you can not not like it . the bad news bear and with an acidic script by bill lancaster and be direct by the 70 premier satirist michael ritchie . like ritchie earlier smile and tbnbs poke fun not so much at an american institution ( in this case little league baseball ) and but at the frequent nitwit who run this type of thing . walter matthau and at the height of his act power and be buttermaker and a neer do well pool clean railroad into coach a team of trouble ( and awful ) little leaguers . he get a lot more than he bargain for a he realize the kid be actually quite a bit sharp than most of the adult . it wicked and very funny . alfred lutter and jackie earle haley and chris barnes and and best of all gary lee cavagnaro ( a engelberg ) fight to steal every scene theyre in and include the one they share . vic morrow a matthau tightly wound coach nemesis be excellent and tatum oneal be very good a matthau secret pitching weapon . oneal and matthau have several great scene together . classic .