitchers.

Perhaps they wanted to show that even though Buttermaker was a boozing slob, he was still a better human being than Turner. If I had to analyze it that's what i would get.

[–] mphsss 10 years ago

My aunt and uncle had a car that didn't have seatbelts in the back. I don't remember if it was their Chevy Celebrity or not. My uncle has had 4 Tauruses in a row so it wouldn't be surprising if he had multiple similar cars in the 80s/early 90s too.

I think the son intentionally threw it at the other kid, I need to watch his reaction to it again though to see if there's some regret there.

His father's reaction I almost took as this coach is kind of a dick but at least he's not one of those guys who shows favoritism toward his son just because he's on the team. I was glad he didn't let him get away with it. Yelling would have been enough though. And Buttermaker was always a better person.

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] janet-conant 10 years ago

Joey was told to throw only low and outside to Engleberg as he got a double before but Joey hates Englepuke and wants to strike him out. He probably tried to put it over and as he said it slipped and hit him. I think there were always problems in the Turner home and this public scene sealed the deal. Turner might have won the championship but lost his son's respect forever.