Bend It Like Beckham

Starring: Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Directed by: Gurinder Chadha
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Sports, Foreign
Box Office: $32,543,449
2003

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A young Indian girl (Parminder Nagra) living in England has dreams to play soccer like her hero, David Beckham. However, her very traditional Indian family will not allow it. Things change when she meets a British girl (Keira Knightley) playing on a girl's soccer team. Now, she must keep her soccer playing a secret or anger her entire family, all of whom do not want her to play.

Review:

Tim: Bend It Like Beckham is a very good movie for teen girls to watch. Other demographics will enjoy the film as well, but this is who it is truly meant for. The movie has a very good message- your parents don't always know what's best for you. Now, in many families this may not go over too well, but in some families, it will make perfect sense... especially if you are Indian and an incredible soccer player.

Besides the friendship between the two lead characters and some of the soccer scenes, I found most interesting the pain in dealing with parents who have different values than you. I believe this movie can speak loudly to a whole generation of people who hold onto different beliefs than their parents did. This movie addresses the issue in a interesting light.

Other than that, this is a very good family/teen movie. I wouldn't recommend having children under 13 watching the movie (unless you want to explain the term 'lesbian' to them) but for everyone else, this is a good movie to watch. In regards to a sports film, this movie is only a decent soccer flick. It is much more focused on the relationship between the main girl and her parents and friends.

Parminder Nagra does a fantastic job as the lead character. She is perfect for the role and enjoyable to watch. She brings up the needed emotion and intensity to make this film work. Keira Knightley is one of the best young stars and I would watch any movie she made. I really enjoyed her in this role and can see the budding talent that will make it big in Hollywood.

Bend It Like Beckham is an entertaining film that, although made for a certain group of people, should have enough to appeal to everyone. Plus, it has one of the coolest titles in recent memory. Check this film out!

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



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