It's Been 50 Years Since The Bad News Bears Came Out. Just How Politically Incorrect Is It Today?

I grew up loving The Bad News Bears. The original one, the one that was part of the amazing slate of movies that came out in 1976. I’ve never cared much for the remake from 2005, though it does have some charm. I probably watched the original 25 times as a kid. However, it’s been decades since I’ve sat down and watched the whole movie. Since I’ve made it a point to watch at least 25 movies released 50 years ago this year, it was the perfect opportunity for me to rewatch The Bad News Bears in its entirety and re-evaluate my opinion on it.

I’ll admit, I was worried about how I would feel about it, as times (and I) have changed a lot since the 1970s, obviously. Would the movie be so cringeworthy and politically incorrect that it would be unredeemable? I feared it could be. That's partly because of that one famous line, said by Tanner (Chris Barnes), which I’m not going to write here, but you can guess which one if you know the movie (it basically offends everyone, including booger-eating morons).

So how did it turn out? Well, my memories of The Bad News Bears are stronger than I remember. No, it’s not as bad as I feared it would be, not even close. In fact, it holds up a lot better than some other movies I’ve watched during this project, like Murder by Death.

Yes, There Are Some Problematic Moments

Before I get too deep into this, I’ll say that yes, some moments really haven’t aged well, including Tanner’s famous line and the fact that the kids are 11-year-olds in a lot of very adult situations. However, those moments and those lines are really just surface-level. Taken out of context, they are shocking to some, but within the context, they aren’t bad at all. Take Tanner’s line about booger-eating morons (which is repeated a few times): Tanner isn’t the hero. He’s a clown and treated as such. He even gets called out on his insults immediately by another kid on the team.

The same goes for Morris Buttermaker (Walter Matthau). He does some really dumb stuff, from getting so drunk he passes out on the mound, to giving the kids beer after they lose the championship, to just generally being a boor. Matthau’s performance is a classic, and again, he’s the clown. Yes, even in those “different times” in the 1970s, the audience was laughing at his behavior, and it is presented as being shocking, not normal.

Gen X likes to post videos on social media about how “real” things were in our childhood, like drinking beer was normal for 11-year-olds. While it probably was less stigmatizing than it is today, it wasn’t a social norm by any means. That makes the jokes about it work today in the same way they worked 50 years ago.

The Worst Behavior In The Movie Is Punished Harshly

By far the most shocking moment of this comedy is when Roy Turner, the coach of the Yankees, played by Vic Morrow, slaps his son, Joey (Brandon Cruz). I remember this scene well from my childhood. It was upsetting then, and it’s disturbing now. Corporal punishment (the “nice” way to say “beating your kid”) was far more socially acceptable in 1976 than it is today, but Turner doesn’t get away with it. The people in the crowd are horrified by his action, and his wife bluntly calls him a “son of a b----.” Turner is a different kind of clown, and the moment is hardly played for laughs.

Just like Tanner after his infamous line, Turner’s behavior is met the same way it would be today, with scorn and horror. Much of Buttermaker’s poor behavior is treated the same way. The players on the team are constantly calling him out for being a drunk and a jerk. The kids revolt (like Joey does against his father) for any adult who doesn’t behave appropriately. The one exception is Kelly Leak (Jackie Earl Haley). He acts like an idiot for the first half of the movie, but he is only called out when he gets selfish with the team.

The Language Is Something You Definitely Don’t See In Kids Movies Anymore

The one thing that is definitely much different today than it was 50 years ago is the language in what is really a kids' movie. It was meant to be a kids' movie, and like me, it was beloved by kids the same age as the players on the Bears. The language is strong, to say the least, but that is, of course, part of the charm of the movie. As South Park has proven over the years, there is something really funny about little kids using bad language. It’s just as funny and purposely offensive today as it was meant to be in 1976.

You don’t see this kind of kids' movie anymore. South Park is meant for adults, and the 2005 remake starring Billy Bob Thornton was as well. The original wasn’t; it was marketed to, and meant for, kids like me to watch. I watched it with my parents' full blessing. Though in their defense, they might not have known just how strong the language would be, but it was meant to be that way. Still, you’re not going to see a movie on the 2026 movie schedule marketed as family-friendly that is anything like The Bad News Bears.

The Story Holds Up

Ultimately, what makes The Bad News Bears timeless and truly one of the best baseball movies of all time is that the story is universal. A ragtag group of kids, led by a down-and-out, washed-up drunk of a ballplayer pull it all together and truly becomes a team (even if they lose in the end). That part of the movie is indisputable. It’s a wonderful story told in a great way.

The performances from the kids are universally great. That includes Oscar winner Tatum O’Neal (who became the youngest to ever win one at the 1974 Academy Awards at age ten for Paper Moon) and future Oscar nominee Jackie Earle Haley. And then, of course, there's the amazing performances from Matthau and Morrow.

The Bad News Bears proves that not every ‘70s and ‘80s comedy was so offensive that it could not be made today, as people like to say. Sure, there are plenty of examples of movies that should never be remade, but while no one would make The Bad News Bears exactly how it was presented in 1976, as the 2005 movie shows, you can remake it with the same tone. It wasn’t offensive in 1976, and it’s frankly not offensive now.