Description: Sometimes, to follow your dreams?you've go to bend the rules! Audiences and critics alike are cheering wildly for this "exhilarating?terrific comedy" (Entertainment Weekly) about a young girl who is torn between adhering to family traditions and attaining super-stardom on the soccer field. Hailed as the year's must-see crowd pleaser that "makes you feel good and laugh out loud" (Chicago Sun-Times), "Bend It Like Beckham" scores! (Time Magazine)
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
Good and bad I can understand the good and bad reviews for this movie. It's high-energy fun, a teen flick without too much stupid silliness or any of those contrived "misunderstandings" that are so common in comedies. The teen characters are irresistibly cute, the culture clashes are funny and not overdone, and the soccer scenes are exciting (I wish there were more of them).
But if the messages in this movie about "girl power" and following your dreams are going to be taken half seriously, then there's much to criticize. Most of the Indian girls and boys seem obsessed with sex, shopping, and early marriage. The girls lie to their parents time and time again. And what does it really say about girl power when the main character, Jess, as a beautiful, extremely talented soccer player, can win a sport scholarship to an American university? Are beautiful, extremely talented girls the only ones then who can hope to exercise "girl power"? Jess doesn't have to work hard to acquire her soccer skills. She didn't even play on her high school team! And yet she is better than all the other talented girls who have worked hard for years, been coached, and played on teams. Everything comes so easy for Jess that it's easier to attribute her success to pure luck than to hard work or girl power.
On the other hand, besides being blessed and lucky Jess is sweet and level-headed. The movie is fun; the lessons are questionable.
Great Movie!!! I love cross cultural movies and books and this is one of the finest I've seen. The book "Veil of Roses" is also a great example of how two cultures can blend very nicely into one.
A jewel of a comedy, don't miss it! This is a rare film because it is funny, filled with action, revealing the struggle of cultures attempting to evolve within a foreign country and yet, fighting to keep the set of values that make them unique.
Bend it Like Beckham is a superb comedy that evolves around the lives of an Indian family raising two daughters, one following the values of her culture, considering that marriage and family are the keys to happiness, while the other is open and hungers to change the status quo.
Jess, masterfully played by Parminder Nagra, is an Indian girl born in England who, like her father, has great athletic aptitude and dreams of becoming a soccer player. She is fighting against prejudice because her own people do not want to see a girl showing her legs all over the television, a country where girls do not have the opportunities to shine if they excel in her sport, and her own demons because she fears rejection.
Enter a new English friend Juliet, superbly played by Keira Knightley, who scouts for her soccer team and is impressed about the ability of Jess when she sees her play at the park, competing and winning while surrounded by boys. Juliet approaches Jess and encourages her to join the girls team, and Jess accepts but secretly joins because she fears her family finding out and not permitting her to follow her dreams.
The male coach, played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers, becomes the agent of change that opens Jess to no longer fear rejection, to overcome her personal fear of showing disfigurement in public, and the trigger for Jess to open her heart to welcome real change and that is becoming part of another cultural set of values.
This story is much like "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" a genuine story of the struggle individuals go through as they open their hearts to understanding others with different and sometimes, clashing values, morals, and religious beliefs. This movie is a jewel and if you have teenagers around questioning their lives, this film provides a fun way to realize that we need to understand who we are, work hard at what we want, and follow our dreams, regardless of the barriers we encounter.
Don't miss it!!!
"Bend it Like Beckham" Movie DVD Hooray For Bollywood! THis is a very sweet and funny movie about a young girl, trying to swim upstream against the traditions of her Immigrant family. She is always respectful of them, but sometimes has to go against their wishes to fulfill her own role as a female soccer player. I love this movie, there is no "bathroom" humor such as that found in most movies today...just a very heart warming story with a inside look at family life, It's great!
Love it! I bought this DVD because I couldn't finish watching the movie on TV, and I was very curious. I had really liked the about 30 min. I actually watched, so I decided to give it a shot (and the good reviews helped a great deal!). I was not disappointed, this movie is very entertaining. Even though I read a review that says that it gives the wrong message (about lying to your parents, which of course isn't good), I think it approaches that touchy subject in a very natural way... who hasn't lied to their parents sometime? It doesn't, in my opinion, try to deliver the message that it's ok, it just portraits an adolescent's point of view, how they sometimes have to struggle (if they live in a foreign country and come from a very rigorous culture, like in this case). And the message that it actually delivers, again in my opinion, is that you should always do what you love if you want to be happy. That doesn't mean you have to lie, but fight for your dreams.
All in all this is a highly entertaining movie, great for all ages. It's very colorful too, and we get a glimpse of Indian culture and traditions. Obviously we westerners think some of them are far off, but for them, it's what they are! It also makes us aware of the importance of tolerance and open mindedness. I'm sure you'll enjoy it... I did! I highly recommend it!
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