Bend It Like Beckham

Released 2002
Stars Parminder K. Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Anupam Kher, Archie Kher, Shaheen Khan, Ameet Chana
Directed by Gurinder Chadha

A proper Indian girl shouldn't be spending her time playing soccer. That's what Jess's family thinks, anyway. An ardent fan of British soccer sensation David Beckham, Jess (Parminder K. Nagra) wants nothing more than to be on the field. And she has the talent to boot. But her parents want her to be just like her sister Pinky, who cooks chapati like a pro and wants a traditional Indian wedding. A sweet sports comedy with plenty of heart.

Summary from www.netflix.com

This is a fun, energetic crowd-pleaser of a movie that's thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish. It's light-hearted without being fluffy, and it covers familiar territory without being tired. It's a classic coming of age story with a generational clash at its heart. The immigrant mother is only concerned that her daughters learn their culture and marry good Indian boys as soon as possible. That's ok for Pinky (Pinky???), but it's not what Jess wants. The only interest she has in boys is to beat them at soccer, and she doesn't much care for cooking. One of the film's strengths is she desires to be a good daughter even while she's going against her parents' wishes.

One thing that makes the film fresh is its use of soccer without becoming a sports movie. Soccer's my favorite sport, and it's fun to hear the excitement in the girls' voices when they discuss the women's professional soccer league, WUSA. Women should have some opportunity to play professionally, but, unfortunately, they don't anymore since WUSA has gone bankrupt. Hopefully they'll find a way to bring it back. I would think if all the players were as gorgeous as Keira Knightley, who plays Jules, they wouldn't have a problem filling the stands. What a knockout.

While watching the movie, I made an observation that I'm sure the director didn't intend. I don't want to get off on a rant here, but as a white male I'm getting tired of the double standards. One of the big themes in the movie is how Jess is not able to date an English boy, a "goyeh." While it's seen as perfectly acceptable for the Indian minority to demand their girls to not be sullied by dirty goyehs, the reverse would never be acceptable. If the white dad in the movie said the same things about his daughter with Indian boys and the film were sympathetic to that viewpoint, there'd be protests and denunciations everywhere. Apparently,  it's only racist when white people want to maintain their heritage or marry within their race. Nevertheless, rent this movie. --Bill Alward, October 20, 2003