Bend It Like Beckham

Okay so I have to admit, I haven't seen this movie in a few months. But since today is David Beckham day (see Blog This bloglog) I had to review this flick.

When I first heard of "Bend it like Beckham" I really wasn't sure if I wanted to see it or not (back in 2003), but after reading all the reviews, I HAD to watch it. Plus, I really dig all those Bollywood films, so I figured I'd really enjoy this flick. I was right!

What's not to love about this flick? First of all it has Jonathan Rhys Meyers in it and who doesn't love Jonathan Rhys Meyers? I mean I put up with Match Point just to watch the man! He's yummy (note to self: add him "Cute boy du jour" day). Secondly, you get to see Keira Knightley before she was on Pirates of the Caribbean and Parmindar Nargra before E.R. Quite honestly it turned out to be one of my favorite flicks!

Parminder Nagra stars as Jesminder "Jess", who lives in London and is the daughter of middle-class Indian immigrants. She, along with her family, live in the London suburb of Hounslow under the approach to Heathrow, where her Dad works. Jess lives and breathes soccer (football). She loves it so much, that every night she tells all her hopes and dreams to a giant poster of David Beckham (that yummy British soccer phenom!) that hangs above her bed. Her parents, are less than approving. Jess's mom wants her to learn how to cook an Indian dinner (meat and veg), marry a nice boy, like her sister soon will do and go to University. She just can't imagine Jess, "running around half naked in front of men". We later find out the reason her father is so against her playing soccer, is that he still remembers when he arrived in England and was not allowed to play cricket because of his race. The conflict over career paths escalates when Jess is spotted by Jules (Knightley) who invites her to join the Hounslow Harriers, a girls' football (soccer) club.

Jules introduces Jess to her Harrier coach Joe, (the yummy JRM), a young Irishman who's dreams of becoming a pro soccer player were crushed because of a leg injury. He quickly learns that Jess is positively "brilliant", and perhaps what American talent scouts are looking for. Jess must soon decide whether or not she wants to part of an all female soccer team that is willing to let her play in "real matches" which will probably tear her family apart.

The script is more deeply layered than you might expect, especially the interaction between Jess and her mother, as she tries to escape the clutches of her family. She's also conflicted in the fact that she has no faith in her soccer abilities and believes she won't ever be able to play professionally. Things get even more complicated when Jess starts to fall for Joe, which Jules is extremely upset about, since she too has feelings for Joe. This film basically chronicles the rollercoaster ride that Jess must embark on, of course leading to a happy ending for everyone.

Parminder Nagra is terrific as Jess. She amazingly portrays the wide range of emotions that her character faces throughout the film. She has this innocent look to her and a single facial expression on her face says a lot. Although there were times when Jules was NOT my favorite character, Keira Knightly really does a great job at playing her. Of course I only have wonderful things to say about Jonathan Rhys Meyers, but I may be a bit biased. One of my favorite characters, is Jules's mom, played by Juliet Stevenson . She has a lot of vivacity and plays the totally clueless mom to a tee. Jules's mom believes she's a lesbian and comes up with crazy lines like "There is a reason Sporty Spice is the only one without a boyfriend!" and "Get your lesbian feet out of my shoes". She finally decides to embrace her daughter's "lifestyle" and accept the fact that Jules may be a lesbian (even though she's not!) Good stuff, I say!

This flick's plot reminds me of a combination of several flicks. One that particularily comes to mind is indie film Double Happiness, it has that same theme of choosing whether to make your family happy or doing what makes you happy. Everyone seems to be finding themselves and accepting who they are as people. Jess's mom has to let her traditions go, while her dad realizes that just because he was snubbed does not mean Jess will be. Joe has to face the fact that he makes a great women's football coach and it doesn't make him less of a man by not coaching a male's football team. Jules' mom has to accept her daughter's lifestyle and even Jess's best friend Tony, has a secret that he's hiding from his mother, which he'll eventually have to confront.

This film made me a fan of Gurinder Chadha, who directed the cool Bollywood film Bride & Prejudice and the hilarious What's Cooking? She wrote and directed the movie which was obviously a labor of love. She does an excellent job of capturing the tension between the generation gap of Indian immigrants and their children who have grown up in England with English customs, but are still pulled toward the customs of their unseen homeland. You could definitely see this in scenes where Jess and her sister had to navigate between the two worlds and cultures.

This is a great flick worth watching over and over and should be part of your DVD collection. It also has an amazing soundtrack as well. (I do love those Bollywood soundtracks!)

I give this flick 5 soccer balls. Well worth the watch.