*** Official "BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM" Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

i saw this last night and i must classify it as a definite guilty pleasure! there isn't a single original bone in it's body, but it is so well done you can't help but enjoy it.

i caught myself (and my girlfriend) with very large smiles on our faces throughout most of the movie. that is a definite good sign.

the movie tells the story of two girls, jess and jules.

jess and jules both want to play soccer. however, both girls have parents with different expectations. jess's indian parents want her to marry, learn to cook traditional dishes, etc. jules's mother wants her to be a girly-girl, date cute boys, etc.

the two of them become friends and chaos (of various proportions) ensues.

various subplots are employed, but well balanced. quite a few awkward moments are well done. there was a single plot involving jess's best friend that i didn't buy for a second, but it did lead to one of the best one-liners in the movie.

the comparisons to 'my big fat greek wedding' are inevitable, especially the ability for the movie to show the values (and quirks) of another culture.

i give this movie a solid "B"

I invite you to join the 2003 Foreign, Alternative and Independent Films, where there is already a discussion of this film in progress.

M.

thx michael -

i saw your excellent review of the film there (i'm a long-time lurker there ), but thought it would still be okay to post a separate "dedicated" thread.

what's the correct procedure? if necessary, please feel free to merge/close my post.

thx!

There really isn't a "correct" procedure. The "alternative" thread was created so that reviews of movies with limited distribution wouldn't be scattered across the Movies forum, where they would ultimately scroll off. Sometimes a film that's reviewed in the alternative thread gets sufficient distribution and discussion to justify its own official threads (recent examples would be City of God and Far From Heaven), and then I'll usually copy over the relevant posts from the alternative thread.

I left this open in case other people are able to see the film and join in. If there's no other activity after a week or so, remind me by email and I'll copy your review to the alternative thread to preserve it.

For reference, my review is here.

M.

will do! thx!

Michael,
Since this film is going to be distributed more than other lesser known films, I'm going to start separate Review and Discussion threads for it. I am really looking forward to seeing this film.





Crawdaddy

There were a couple of scenes I wish there were subtitles because I couldn't understand the Brit slang fast enough.






Crawdaddy

You obviously got the gist. (I have an unfair advantage from years of watching British soap opera.) Glad you enjoyed it! I saw the trailer again yesterday (before Nowhere in Africa), and I still crack up every time Jess's mother opens her mouth. That's one determined mum.

M.

I was surprised to find out that the actress that played Jess is actually 27 years old.

oh well, i guess no one here is as cool as myself, robert and michael.

michael, if you'd still like, feel free to archive my review to the indie thread.

This film is getting reasonable play in Dallas, to the extent that there was a reasonably large article (about 2/3 of a page) the in the Dallas Morning News last week, that was basically a series of interviews with 15–16 year old soccer-playing girls on their view of the movie.

Predictably they all criticized the skill-level of the soccer in the film (and in some cases the tactics), but just loved the depiction of importance of the sport to the girls and how much dedication it took to play.

The film is also playing in a couple of mainstream theaters in the area (the original release was only in one of our ‘art house’ theaters.

It would be pretty hard for me to imagine a backlash to the film, unless it is unlucky enough to get some nominations for awards later on in the year.

Overall I’m pretty impressed with the director. She rarely puts a foot wrong. There is very little that seems false and a great deal that absolutely hits the mark.

According to Box Office Mojo, the film expanded from 8 to 46 theaters this weekend, and the box office was up over 240%. The per-theater take was over twice that of anything else in the top 20.

I think we'll see be seeing more participation here soon.

M.

It’s been heavily advertised for an independent. Either that, or I visit Rotten Tomatoes way too much.

For those interested in purchasing the DVD - albeit of another zone, then you can buy the region 4 version (PAL) from various Australian DVD sites (fairly inexpensive considering our low dollar rate).

This movie opened in Australia about a year ago and was a big success with the critics and audiences. It didn't take long for the film to get a 'mainstream' release and showed plenty of legs and staying power to turnover consistent box office revenue, as well as pleasing fans for the second, third, fourth... time around. I can remember watching it in a packed theatre and the vibe was great, people laughed out loud at the right moments and really took to the British humour and sporting side of it - I guess because we have such a huge soccer fanbase (particularly of the Premier League) over here.

the comparisons to 'my big fat greek wedding' are inevitable

Having attended both of the 'wedding' invitations, I enjoyed the festivities hosted by Bend It Like Beckham the most. That's how all 'movie/television' weddings should go down

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Stevan,
Thanks for the heads up, my copy is on the way.





Crawdaddy

Enjoyed the film, although the soccer footage is shot and cut in such a way that hides a lot. Interesting to see someone say that the star is 27. I just landed an interview with her in person Friday and am starting my research. I didn't expect she was that old.

No problemo, Crawdaddy.
With the DVD, you've now got the added advantage of the subtitles and perhaps also being the envy of your all guest at your next dinner party

Check out the following reviews for those also considering the DVD purchase,
MichaelDVD and DVD Net. Note possible spoilers in the reviews.