Bad News Bears in Breaking Training

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

The misfit kiddie baseball team from the first film is given the opportunity to play in a Junior League match between double-header games at the Houston Astrodome. Two obstacles stand in their way: beloved teammate Timmy Lupus (Quinn Smith) has broken his leg, and the team has no adult coach. Attempting to change their luck, star player Kelly Leak (Jackie Earle Haley) tries to talk his estranged dad (William Devane) into coaching and locates a self-proclaimed hotshot pitcher named Carmen Ronzonni (Jimmy Baio). Watch for quickie cameos by real-life Houston Astros members Robert J. Watson, Enos Cabell, Roger Metzger, James Richard, Joe Ferguson, Ken Forsch, William Virdon, and Cesar Cedeno. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Audio: 5.1, PCM Mono
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Subtitle: English
• Features:
  • • Widescreen version enhanced for 16:9 TVs
    • Dolby Digital: English mono
    • English subtitles
    • Interactive menus
    • Scene selection

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Director:

  Michael Pressman

• Producer:

  Leonard J. Goldberg

• Screenwriter:

  Paul Brickman

• Cinematographer:

  Fred Koenekamp

• Composer (Music Score):

  Norman Gimbel

• Songwriter:

  Norman Gimbel

• Composer (Music Score):

  Craig Safan

• Songwriter:

  Craig Safan

• Editor:

  John W. Wheeler

• Art Director:

  Stephen Myles Berger

• Set Designer:

  Fred R. Price

• Costume Designer:

  Jack Martell

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  John K. Wilkinson

• First Assistant Director:

  Michael Daves

REVIEW:

• The Bad News Bears didn't really call for a sequel, but studios rarely argue with a hefty box office -- and so was born the unnecessary The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training. Since unnecessary sequels really exist only to lure in viewers who were pleased with the original, they usually try to duplicate the earlier film as much as possible -- hence Training's insistence that the Bears are a bunch of losers, even though the first film was all about them learning to work together and be a successful team. To overcome this, Training needs to have a bunch of clever plot twists and be loaded with snappy dialogue. Instead, the plot is tired and clichéd and the dialogue confuses scatology with wit. Worse, the writers add in an estranged father-son subplot that is entirely too sentimental for the surroundings. What saves Training is its cast; the kids are a good little bunch of actors (and Jackie Earle Haley is considerably more than that), and William Devane adds a good deal of punch. There's nothing special about The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training, but its performers make it much more painless than it could have been. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi