Bend It Like Beckham Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
Who wants to cook Aloo Gobi when you can bend a ball like Beckham?
A winning comedy.
Don't call Them Chicks!
An Indian girl born to play soccer for England
Sometimes, to follow your dreams... you've got to bend the rules!
A comedy about bending the rules to reach your goal, Bend It Like Beckham explores the world of women's football, from kick-abouts in the park to freekicks in the Final. Set in Hounslow, West London and Hamburg, the film follows two 18 year olds with their hearts set on a future in professional soccer. Heart-stopping talent doesn't seem to be enough when your parents want you to hang up your football boots, find a nice boyfriend and learn to cook the perfect chapatti.
| Frank Harper | Alan Paxton |
| Keira Knightley | Juliette 'Jules' Paxton |
| Anupam Kher | Mr. Bhamra |
| Archie Panjabi | Pinky Bhamra |
| Shaznay Lewis | Mel |
| Juliet Stevenson | Paula Paxton |
| Shaheen Khan | Mrs. Bhamra |
| Ameet Chana | Tony |
| Pooja Shah | Meena |
| Parminder Nagra | Jesminder 'Jess' Bhamra |
| Paven Virk | Bubbly |
| Preeya Kalidas | Monica |
| Trey Farley | Taz |
| Saraj Chaudhry | Sonny |
| Gurinder Chadha |
7.10 out of 10 (23420 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Fun, Energetic, and Altogether Wonderful
posted on 28 Aug 2009Wow, I can't believe I waited so long to see this film. I just never got around to watching it. The plot has nothing that interests me. I know nothing about soccer (football.) I am one of those American fools that has no clue. I had never even seen David Beckham before this film. I chose to ignore the buzz surrounding this film at the time it was released in America. Enough about me. Truth be told, it was a mistake to ignore this little piece of movie-making heaven. What a fun film. It's full of color and exuberance. I had a goofy grin on my face through the whole movie. Parminder Nagra is so sweet and lovable, you can't help but root for her. No wonder why the American television show E.R. has snatched her up. I have a new appreciation for Indian culture. Those people know how to have a good time. The wedding scenes are dazzlingly beautiful. The only problem I had was deciphering some of the British slang and dialogue through the accents. I turned on the English subtitles to make sure I didn't miss anything. (This is not a criticism of the film!) I'm sure audiences worldwide have trouble understanding the constantly changing slang in American films as well. This is a perfect date film. It has a great sports plot like Rocky, and a strong sense of feminism that is empowering for women. I watched it with my wife, and sixteen year old niece, and we all loved it. I highly recommend it.
Toronto International Film Festival Award Winner!
posted on 26 Aug 2009Bend It Like Beckham had its North American Premiere at the2002 Toronto International Film Festival this week. At today's Award Ceremony, the movie won an honorable mention for theAGF People's Choice Award. The Toronto festival is uniquebecause the big award presented at the end is voted on by thepublic, not by critics or film-makers. Bend It Like Beckham wasone of 2 runners' up for this honor. It's a real feel-good film in thetradition of "The Full Monty" or "Billy Elliot." Parminder Nagra isJess, whose traditional Indian family frowns on her desire to be asoccer player. Respectable Indian girls don't show their ankles,and they don't run around playing with boys. They learn how tocook and look after their husbands. So when Jules (KeiraKnightley) asks Jess to join her women's soccer team, the sparksfly. And when she falls in love with Joe, (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers)her decidedly non-Indian coach, both her family and her new bestfriend Jules (who is also in love with the young man) decideenough is enough! Director Gurinder Chadha tells a great story,brimming with both drama and humor. This movie is hilarious,and Chadha gets a lot of laughs from the ethnic backgrounds ofher characters. In the hands of a non-Indian director this moviecould have been derivative, even offensive, but the humor isaffectionate, and the director admits, autobiographical. ShaheenKhan is absolutely hilarious as a mother trying desperately tomake her daughters conform to her old-world, decidedlyUN-European sense of respectability. But the movie is not aboutrace, it's about friendship, and family, and hope. Nagra andKnightley are terrific as two friends desperate to achieve theirdreams, and Chadha is unabashedly hopeful. You can't help butcheer for Jess and Jules, and you won't be disappointed! Thismovie is already a huge hit in England, and I'm sure it'll also be acrowd favorite on this side of the Atlantic. I loved it!
A good mix of curry
posted on 20 Aug 2009The theme of the conflict between the Asian immigrants in the UK with their home culture and traditions with the British culture was well rendered in several good films during the last decade. Time has come for the commercial feel-good movies to take over the theme, and 'Bend it...' is a good achievement on this respect. It approaches the many complex and serious issues like racism, homo-phobia, man dominated professions on the easy side, and the plot is melodramatic and twisted towards a happy-end in a predictable manner. It is however well acted, it deals with sympathy with all its characters, and it never is dis-respectful for any of the multiple cultures it deals with. Sometimes exporting Hollywood clichees to European cinema works, and this is one of the cases. 8/10 on my personal scale.
?
posted on 18 Aug 2009I have seen the film yesterday afternoon on an free entrance show thing. And what I was surprised was the number of times the microphone was shown above the actors and at the end of the movie at the airport there were the lines on the floor (indicating where actors should stand) quite visible.I hope what I saw yesterday was not the final version of the movie, because otherwise that was the only movie that I saw in my life with so many fluffy microphones showing.Apart from that it was a good movie! :)
Good movie, but kind of confusing near the end
posted on 18 Aug 2009This movie is original in that it pairs an Indian family's orthodox ways and a young girl trying to discover herself. Granted that the story of the young girl, Jesse, has been played out in many other movies in different derivations, I enjoyed the movie nonetheless. In fact, I have to add that the soundtrack is very catchy, especially Bina Mistry's Hot Hot Hot song. The only beef I have with this film is the resolution of conflict between Jesse and Keira Knightley's character. It seems as if the beef between them was real. Near the end, the two are just peachy together. In fact, the conflict resolution is marred by Keira Knightley's character's mother and her wrong assumption of her daughter's sexual preference. Perhaps this was an oversight on the director's part or the story was not fleshed out to great detail as it should have been. Other than that, this movie leaves one feeling uplifted.
A very enjoyable night out if you don't want to see anything deep
posted on 10 Aug 2009'm not sure exactly why I'm going to give 'Bend It Like Beckham' such a good rating. There are many other movies which I have given 7 to which are technically much better (in terms of acting, script, sound, look), such as 'Minority Report' or 'Blue Velvet'. But well, 'Beckham' is just so damn likeable.The story is about Jess (Parminder Nagra), an English girl of Indian descent who idolises David Beckham and loves to play soccer. However her traditionalist parents frown on their daughter running around getting muddy and showing everyone her legs, and want Jess to be like her older sister, who is about to get married. So Jess secretly joins a womens team that her friend Jules (Keira Knightly, who is absolutely gorgious) plays for. Many of the best laughs in the film come from Jule's ditsy Mum, who also frowns on her daughter doing some so unfeminine as playing football. Not only is there trouble with both girls parents, they both fancy their coach Joe (the equally gorgious Jonathan Rhys-Meyers).'Beckham' is a lot like 'Monsoon Wedding' in that it features one of those wonderfully colourful Indian weddings and highlights the sometimes uneasy meeting of Indian and Western cultures, though it does not have the richness of style and emotion that that film does. I'll get my criticisms out of the way first: some of the camera work is dizzying, there are a couple of moments when it gets a bit mushy and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers' performance is not always convincing. But it almost seems mean to be hard on this movie - it is a simple, straightforward and funny story, the kind of enjoyable, low-budget comedy-drama like 'The Full Monty' or 'Brassed Off' that the British do very well. It is nothing amazing but nor does it try to be. At the end of it you come out feeling good. And it is hard to argue with that.7/10
Yes, but where was Beckham?
posted on 10 Aug 2009My comments about this film are prejudiced, I admit it. Reason? The majority of the location shoots were all around the neighbourhood where I lived as a teenager, and where I still teach teenagers today. This means the film immediately engages me on a personal and non-cinematic level.One of the best British films of recent years, BILB manages to portray not only racial conflict, but also the tension that youth of all races have with traditional customs and parental expectations. With my familiarity of the area, and also its people, I can assure the viewer that on this level, the film works as accurately as a documentary might have, with the advantage that BILB is a whole lot more gripping.In an age of mindless teenage screen fodder, this film is funny, touching and refreshingly reflective. For any audience, the film works - for a teenage audience, however, it deserves a 10/10. I've given it an eight because I'm not a teenager, and I try to make my scores reflect general, cinema-literate audiences.A downside of the film structure is its pacing. It's a little uneven in its plot points, and worse still, I have yet to figure out the purpose or the plotting of the fight over the video camera. I saw it on first theatrical release, and perhaps I'm thick, but it simply made no sense at all even on re-play on video later.But the film's most serious flaw is its casting - or rather, its lack of casting. Simply put, where was Beckham? Although, according to IMDb.com, he was represented by uncredited stock footage, the Beckham of the title simply did a no-show for the movie. An absolutely unforgivable omission, one that deserves my pulling the film rating down a notch. But I'll refrain, since it was almost certainly David Beckham's refusal to co-operate. The very least he could have done would have been a visit to the film shoot, so at least some actuality footage could have been run over the closing titles, instead of the obligatory teen-flick "goof" footage. If I could vote for Beckham, he'd get a zero for disappointing an otherwise very good (proud-to-be multi-cultural) British film comedy.
Bend It Like Brechham
posted on 21 Jul 2009I expected more from the film Bend it like Beckham. The story about Jazzminder is good but sometimes a bit weird. The football parts in the movie are just a package of low class football scenes that are compiled unkindly. The tension that should come up, when you see the film, suffers under the fact, that it is to predictable. The title and this Beckham cult is ways to overacted and doesn't really fit the film and is just to fancy football fans, who will be disappointed after watching the movie. The conflict between Indian and British and the story is interesting and well shown but its just not entertaining.Julian D.
Definitely PG 13
posted on 11 Jul 2009I recently saw this movie on DVD. The movie was done well, with few issues and problems. I know of person who took 7 and 8 years olds to see this movie, but some of the subject matter approached should be aleast 11/12 years of age and above.It was definitely an Indie film and budget, but the story is worth while and well acted. The action leaves much to be desired, but after all it is an Indie film. The dialogue is good. The characters are well developed. The actors includincluding Parminder, Keira and Jonathan do well with their respective roles. Pretty much all you would expect from an Indie film.
A Kickin movie
posted on 09 Jul 2009I enjoyed this movie a great deal. The two main characters are two likable girls that have a passion for something. The movie is loaded with feminist messages and racial discrimination, and that is the fuel for the conflict in the story. Girls are looked at with skepticism when it comes to sports and have a tough time proving themselves. This is true with Jess.
She is extremely talented, but still gets clowned at when she plays at the park by a group of idiotic boys. She doesn't truly realize her talent until she is evaluated by Jules and her coach.
The movie touched on issues of discrimination when talking about Jess' father. When he was younger, he yearned to be a cricket player, but got spat on by the English boys.
The performances were all great. Everybody played their part right on target. I see many good things in the future for the two lead actresses.
The chemistry between the two girls and their love triangle with their coach seems real and un-forced. Jess as the hero of the story embodies so many virtues. She is obedient to her family while at the same time showing so much resolve and courage. Although she lies to her parents and sneaks out, her intentions are out of passion; not of greed or mal-intent.
I highly recommend this movie. It has comedy, drama, and some decent sports action. It's the "feel-good" movie of the year.
The only justification for this movie is an Oscar
posted on 05 Jul 2009***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** What many people fail to realize is that this movie has already been playing around the world for the last 12 months, and has only now begun to get a foothold in the US. If you look at this weekend's gross, it is 17+mil which clearly shows that this weekend was a big 'word of mouth' campaign success for Bend it like Beckham'.This is a fabulous movie about Indian culture(sikh faith in this case), their traditions, values and how one girl's dreams come above everything else in the end. I hate to admit it, but I still tear up at the part where Jess's Dad agrees to let her go to America and play football. Brilliant film, and I will add, a revolutionary one. People may not see this now, but what Gurinder Chadha has done with this film will be remembered by many successful women atheletes for years to come.
Masterful and brilliant
posted on 29 Jun 2009In the age of wonderful little movies such as "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and "28 Days", "Bend it Like Beckam" has begun to make waves where once was ripples. After seeing this film laughing all through the credits and enjoying every moment of it I am left in great awe and thankful for it's world wide release. After missing the boat earlier this spring to see "Bend it Like Beckam" in selected venues I ran to see it at my local theatre and kicked my self senseless that I had waited this long. There weren't too many plots or ill advised story lines going no-where; There was however a great story being told about two families with talented girls who exceeded at an under appreciated sport by many Americans today. The Soccer footage was unreal keeping the audience right in the game. The family had their issues but were also sweet and endearing like many families. "Bend it Like Beckam" is a must see for anyone looking to spend a few bucks on a great time at the movies. I'm going to see this film again it's a moment that can't be cloned on vhs or dvd. Go out and see this film and experience for yourself this years sleeper and sure fire winner.
Excellent feel Good Movie
posted on 23 Jun 2009Great movie -I loved it. Great editing and use of the soundtrack. Captures the real feeling of Indian life, yet we can all relate. A well chose cast with some great characters. The movie develops all the characters so that you real care about them all and you feel like you know them. The use of the Indian music and drums in some of the soccer scenes is great and the direction really works as everyone comes off as real and natural. You just can't help but to root for Jess in this film! The acting was really good, even the tomboyish walk and body posture of both leading ladies is very convincing as a someone that played lots of soccer.
Becks - How embarrassing
posted on 21 Jun 2009You like football and you are interested in this movie? Then I have to disappoint you… This story of an Indian teenager girl, named Jessminder Bhamra, is based on the culture clash of India and Great Britain. The football shows up the disparities between Indian tradition and modern British life. That sounds interesting, but the whole implementation seems to be very wishy-washy. Everything which has to do with Indian culture creates a cliché atmosphere and seems to be exaggerated. The main actors Parminder Nagra (Jessminder), Keira Knightley (Jules, Jessminder's best friend) and Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Joe, the coach) made a good job and fit very well to their roles. Nevertheless, the talent of the young actors is clouded by unrealistic football scenes. Also the love story between Joe and Jessminder is so senseless for the plot that you can go meanwhile to the freezer and get a new drink, without missing something important. The climax of absurdity is still the mother of Jessminder's best friend Jules. Only because her daughter plays football and hugs other girls she thinks Jules is lesbian. I think if they would cut every scene of her, nobody would notice it. Of course nobody could forecast the happy ending of the movie. Jessminder wins her last football match at her sister's wedding day, gets a free scholarship on an American college and finally her parents accept their daughter's passion. Result: This movie is neither comedy, nor sports movie. And if you are interested in culture you can read 5 minutes in Wikipedia and you get more information than watching this UK-supported Bollywood trash.Henning Schultz
Absolutely brilliant.
posted on 17 Jun 2009I could go on singing this film's praises for a lifetime. Every time a new British film comes along it is heralded as the best British film since the last one, which, more often than not, wasn't all that good to begin with. But Bend It Like Beckham is a truly magnificent experience, a film with so many winning elements and a deserving British classic. There is nothing to criticise about this film, it scores on so many levels. The story is both engaging and touching. Our hero, Jess, loves playing football and thinks her dreams have come true when local girl Jules invites her to try out for the local all-girls league, the Hounslow Harriers. But her traditional Indian parents are against the idea, and want her to go to university and become a solicitor. Obviously, this isn't going to stop headstrong Jess, so she goes to practises and games in secret, and impresses everyone, especially her coach Joe, who is falling in love with Jess. Only problem is, Jules likes him as well, and things do not go according to plan.The story is excellently played out, there are many little subplots and nuances that make it all the more fulfilling. I was initially against going to see it, being under the assumption that it would just be a film filled with football matches and nothing more. How wrong I was. This is a story about dreams, aspirations, growing up, love and friendship. After seeing it, you feel good about yourself and about life. Not many films can boast that attraction. But none of this could have been possible had it not been for such a brilliant cast.As Jess, Parminder Nagra is a revelation. She is a gifted actress, and brings Jess to life perfectly. You really do feel for her as she tackles her parents, her feelings for Joe and the taunts from the other boys in the park as she dazzles them with her skills. A definite star in the making. Keira Knightley is convincing as Jules, whilst Jonathan Rhys-Meyers is stunning as Joe. It also helps that he's drop dead gorgeous, so it's understandable why both Jess and Jules like him! The supporting cast are excellent. Anupam Kher and Shaheen Khan are hilarious as Jess's parents, Shaznay Lewis makes an interesting debut performance as team captain Mel and Juliet Stevenson is a scream as Jules' despairing mother Paula.Bend It Like Beckham is definitely a triumph. It's funny, sad, sweet and touching. It's also a breath-taking ride, so buckle up, get your football kit on and enjoy.
Bend It Like Beckham: 7/10
posted on 17 Jun 2009Although it most definitely will be compared to My Big Fat Greek Wedding, it really shouldn't be. Even though both of them have a young person rebelling against their orthodox parents, Greek Wedding is a nice little slapstick romantic comedy blockbuster. Bend It Like Beckham isn't as much slapstick, but better in most every way, except it isn't as funny, and it's looking to be the next indie-blockbuster, which it shouldn't.Jesminder `Jess' Bhamara (Parminder Nagra, in a very good debut) lives with her mother (Shaheen Khan), father (Anupam Kher, star of over 100 Bollywood movies), and sister Pinky (Archie Panjabi) in England. She's a good football player (that's also called soccer), and she often plays with boys in the park, and she always beats them. One day, Juliet `Jules' Paxton (Keira Knightley) approaches her and asks her to play for the only women's team in England.She has to avoid her parents, because they don't want her to play sports, they want her to do housework, then marry a man and live a normal Indian life. Jess sneaks out of her house and pretends to be going to work. Meanwhile, Pinky is getting married. Much to Jess's dismay, her parents find out and Pinky's marriage is called off, because Jess is a disgrace to her family. Also, Jess loves famous British football star David Beckham, and has a crush on her coach, Joe (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers).Bend It Like Beckham is a fulfilling and `winning comedy', as one tagline says. It had depth in the characters (unlike Greek Wedding, which just throws characters in). We got to care about them, and wanted to learn more about them. At many times I laughed, but it seemed to have too many serious and slow points without comedy in it. Although it had a more serous side than Greek Wedding, it didn't have to go that far.The cinematography at times was very good. It was spinning many times and was on a crane many times. One especially cool shot was during a match, when it was a first person view from a football. The music was very good, also. Something else that was good was the acting. Nagra gives a great debut, and she should be in more movies as the years go by. Knightley, who looked very sexy throughout the movie, did a performance that I didn't know was possible in movies like this. Kher and Khan were very funny, and I believed everyone for what they were in the movie. I would recommend Bend It Like Beckham if you like comedies that are both funny and poignant.My rating: 7/10Rated PG-13 for language and sexual content.
Beautiful, wonderful movie!
posted on 15 Jun 2009This movie will go straight into your heart and make you leave the theater smiling and full of happiness.It is a very moving and at the same time very amusing film. The main characters are really well portrayed. I almost wish I was Indian and living in London.
Unremarkable
posted on 13 Jun 2009Nothing about his movie stands out as really positive or negative. It's really a pretty light run-of-the-mill drama. The whole young adult child seeks freedom to go against old-fashioned traditional values of family plot has been done plenty of times before, and quite frankly has been done better. In this case, the story centers around Jess(Parminder Nagra), an Indian girl living in England who dreams of playing soccer professionally. Her parents however, won't have it, wanting her to marry an Indian boy and learn how to cook. Really no surprises in the plot, this movie is average in every way. The one thing that raises my rating to a six is the well-filmed soccer scenes and a few funny moments. For instance, the mother of Jules(Kiera Knightley) trying to deter her daughter from playing soccer: "There's a reason why Sporty Spice is the only one without a man."
I love chicken curry
posted on 30 Aug 2009This really was a great movie. Lighthearted fun. You come out of this movie feeling good and satisfied. The acting is wonderful and very believable. Go see it...