This is very similar in concept and tone to Wedding, it suffers from predictability (girl has culture clash with Indian parents when she wants to play soccer and they want her to marry a nice Indian boy), but it also features a terrific cast of wonderful characters. The biggest difference between the films is that Bend It, is more thoughtful. The cultural conflict is treated as a serious thing, not a joke. Even the minor love story is taken seriously. That’s not to say there isn’t a lot of humor: it’s very funny and entertaining. It’s got a lot of action as well, with some interesting camera-work designed to make the soccer exciting. Unfortunately, the soccer itself isn’t clearly delineated, with several scenes shot in close-up, making it impossible to really tell what’s going on (soccer is a game that needs to be seen from a distance to appreciate field strategy). The lead actress, the terrific Parminder Nagra, does a great job, though her kicking skills are questionable. Her co-star, Keira Knightley, is a delight — she just lights up the screen every time she’s on it. Plus she actually looks like she can play soccer. ;-) The other cast members, Parminder’s family in particular, are excellent — everyone’s personality comes across and no one is given a sword-carrying role.
Considering this country’s disrespect for the world’s greatest sport, I found it deeply ironic that in this very British film, the soccer-playing girls’ dream is of going to the United States to play soccer (the U.S. has the best women’s league in the world), when, of course, most American male soccer players dream of playing in England (one of the best leagues in the world). Americans are even featured — Keira’s character has Mia Hamm posters all over her bedroom, and in one sequence she shows her friend video clips of goals from the WUSA featuring Hamm, Brandi Chastain, and others. Of course with America’s success last summer at the World Cup, our Major League Soccer becoming bigger and bigger and blossoming a slew of new American superstars like Landon Donovan, the future of American soccer is huge worldwide, and this film, which promises to be extremely popular here in the U.S. (the matinee I went to was crowded!) will boost soccer even more. I’m relieved this is such a good film — I worried it would hurt U.S. soccer by being mediocre. Awesome!
