Author and film critic Noah Gittell will introduce this screening and talk about his brand-new book Baseball: The Movie. The book will be available for sale on-site from our friends at Left Bank Books, and Noah will be on-hand after the film to sign copies!

Once dubbed one of the 10 greatest films of all time by no less an authority than Quentin Tarantino, Michael Ritchie’s The Bad News Bears is a foul-mouthed, rough-hewn underdog sports story whose enormous success spawned a legion of more family-friendly imitators. When beer-breathed ex-minor-league ball player and professional pool cleaner Morris Buttermaker (Walter Matthau) agrees to coach a little league team in the San Fernando Valley, he soon finds he’s in over his head, having inherited an assortment of pint-sized peons and talentless losers. They play well-organized teams and lose by tremendous margins, and the parents threaten to disband the Bears to save the kids (and themselves) any further embarrassment. Buttermaker refuses, though, and brings in a pair of ringers: Amanda (Tatum O’Neal), his ex-girlfriend’s tomboy daughter, and Kelly (Jackie Earle Haley), a cigarette-smoking delinquent who happens to be a gifted athlete. With their help, the Bears manage to change their losing ways and qualify for the championship, where they face their arch-rivals, the Yankees. Powered by the bristly chemistry between Matthau and his ragtag team of lovable tween losers, The Bad News Bears remains a mischievous proto-subversion of the Disneyfied family entertainment its success inspired.

“The model for every film about a ragtag group of lovable losers… [The Bad News Bears] offers a revised view of what makes America great: the opportunity for society’s marginalized classes to band together and embarrass the rich kids on the field of play… It’s meant to shock those who still believed in the postwar fantasy of the angelic suburban child, and delight those who grew up in reality, where kids can be cruel, ruthless, and hilariously funny.” -from BASEBALL: THE MOVIE by Noah Gittell

THEATER POLICIES

All seats are first-come, first-served.

The theater opens 30 minutes prior to showtime, except for “Happy Hour” events and pre-shows when the theater opens at the listed start time.

All ages are welcome at Arkadin except for Drinkolas Cage events, which are restricted to 21+. We follow the MPAA rating guidelines for all other films.

Tickets can be purchased using the BUY TICKETS link above. Upon ordering, you will receive a confirmation email from Square. Tickets may also be purchased on the day of the show at the concession counter.

If you’ve purchased advance tickets, when you arrive, please give your name at the concession counter to check in.

Tickets are returnable by sending a request through the contact form located on our About Us page prior to showtime.

When an event is sold out, we reserve the right to release open seats to customers on the waitlist. If you have a pre-purchased ticket and arrive late and there is no seat for you, your ticket will be refunded.

All screenings are held in our indoor theater unless indicated otherwise in the event description above.

Please respect your fellow movie-goers by remaining quiet and refraining from using your cell phone throughout the screening.