Starring Keira Knightley, Parminder Nagra, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Anupam Kher, Archie Panjabi
Plot Summary An Indian family in London tries to raise their soccer-playing
daughter in a traditional way. Unlike tarty elder sister, Pinky, who is
preparing for an Indian wedding and a lifetime of cooking the perfect
chapatti, Jess' dream is to play soccer professionally like her hero David
Beckham. Wholeheartedly against Jess' unorthodox ambition, her parents
eventually reveal that their reservations have more to do with protecting
her than with holding her back. When Jess is forced to make a choice between
tradition and her beloved sport, her family must decide whether to let
her chase her dream...and a soccer ball.
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GOOoooooooooOOOOOOOOooooooooALLLLLLLLLLL!!! Sports + Chicks = New formula for success! “Bend it Like Beckham” is this years “Blue Crush” and the coming-of-age feel good movie of the season. Football anyone?!
For anyone who has ever seen “Monsoon Wedding” you’ll know that the Indian culture is freaking strict. You think Chinese parents crack the whip? Think again guys…More tradition associated with them than the chorus of “Fiddler on the Roof.” Thus you can see problems easily occurring when times change and customs don’t. Basically, the story of “Backham” follows the trials of a young Indian girl who kicks ass at soccer, BUT her parents don’t condone of it and want her to go to college and marry a nice Indian boy instead. It doesn’t help, though, when she gets recruited by the local women’s soccer team and falls for her Irish soccer coach. As Nelly and Kelly would say, “Dilemma.”
Whereas “Blue Crush” was sweet ass cool, this movie is just plain cute. I really don’t know how else to describe it. It’s lighthearted, funny, and gives you that “awwwww” *birds chirping, warm fuzzies* feeling. It’s a nice feeling after the oh so many “WHOA. I know kung fu”s this summer (also good, but in a different way). Overall, it was just put together very nicely with lots of cute moments, memorable one liners, and a title that sticks with you just in its sheer ridiculousness. Not much to comment about filming other than that. Very straight laced stuff, with some nifty editing on a party scene that reminded me of the “Matrix” rave.
Like most comedies, the movie is completely dependent on its characters and the actors that portray them. The film’s lead, Nagra, is a perfect for the protagonist character, tomboy “Jess.” She plays bitter, obedient, respectable, and wistful to the cue and even manages to 360 her look for a club scene. The team’s coach, Joe, played by newcomer Jonathan Rhys-Meyer is equally good (and quite the hottie!) as he easily holds his own as the only male within a group of over 20 girls. He’s intense looking, which can be kind of freaky at times (think dark room with newspaper clippings) and has piercing blue eyes, but utilizes his unique looks for the best of the role. And Keira Knightley (The Pirates of the Carribean chick) is going to be huge if people don’t confuse her with Natalie Portman or Winona Ryder. I dig this girl. She’s off the charts cute, but can be damn hot as well (as you can see in POTC), and a pretty darn good actress. And only 18!!! Ack, why doesn’t she just have an IQ of 180 too. That’ll make life fair.
So, if you still can and “The Hulk” doesn’t eradicate it from theaters, check out “Bend it Like Beckham.” It’s light, funny, cute, teaches morals with good music, good characters, and good actors. Great movie. GOOOOooooooooOOOOOoooooooAAALLLLLLLL!!!