Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic! The best movie ever!
Review: This is a truly amazing movie. It's funny, gripping, and just altogether brilliant. If you haven't seen this movie, GET A LIFE!
Rating: 
Summary: "Yeah, as in male Joe! Joe, our coach! Joe! Man! Joe!"
Review: There are a few small films released each year that reward filmgoers who choose to watch them instead of the latest big-budgeted Hollywood release. These films typically fly under the mainstream radar and depend upon word of mouth to build public awareness of their existence. Most filmgoers will never see them as they opt for glitzier event films and star vehicles but this is their loss for they will miss out on wonderful treasures like Gurinder Chadha's "Bend It Like Beckham."Jesminder "Jess" Bhamra (Parminder K. Nagra) is a young Indian teen who lives in England. She has tremendous soccer skills which have gone unappreciated by her traditional parents. One day Jess catches the attention of Juliette "Jules" Paxton (Keira Knightley) as she plays soccer in the park with her friends. Jules recruits Jess for a woman's soccer team called the Hounslow Harriers and suddenly the two of them hatch a plot to keep Jess' participation on the team secret. As she spends more time with the team, Jess becomes attracted to her coach, Joe (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) but matters become complicated because Jules also has feelings for him. Eventually Jess' parents learn of her exploits and are forced to reassess their plans for their daughter's future. "Bend It Like Beckham" overflows with charm, energy, and wit from start to finish. The film includes some thought-provoking commentaries on traditional and cultural attitudes but never becomes too dramatic for its own good. Nagra and Knightley sparkle in their respective roles and manage to project a sense of goofy fun and joy that keeps "Bend It Like Beckham" from taking itself too seriously. The supporting performances by Rhys-Meyers, Anupam Kher, Shaheen Khan, and Juliet Stevenson are all solid and perfectly complement the two leads. "Bend It Like Beckham" is proof positive that good things sometimes do come in small packages. There are no prolonged action sequences or cheesy eye-candy special effects here - just a good story, good characters, good performances, and good filmmaking.
Rating: 
Summary: CUTE, ETHICALLY SPICED CROWDPLEASER. BUT A GEM? NOPE.
Review: I'll admit that I allowed myself to get hype-tanned before I saw this collection of mildly amusing scenes cobbled together into a movie about assimilation and family conflicts within a middle-class Indian family in London. You know the works. Girl figures out she is good at soccer. Wants to do something about it. And thus we get trapped in a redundant cycle of: Jess lies to mother about playing for the team, mother finds out, Jess stops playing, Jess starts playing, Jess lies to her mother, mother finds out.....ad infinitum. See where this is going? It's quite dull and painfully repetitive, leaving us to count down the minutes until the plot reruns itself for the umpteenth time. When the plot's not stuck in its loop, it's busy cramming in limp situations and characters. Jess' family is presented as a near-exaggeration that makes the parents of My Big Fat Greek Wedding look downplayed. Not just the Indian family, even the mother of Jess' british friend, played by Juliet Stevenson, is convinced that push-ups bras and short skirts, not shin pads and cleats, are the only way to attract a man. Both families feature the old standby of Lone Understanding Parent -- trusting, sympathetic dads -- who both exist merely to convince their grumbling spouse to give the kids a break, but only, of course, in time for the Big Finish. On the plus side, the director succeeded in evoking a workable level of charm from the cast and the roles they play, and it's easy to see why so many people have come to like this film. It's hard not to like these characters. Plus, both Nagra and Knightley have the good looks, natural charisma, and honest acting talent that makes a person a bona fide movie star. The soundtrack is cool too except for that Punjabi music at the wedding that played on for a tad too long. Yet, on the whole it winds up being a formulaic mess, not very rousing, not very interesting, and at the end of it all, not all that much fun. Recommended rental, perhaps.
Rating:
Summary: Nice
Review: BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM is a nice example of a "feelgood" type of movie. You like the characters, they have some problems, but everything works out the way you want it to in the end. Further, it's an inspirational story for any young woman who plays a sport. My daughter, who has gotten onto her school's volleyball team this year, liked it a lot. The movie also has something to say about the clash of divergent ethnic groups and about traditional versus contemporary gender roles. Beyond all of that, the script contains plenty of humor and the players handle their roles well. It's very reminisent of MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING. Take that film, move it to Britain and change it to MY BIG FAT INDIAN WEDDING and you've got the picture. With all of that going for it, though, BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM is not "brilliant" or "flawless". It's a nice flick. Nice, but very predictable. The script is clever, but the plot holds no surprises and there's not really a lot of tension. In the end, everyone emerges happy and essentially unscathed. Additionally, for non-British viewers, the dialogue is sometimes a little hard to follow. I like this movie and I think most people will find it entertaining, but it's hardly a cinematic classic. Enjoy it for what it is, but don't expect too much. I'm a bit surprised at how some people gush over it. Finally, I haven't even watched the "extras" that come with this DVD, but what makes or breaks a DVD package is the movie, not the extras. Good extras are nice, but ultimately extras are just extras.
Rating:
Summary: Good Wholesome Fun
Review: Two girls with overburdening parents fight for the right to play what they love most: soccer. One girl, who is Indian, is weighed down by her parents who seek the old way of life where women lead the life their parents choose for them. The other is weighed down by a mother who wants her girl to be more feminine and go after things in life that the usual girls go for: boys, clothes, etc. It's a cute movie - definitely worth watching once for some good fun.
Rating:
Summary: Simply Superb
Review: I LOVED this movie. Just loved it. Jess is a wonderful homey character who loves her family and who loves football (soccer) ... and the two do not mix. PLUS she is falling in love with her coach.
Jonathan Rhys-Meyers plays him perfectly and gorgeously and adds a wonderful needed yummy element to the film. He is perfect in every scene. Understated and oh so cool and memorable. I loved the soccer scenes. Jules, I also liked but when she got snotty it was way overdone. Like when she bitched out Joe at his workplace, she actually got big teethed and ugly and I lost my like for her character. That is my only complaint about the film. Oh, and how Jess' friend is secretly gay. That "add on" into every movie is so cliche. (no offense intended) The Indian culture focus was done beautifully and with humaneness and authenticity. There is NOTHING fakey about this film.
I am so glad I watched it. Why can't there be more films like this?
Rating:
Summary: just about flawless!
Review: While I'm usually not a fan of movies that try to be universal-appeal crowd-pleasers, this film was simply irresistible. What more can you ask for? Two capable and adorable female leads (Keiran Knightley is IMHO the most gorgeous tomboy since Demi Moore in "GI Jane"), excellent cast all-around, fast-paced film editing with a high-energy soundtrack, great script, agile camera work, an original storyline and very original characters, politically correct but never preachy or condescending, very true to life, doesn't insult the audience's intelligence, lots of spontaneous laughs, a happy ending that is both plausible and not given away two hours before, even a romantic subplot that never degenerates into cheese or cliche...there is really nothing NOT to like here!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: I actually watched the DVD rather than the theater release. The best part of any DVD package are the extras, and there are three. One is a featurette on the making of the movie that's charming. One is a short featurette showing the director and her mom and aunt making Aloo Gobi. The high point is, of course, the audio commentary, and here the director and her non-Indian husband add their unique and interesting perspective. The viewer can see the movie again through a different pair of eyes, which is why it's a darn shame closed captioning doesn't pick up their comments. As for the movie itself, everyone's pretty much given away the story, so I won't. Anyone reading my reviews on a regular basis knows I love coming-of-age movies. I've seen some of the best, and I think this movie ranks right up there with them. Even though older kids are involved in this one, I found the movie very charming. It features a culture clash on several levels: traditonal and modern, British and Asian, even young and older. But what prevails in the end is the love a family has for one another. It's a good story that younger viewers who are ready for more mature stories can see. I recommend it highly.
Rating:
Summary: No Big Deal, But Utterly Enjoyable
Review: "Bend It Like Beckham" reminds me of the best of those 80's teeny-bopper movies directed by John Hughes. Everything takes place in a bubble-gum colored world where everyone is attractive, there are some easily-resolved conflicts that occasionally take away from the mostly happy proceedings, and vast amounts of plot are summarized by montages set to bouncy pop tunes. Nothing wrong with this, however. "Bend It Like Beckham" is an absolute treat from beginning to end. My wife and I found ourselves totally won over by the cornball cheesiness even as we were making fun of it, and at the end, as embarrassing as this is to admit, we applauded (and we saw this, by the way, in our living room, not in a theatre). Watch this movie and enjoy. Grade: B+
Rating:
Summary: Excellent ! GIRL POWER!
Review: I love this movie! Parminder Nagra "Jess" and Keira Knightly "Jules" are wonderful as two "football" players who want desperately to play their sport at the top of their game.
This movie is funny. The fish out of water story with Jess and her traditional Punjabi family and their ideas of how a proper young lady should be provide the conflict for the film.
Jules and Jess both are interested in their coach Joe played by Jonathan Rhys-Meyers ( I had a tough time identifying him initially- then it dawned on me he had starred in Velvet GOldmine). This is a quirky film with humor, attitude and heart. The love and respect Jess feels for her family is genuine and causes her much distress. The ultimate triumph of the film is not slap dashed out but brought to a skillful and happy conclusion. This a must for all soccer moms and female athletes viewing!
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