Rating: 
Summary: Feel Good Kick of a Culture Story
Review: With the recent popular successes of indie or foreign films focused on non-traditional American culture, like "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," and "Bend it Like Beckham," it is telling. It tells of a film consumer need that big production Hollywood isn't currently meeting. "Bend it Like Beckham," is indeed unique and heartwarming, qualities lacking in Hollywood production line productions.British-made, we aren't left dismaying subtitles. A small criticism is that "Bend it" takes a while to hit it's stride. It no doubt will be a popular view for the soccer-(or football as the rest of the known world knows the sport as) crazed public toting young girls off to Saturday dreams of becoming the next Mia Hamm or Brandi Chastain. Where, "Bend it" truly makes it's mark is the portrayal of the push and pull of a traditional Indian family making their way assimilating into a foreign culture in a foreign land. It reminds me much of Amy Tan's "Joy Luck Club," in that regards. We are hooked with the movie when main character Jess, played beautifully by Parminder Nagra, finds a way to balance her love for a traditionally-minded family and her personal dreams of following her gifted skills to where they may lead her in the world. It is a magical cinema moment. The only thing that holds up this movie from the vaunted 5-star ranking is clarity of vision and need for originality. "Bend it Like Beckham," tries to be too much, all things to all people. It is all at once a coming of age story, a clash of cultures story, a feel good sports-formula story, a girl power story. In addition, it finds itself slightly leaning on the sports-formula crutch. With this said, the criticism are minor, the movie is a good one. Don't miss it. A true kick. - MMW
Rating:
Summary: "A lovable comedy"
Review: Bend it like Beckham is about an Indian girl named Jess Bahmra who looks up to professional British Soccer player David Beckham. But Jess isn't like a regular fan, she's talented. Her traditional parents expect her to follow her older sister pinky's plans to have a traditional Indian wedding. When Jess meets Jules who plays for a local female soccer team, she joins the team and begins to live her own dream. She tries to keep her playing secret from her parents and that leads to troubling results. To make things even worse, both Jess and Jules are taking an interest with their coach, Joe. Jess has to decide whether to fulfill her dream or her parents' wishes.
I had a good feeling about this film since its release. I knew it would be good and my expectations were correct. Bend It like Beckham was an amazing romantic comedy about the joys of friendship, family and love. With very limited flaws this film has everything you could want including good acting and a good storyline to go along not to mention its many laughs and tasteful jokes. With all that what's not to like?
Before this I wasn't such a big fan of foreign film but after seeing Bend It like Beckham I was pleasantly surprised to find myself enjoying them. The whole movie was heart warming and with very limited boring moments. I also loved the ending. It couldn't have ended with a greater more compassionate ending. If you haven't seen Bend It like Beckham yet I suggest you buy and watch it today. I guarantee you will enjoy it.
The DVD features were pretty good and I have no complaints as far as the features go. The DVD contained great outtakes and deleted & extended scenes that I enjoyed and you will too.
Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly Enjoyable
Review: Bend It Like Beckham is a thorougly entertaining movie about Jess, a girl who just wants to play football while her parents want her to be a traditional Indian girl and marry a nice Indian boy. While playing football in the park with her guy friends, Jess is approached by Juliet, a caucasian girl who plays for a girl's team and thinks Jess would be a good addition. This sets up the familiar plot where young child tries to follow her dream, gets in trouble with the parents, before a successful conclusion of all the plot threads. Although there's nothing new in the plot of this story, it's the ethnographic details and the extreme likability of the actors that makes this film a joy to watch. Aside from the obvious gender-switching (girl playing sports), the setting (London) and the family (traditional Indian), there's a number of small touches that raise the movie above what could have been simplistic Disney fare, such as Juliet and her not-quite-similar situation where her father supports her while her mother doesn't and the young Irish male coach with another dissimilar home situation in which the father supported him too much. It's as if you get a cross-section of the possibilities of parent-child relationship, to compare and contrast and realize that for all their differences, it still comes down to the need for the child to make his or her own way in the world. Like another ethnic take on a traditional theme, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Bend It Like Beckham succeeds because it reveals that while the food, dress, or customs may be different, parents are parents and children are children. It also provides an amusing glimpse into that other culture and helps us all realize that, underneath it all, we have the same concerns as each other.
Rating: 
Summary: Beckham Scores!!!
Review: This is by far one of my favorite movies. When I went to see it in the theater, I was skeptical at first, as it was dubbed a "foreign" film and a "soccer" movie. To my surprise, these premature reviews were way off base. Although about soccer, this film is a coming of age classic at its best. And as far as foreign, it takes place in England, but the cultural aspects of the movie are by far the best part. The characters are lively, funny, and beautifully created. The story is complicated but can definitely be followed if you a little patience. Jonathon Rhys Meyers is gorgeous and is stunning in his role of Joe. Kiera Knightly makes her debut in this movie and made me realize why everyone loves her so much. This movie, with its characters, plot, spunk, and enthusiasm makes it a true gem. It is a wonderful feel good film. I can't even begin to say everything that I want to about this movie. It is just terrific and if you do not see it, you will be missing out on a true life changing experience. And although I was a little disappointed that Beckham himself was only shown twice briefly throughout the entire film, it still scored with me. A very confident goal!!!
Rating:
Summary: A Real Winner
Review: Jas is a daughter in a traditional Indian family growing up in England. She has just one passion--soccer. She gets the opportunity of a lifetime when she meets Jules, who introduces her to the world of women's soccer. She craves more than anything to play soccer, but she is thwarted by her traditionalist mother who doesn't want her to waste her time with sports. Jas has to overcome this opposition with the help of her friends and her coach, Joe. This is a really heartwarming movie. It's very interesting to see the clash of English and Indian culture. To tell the truth, I'm not much of a soccer fan, but I could still really enjoy this movie. This is one of the best movies in my library.
Rating: 
Summary: Bend It Like Beckham
Review: I think the movie was all hype. Given the rave reviews the movie got as being one of the best in 2003, I was expecting more thrilling and more intriguing plots. Instead, most of the plots were predictable and even at one time I slept for a couple of minutes while watching the video. I was expecting it to be as fascinating, if not better than "Mississippi Masala." Bend It Like Beckham-a very disappointing movie, for all the hype and rave reviews it has garnered.
Rating:
Summary: An Inspirational Movie!
Review: Never accept situations for the way they are, you got to fight! That was the message of the movie and I loved it! "Bend It Like Beckham" is a great movie with a lot of humor and great "football" skills. Jess (Parminder Nagra) is an English Indian born to follow her family's tradition, but she joins Juliet's (Keira Knightley) soccer team. It's kept a secret and the team succeeds tremendously. Jess idolized the bald man Beckham and dreamed of scoring a goal by smashing the ball with her head. It was hilarious. Some moments are predictable though, but the characters were so rich and every scene was heart-felt, you can't help but like this movie. If you don't like this movie, then you have no soul and should be banished and need to go away forever.
Rating:
Summary: Fun! Compares with other mother-daughter movies from '03
Review: There were three movies out last year that examined the romantic transitions from adolescence to adulthood through ethnic family cultures that clashed with Western culture. They all focused quite a bit on the mother-daughter relationship. "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" garnered the most attention, of course. "Real Women Have Curves" was a sweet look at a Latin-American girl's coming of age. And "Bend it Like Beckham" presents a similar story from an Indian perspective. As a man who has been thinking a lot about the father-son relationship (now that I'm a father) over the past two years, I HAVE EXPERIENCED THESE MOVIES AS A WONDERFUL INSIGHT INTO THE MOTHER-DAUGHTER RELATIONSHIP. All three are refreshing triumphs of the female spirit against the subservience demanded of women by their cultures. Yet all three heroines ultimately respect the cultures. They (for the most part) successfully change their families' views on women through choosing to follow their dreams. They do so in a way that respects and holds onto their respective culture's emphasis on family, while rejecting the dominance of men. "BECKHAM" IS MY FAVORITE OF THE THREE. "Greek Wedding" is the funniest. "Real Women" is the most realistic. In that movie, the mother actually rejects the daughter, and we end with a view of the daughter moving on in life. We hope that a reconciliation will occur; but we are excited that the young woman has moved on with her life. BECKHAM has great acting by little-known actors. (Keira Knightley went on to bigger things as the female lead in Pirates of the Caribbean.) The soccer (football) scenes are good, but this is a movie about relationships, and football is used to create tension. BECKHAM has a lot of the humor of "Greek Wedding" but presents the family conflict in a more realistic way, like "Real Women". It does have a happy ending, though, as the mother and daughter make up. And Jess and her friend go to the US on a soccer scholarship to pursue their dreams of playing in a women's professional league.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I really wanted to like this movie and reading these reviews before watching it raised my expectations. But I found this story to be way too predictable. The characters, especially the mothers, were made out to be cardboard stereotypes rather than characters with any complexity. I was hoping to share this with my 13 year old niece but it was such a yawn I think I'll spare her. Funny? I found myself rolling my eyes but not laughing. Also I had to watch it with the subtitles on because there was so much rapid-fire mumbling. I am amazed this got such good reviews. I did like learning about Indian culture and rituals. The very talented actors did a great job with a weak, predictable script.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent feel-good movie
Review: If you hesitated renting this movie because of it's foreign nature or it's lack of box office success (domestically), then let me set you straight. This is a great, funny, movie. The story takes place in England as a young girl discovers she has a natural talent for playing soccer. She even gets invited to join an all-girls team. The only problem is that she's Indian and her parents are traditional. In their mind, Indian girls need to worry about learning domestic chores and finding a husband, not playing games. Naturally, Jess does what all teenage girls would do in this situation: lies to her parents and sneaks off to play anyway. The backstory involves her sisters pending wedding and what Jess' soccer playing, and erratic behavior, will do to hurt the wedding. There are a lot of laughs, but there's also some serious drama, and the cast and crew pull it off seamlessly. You will really enjoy this film as an escapist adventure. Many of us don't live in England, and aren't Indian, so the enrichment we received from watching this film more then makes up for any minor weaknesses the film may have. I really didn't notice any weakness, and my attention was riveted to the screen the entire time. I highly recommend this film. I don't give out very many 5-star reviews, so when a film recieves one, it definitely deserves it.
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