lilliclark-42218 If you asked me what my favorite movie was without hesitation I would tell you it's this one. Sure I am a tad biased towards it as I am a female who loves soccer more than anything AND support Manchester United, BUT... even if you aren't I can almost guarantee you'll like this movie.I've watched Bend It Like Beckham more times than I can remember and I only find myself writing this review because I'm procrastinating writing my essay on belonging in which this movie is my related text. I was hesitant to analyze and pick apart my favorite movie at first but I have found my love for the movie only deepened as i went. No only is this movie funny and a perfect family movie to watch but it carries so many important messages about racism, gender equality, society and religious expectations, sexuality, sportsmanship, relationships and many many more (including belonging). Sure it had it's flaws (I couldn't flaw it but i know many people can and that's understandable) but for a small budget movie, I personally think it is amazing. and would HIGHLY recommend!!!

thefan-2 David Beckham is a British soccer star and the husband of Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice" of the Spice Girls). His trademark is a goal shot that curves across the pitch and into the net. The soccer equivalent of an unhittable curve ball in baseball. "Bend it like Beckham" means making that type of spectacular shot. Apart from that, and a little shrine to him in the main character's bedroom and a faux-cameo at the very end, the movie has nothing to do with him.The movie is full of little soccer in-jokes, such as the present that one of the characters' parents give her of a jersey with the number 9 on it (property of the great Mia Hamm, to those in the know), references to "Posh 'n' Becks," the video homage to the WUSA one of the characters plays for a disbelieving friend ("They *have* that??"), lesbian gags, sports-bra gags, and so on.The story is about a teenage girl in England who idolizes Beckham and wants to be a soccer star. She has a real gift, but the two seemingly insurmountable obstacles she must overcome are the absence of a professional women's league in the UK (hence their fascination with our WUSA), and her parents, who are set in very old-fashioned ways that do not allow daughters, among other things, to engage in contact sports. The girl's family are portrayed with great affection -- think My Big Fat Greek Wedding. The girl loves and respects them enough to go through sitcom hell to conceal her growing soccer stardom from them.

Python Hyena Bend It Like Beckham (2002): Dir: Gurinder Chadha / Cast: Parminder K. Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Juliet Stevenson, Shaheen Khan: Refreshing foreign comedy about shaping character stranded between two factors. Parminder K. Nagra stars as a teenage Indian girl who has a talent for playing soccer. Her family is heavily into tradition expecting her to follow sister's path as she prepares for her wedding. She secretly plays soccer until she is found out and forced to make a choice. Effective setup addresses family issues but travels formula grounds. This has all been done before but with the location change it attempts to try something new. Stylish direction by Gurinder Chadha that is perhaps better than the film deserves. Nagra stands firm as the lead who shelters a secret life. How her situation turns out isn't that difficult to foresee. Keira Knightley is wonderful as Nagra's friend. Knightley's mother sees both girls hug and believes that they are lesbians. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers plays Nagra's coach who sees potential but the role is pretty much standard issue with these films, and here it isn't too far off familiarity. The parents all behave like idiots with their religious beliefs that they attempt to shove down their daughter's throat. Religious elements are silly but theme regard realizing potential and bending it in the right direction. Score: 6 / 10

bigverybadtom The premise was intriguing, if trite. Girl wants to play soccer, traditional family refuses, girl runs off and does it anyway. Unfortunately, the execution was mediocre and we only saw part of the movie.The very beginning was amusing. We see a televised soccer match with David Beckham on the team, there is trouble getting the ball through, and suddenly a female player gets the ball and scores an unlikely goal, to the world's adulation. Well, except for when several sports commentators talk to the girl's mother, who is critical of her being in the soccer game in the first place and showing her legs to thousands of people. It was the girl's imagination, of course-and real life intrudes when she is called down to deal with preparing for her sister's upcoming wedding.Unfortunately, then comes a bunch of shouting back and forth, clichéd and not well-acted. A standard clash of Indian and English cultures, and it quickly got tedious, so we gave the rest a miss. The idea could have been done much better.