| Bend It Like Beckham |
| Monday 11 August . . . 11:55 pm |
|
Mood:  cheerful |
| Music: [just THINKING about this movie made me happy.] |
"This is just the way it started with your niece. The way that girl would answer back! And then running off to be a model wearing small, small skirts."
"Mum, she's a fashion designer!"
"She's divorced, that's what she is."
I realized I never reviewed this movie, even though I just got back from my third watching of it and am due for a fourth tomorrow. As it happens, you're probably living under a rock if you haven't heard of this unexpected smash hit. Bend It Like Beckham, directed by the exploratory, enthusiastic Gurinder Chadha, is a British film that didn't go on wide release in the United States until recently -- it's playing at at least a thousand theatres now, and it well deserves the money. People do have better taste than Hollywood thinks they do. Star Kiera Knightley has been catapulted to fame by this spunky and infectiously joyous movie; one can only hope that the rest of the cast will soon follow.
In the tradition of, yes, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the story opens with a bright, dissatisfied young woman. Jess Bhamra [whose real name is slightly longer but not written out accurately anywhere I can find, so I'm not including it lest I butcher it, because I know all too well how it feels to have an unusual, horribly misrepresented name], a candid and charismatic heroine, is played with effective and endearing honesty by Parminder Nagra. Her favorite pastime is practicing bending a soccer ball into the goal like her idol, English master David Beckham, but all her parents want her to do is help her sister shop for a wedding sari and cook perfectly round chapattis. When a sporty and open new friend, Jules Paxton [Knightley], brings her to a tryout for a girls' soccer league, Jess realizes her dream -- and has to face her parents' disapproval.
The fast-paced plot is supplanted by an upbeat soundtrack and fantastic action shots of soccer games. Though Chadha never had the passion for soccer that her main character did, she worked hard to show the beauty and excitement of the game -- and the true power and strength of the girls who played it.
Also adding charm to the movie is the supporting cast, who offer performances as eager as the two leads. If I mentioned every decent performance I'd be rattling off the names of every cast member, so I'll just point out some notable ones. Jess's older sister [Archie Panjabi] is at turns comforting and outrageously hilarious; she supports her sister, but has an almost demonic fervor for perfect fashion and snogging. Juliet Stevenson never failed to crack me up. Jonathan Rhys Meyers, a coach who won't give up on what he sees of Jess's outstanding talent, adds a carefree flavor to this fun escape. Longtime Bollywood actor Anupam Kher, however, gives the most meaning to the movie: he deepened a role that was already fabulous in its denial of the frighteningly common stereotype of the bumbling [or couch-potato] father. His acting brought tears to my eyes [yes, even the third time].
Another credit to the film is the way it displays Jess's family -- not as boorish, imbecilic immigrants, but as parents, aunts, uncles, friends who love and care about her future, even if they haven't grown up in a teenage English world. The portrayal of Indian traditions does not smack of Jess's own boredom, and backwardness is not confused with stupidity.
So, is there anything not to like? ... Not really. I can think of perhaps one time where the acting of the two leads faltered, perhaps -- and by "faltered" I mean "wasn't absolutely astouding for a second." There was no grand scenery, no big-budget special effects. The film is fun and true; it's cheeky and sweet and thrilling. It's not a magnificent drama, but that's what gives it grace. It's real. It's gold. It's pure enjoyment. It's worth so much of my money that I buy popcorn every time. [I do understand that Chadha doesn't see any of that, but I think that was a nice sentence. Okay? Okay.]
Go. Get out of the house and see it. It's summer and you deserve this entertainment. If you're anything at all like me you'll relate to it spectacularly. 9.907 stars out of 10.
... P.S. Gurinder Chadha was interviewed in BITCH not too long ago, and it was actually interesting; they asked substantive questions because they're intelligent journalists [a sad rarity, I've lately found]. As long as you're getting a back issue, you might as well SUBSCRIBE because they're fabulous writers making a real, intellectual feminist magazine that doesn't just bash men and they need it to stay afloat at the moment and it's only fifteen dollars and as long as you can afford it I don't think you'll be wasting your money. *cough* Anyway. :D Issue #20. |
 I sound my barbaric YAWP over 2 rooftops of the world.  |