The Bad News Bears Go to Japan (1978)
The Bad News Bears was our favorite baseball team. Gen Xers probably loved them because the children curse like sailors. This time the team was taking their talents to Japan. While we will always love those obnoxious bears but even actor Jackie Earle Haley himself, who plays troublemaker Kelly Leak in all three films, described this film as the worst movie ever. An honest opinion from the actor who embodied the outspoken teen.
Vincent Canby of The New York Times rebuked the entire production. He wrote, “The film is a demonstration of the kind of desperation experienced by people trying to make something out of a voyage to nowhere.” Contrary to his opinion, the project could have been better if the audience could have experienced the drama unfold on screen. Kids in the field amid play-by-play baseball. In addition to the culture shock of a rambunctious American Little League Baseball team facing off against their Japanese counterpart.