[.ca] Bend It Like Beckham

From Amazon.com:
Bend It Like Beckham is true girl power. This glorious comedy centers on Jess (Parminder Nagra), an Indian girl born in England whose only desire is to become a football--or, as we say on this side of the Atlantic, soccer--star like her idol, David Beckham; but her traditional family refuses to even consider it. With the help of her new friend Juliet (Keira Knightley), Jess secretly joins a girls' team under the guidance of a male coach (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). As the team starts to gain some attention, Jess's secret can't be kept forever. The story of Bend It Like Beckham is so genuine and detailed that it transcends all the sports-movie formulas that it also fulfills with cheeky exuberance. Wonderfully acted, and written and directed with loving care by Gurinder Chadha (Bhaji on the Beach, What's Cooking?), this movie is pure delight from start to finish. --Bret Fetzer

The US thinks it's the only country that has rascism...:
This is a truly wonderful story. Okay, it has some sort of silly bits, but overall it offers a moving portrait of a young Pakistani girl living in London, and coping with her amazing soccer skills in the face of tremendous cultural opposition. The movie is well made: not only is the writing good but I was particularly impressed with the editing and the music. I don't usually notice such things, but I thought both were very well done and added to the movie. A lot of the humor was very subtle and showed a very dry wit. I particularly liked the touch of the ditzy, slutty sister who is the "perfect" daughter because she hides her rebellion. I found it a little upsetting, when I saw it in the theater, that the scene where the father describes the rascism he encountered when he first tried to play cricket in Britain elicited a chorus of laughter from the audience. When Americans think of rascism, they think of "white people versus black people," but there is formidable rascism in Britain against people for Southeast Asian descent. In order to fully understand and appreciate this movie, you must understand that.

Save time and money:
I just watched this movie and I feel disappointed. The original idea is very good and was for more, instead the film turns in to a cheese soap opera which I just wanted to stop. The only good thing I came out with is that I learn a little bit about the beautiful Indian traditions which seem to me they were presented a little bit exaggerated to attract westerners.

Oligobi?:
Family values and girl power rules in this movie. The story is about a tomboy girl growing up in a traditional Indian family, which of course is more partial for her to be more feminine as she grows up and learn how to do housework. Jess, the tomboy star, is infatuated with soccer and her idol is avid Beckham and we all know what that leads to...her having the need to be just like him. So behind her family's back, she sneaks around, join a women football team and have her gay bestfriend cover up for her. She has another new girlfriend named Jules, and both of them gets into a few weird fix with their family, eg their parents thinking they are lesbians. On the side, they are both in love with their coach and of course jealousy would really be in the way of their friendship. One day, the coach got the team an European cup match and of course it would end up in the newspaper where the parents found out their daughter is still playing soccer! *gasps!* Watch it if you like a story about family value and girl power. I'm mostly into this movie because of it's comedy ^_^

"It put me off beans on toast for life.":
This charming little movie combines sports, young love, and family conflict to make an utterly entertaining comedy/drama. Jess (Parminder Nagra) dreams of playing professional soccer and must hide the fact that she plays on a girls' team from her Indian family. They want her to settle down with a proper Indian husband and be a traditional wife. Teammate Jules (Keira Knightley) introduces Jess to a new world of fun, but they are both attracted to their handsome coach (Jonathan Rhys-Myers). The wonderful Miss Nagra is quite sweet and convincing as the footballer who wants to be as good as her idol, David Beckham. The actors who play her stalwart family are also wonderful and funny. Rhys-Myers gives a good performance as the vulnerable coach, but Knightley, while enthusiastic, tends to overact and is less convincing. If you love soccer, you'll certainly enjoy all the scenes on the pitch. If you like romantic comedies, this is for you, too. A funny, poignant movie.

A winning goal !!!!!:
"Bend it like Beckham" is a film about dreams, more specifically about the dream of Jess (Parminder Nagra), a young teenager who would love to play soccer as well as her idol, David Beckham. There are two problems, though. The first is the fact that she is a girl, and the second is her very traditional Hindu family. The first problem proves to be easily surmountable, as Jess meets Jules (Keira Knightley), a girl who happens to play in the local soccer team. Jules introduces Jess to the coach of her soccer team, Joe (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers). Despite some initial skepticism, Joe incorporates Jess to the team, after a great try out. Unfortunately, Jess cannot share her happiness with her family. Her parents are immigrants from India, and even though they have lived in England for a long time they still cherish their old traditions. Of course, and according to them, a good girl shouldn't play soccer: she should think about getting married :) As a result, Jess hides the good news from her father (Anupam Kher), mother (Shaheen Khan) and sister (Archie Punjabi), and begins to play soccer with her new team. As you can imagine, keeping her family from finding out the truth will be quite difficult and hectic. Meanwhile, we will learn some things about cultural differences, friendship, love and (why not?) soccer. On the whole, I highly recommend this movie, even if you aren't that much into soccer. It is very entertaining, but it also helps you to reflect on our increasingly multicultural societies. I specially liked the overall positive message, and I would like to recommend this movie to you and your family. It is a winning goal :) Belen Alcat