Fifty years ago this summer, The Bad News Bears was released. Despite its PG rating, goofily disarming poster, and use of Georgees Bizet's Carmen as a soundtrack, the film followed the travails of Little League misfits who are coached by an openly alcoholic pool cleaner, whose uniforms are supplied by Chico's Bail Bonds, and whose sweet-faced, pre-teen players are prone to reeling off foul-mouthed wisecracks like "All we got on this team are a buncha Jews, spics, niggers, pansies, and a booger-eatin' moron!" and "you can take your apology and your trophy and shove 'em straight up your ass!"
Matt Welch has called it a "'70s latchkey classic," noting that both in its vulgar language and its depiction of the Me Decade's divorce-driven disregard for kids, it was a near-perfect representation of its time.
