Bend It Like Beckham
Published July 5, 2021
Film info
- Title Bend It Like Beckham
- Director Gurinder Chadha
- Year 2002
- Run time 1hr 52m
- Genres Comedy, Romance, Drama
- Tagline Sometimes, to follow your dreams... you've got to bend the rules!
Football-mad Jess is 18, smart, beautiful and can bend a ball better than any boy she knows. She's set her heart on playing for a top women's footie team, but there's one problem: her strict parents want her to settle with a nice Indian boy and learn how to cook! Flying in the face of her parents' disapproval, Jess and her best mate Jules make a name for themselves in the Beautiful Game, but then love rears its head for them both in the form of their fit (in more ways than one) coach Joe.
Live blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 1:52 | Actual Gary Lineker and football people! |
| 4:29 | Why can’t you wear something just because someone else is? |
| 8:41 | How have they fitted that many people in a house that size? |
| 14:13 | “We get just as many trophies as the men’s side do.” Aaaand none of the recognition. |
| 16:12 | Leave Sporty Spice alone! |
| 17:00 | Calling Shaznay Mel is a bit crazy. |
| 21:55 | “We let you play all you wanted when you were young. You’ve played enough.” Ha! |
| 41:28 | It is the short hair’s fault, not the culture. |
| 46:20 | Yay for going to Hamburg and not Paris. |
| 49:15 | Is this soundtrack all Mel C or what? |
| 1:00:06 | There are so many sticks in this film and they’ve all been gotten the wrong end of. |
| 1:00:45 | “George Michael is still a superstar and you still listen to Wham.” |
| 1:13:38 | Offside rule demonstrated by condiments. |
| 1:33:47 | “Get your lesbian feet out of my shoes.” Has there been a greater line in cinema history? |
| 1:35:14 | Jo-Man-Jo. |
| 1:38:59 | The dad is an actual heartbreaker. |
| 1:42:45 | Is… Jo the hero of this story? Pro girls team, confronts his dad, etc. |
| 2:44:15 | “We’ll tackle my mum and dad then,” she says as if they weren’t just snogging in the airport. |
Thoughts
Such a fun film, I can’t believe we haven’t watched this one before - it’s a cult classic and everything! It contained a few surprises, like when a random All Saints member popped up, but ultimately was that coming-of-age, choosing your passion over your parents, story that you can’t help but root for. Great soundtrack, great drama, and plenty of football too.
The only reason this isn’t a five out of five film is some of the early scenes looked and felt so cheap - I don’t know whether the movie settled into itself, or the football stuff was easier to film than the street stuff, but at first I was worried we were in for another Mamma Mia. Thankfully, it found its feet, pun intended!
Rating: 4 / 5