Bend It Like Beckham [WS]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

An independent-minded young woman discovers the joys of football, much to her family's chagrin, in this upbeat British comedy drama. Jess Bhamra (Parminder Nagra) is an 18-year-old growing up in West London, where her family has taken every effort to stay in touch with its Indian heritage. Jess' father and mother (Anupam Kher and Shaheen Khan) are after their daughter to go to law school, learn to cook a traditional Indian dinner, and settle down with a nice Indian boy -- the latter of which is high on the agenda of her older sister Pinky (Archie Panjabi), who is soon to wed her longtime beau Teetu (Kulvinder Ghir). However, her family is unaware that Jess has a secret passion -- football (or soccer, as it's known in North America). While Jess' enthusiasm for football star David Beckham is obvious, given the fact his photos cover the walls of her room, her parents don't know that in her spare time she likes to play a friendly game in the park with some of the boys in the neighborhood. One day, while Jess and her pals kick the ball around, she meets Jules (Keira Knightley), who is quite impressed with Jess' skills. Jules plays with a local semi-pro women's football team, the Hounslow Harriers, and she thinks Jess has what it takes to make the team. Jess knows that her parents would never approve of their daughter playing football, so she doesn't tell them, and starts spinning an increasingly complex series of lies as she tries to keep up a double life as a student and a footballer. Jess soon discovers a number of her new friends have their own problems to overcome; Jules dreams of playing pro ball in America, but has to deal with her stubborn and disapproving mother (Juliet Stevenson), while Joe (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), Hounslow's Irish coach, still struggles with the disappointment of a career as a professional athlete which was dashed by a knee injury. Bend It Like Beckham was a significant box-office success in Great Britain and Europe, but didn't reach American theaters until nearly a year after it debuted in the U.K. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 (Theatre Wide Screen)
• Audio: Dolby Digital Surround
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Features:
  • cc
  • Director and co-writer commentary
  • 10 deleted/extended scenes
  • "Who Wants to Cook Aloo Gobi?" hosted by the director and "The Aunties"
  • "The Making of Bend It Like Beckham" featurette
  • Music video and outtakes
  • Aloo Gobi recipe
  • International theatrical trailers

AWARDS

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Nominated Best Picture - Musical or Comedy - 2003

• National Board of Review

•     Won Special Recognition for Excellence in Filmmaking - 2003

• Writers Guild of America

•     Nominated Best Original Screenplay - 2003 (Paul Mayeda Berges, Gurinder Chadha, Guljit Bindra)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Parminder Nagra - Jesminder "Jess" Bhamra
       Keira Knightley - Juliette "Jules" Paxton
       Jonathan Rhys - Meyers - Joe
       Shaheen Khan - Mrs. Bhamra
       Anupam Kher - Mr. Bhamra
       Ameet Chana - Tony
       Juliet Stevenson - Paula
       Archie Panjabi - Pinky

• Director:

  Gurinder Chadha

• Producer:

  Gurinder Chadha, Deepak Nayar

• Screenwriter:

  Gurinder Chadha, Paul Mayeda Berges, Guljit Bindra

• Executive Producer:

  Zygi Kamasa, Simon Franks

REVIEW:

• Serving up Britcom cliches and genuine good heart in equal measure, Gurinder Chadha's culture-clash comedy is destined to win over all but the most cynical of audiences. Bend It Like Beckham doesn't offer any insights into Anglo-Indian issues -- racial, sexual, political, or otherwise -- that haven't already been better-covered by such filmmakers as Hanif Kureishi or Mira Nair. But it does seamlessly integrate its lighter-than-air girl-power agenda into the larger template of a screwball domestic comedy, complete with petty duplicities, a love triangle, and a climactic family wedding. Pushed along with snappy editing and a well-chosen pop soundtrack, the film buzzes by at a pleasant pace, and although the characters hem closely to their pre-ordained types (the sensible mother, the stubborn father, the impudent older sister), each is given enough screen time to make a sufficient emotional impact. None of this would work, however, without leads Parminder K. Nagra and Keira Knightley, whose easygoing rapport and apple-cheeked earnestness are a perfect fit with the movie's tone. For her part, director Chadha doesn't conjure up much visual poetry, but she does have a keen sense for the comically absurd: a throwaway shot of a gaggle of traditionally dressed Indian matriarchs digging for their cell phones -- in tandem -- is one of Beckham's best moments. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi