Cast:
Parminder Nagra --- Jasminder (Jess) Bhamra
Keira Knightley --- Juliette (Jules) Paxton
Jonathan Rhys Myers --- Joe
Bend It Like Beckham is set in London, England where soccer is referred to as 'football'. Jasminder (Jess) dreams of becoming a soccer player and looks up immensely to her idol, soccer star David Beckham. She has a soccer themed bedroom; in every wall and corner is a soccer themed poster. On the ceiling above her bed, there is a large David Beckham poster. Jess enjoys imagining that David is in her room, so she talks to the poster about her dreams, aspirations, and problems.
The problems Jess talks about, are with her family. Jess comes from a Punjabi family. If you are familiar with this culture, you'll know that the expectations of parents are very high and strict. One expectation is that when a girl reaches a certain age, her parents will arrange a marriage for her. But what if the girl falls in love with someone else and want to marry them? This is what happened to Jess' older sister, Pinky. In that case, the parents of the couple have to see if they're suitable to get married. Pinky's fiance's parents like Pinky and agree to the engagement.
In the local park, Jess and her friend Tony play soccer with Tony's male friends. The park they play in is very large and is mostly used for jogging. On her daily jogging routine, Jules notices Jess' amazing ability to play soccer. She becomes interested in Jess and watches her games. Finally, Jules approaches Jess about joining an all girl's soccer team that Jules belongs to. Jess agrees to join the team despite telling her parents and Jules.
The second expectation is that a girl's priorities for her future are to marry a successful and rich Indian, and be an ideal wife. Well, Jess has her own ideas about love and marriage. Joe is the team's coach and he's surprised by Jess' athleticism. Not only is he impressed by her skill, he's also impressed with her. As the movie progresses, Jess begins to like Joe as well. Joe and Jess might seem like an odd couple but they have a lot in common. Firstly, they're connected by their love of soccer. Secondly, Jess learns that Joe's father is similar to her own family; he expected more out of Joe than what he became. As a result, Joe has lost contact with his father because he's afraid of revealing his true self to him.
Another premise is that children are a "map of their parents" and have to uphold their family's reputation. But Jess' irresponsible actions cause Pinky's fiance's parents to call off Pinky's wedding.
The fourth expectation is that a young woman's body is for herself and her future husband. While walking home from grocery shopping, Jess' mother catches Jess playing soccer with Tony and his friends. Jess is wearing shorts and she's 'play-fighting' with one of boys. But the way Jess' mother sees it can only be described by her quote from the movie "Chi chi chi! Dirty boys touching your bare legs!" Jess tells her parents about Jules and the all girl's team, but her parents forbid her to play soccer.
When Joe notices that Jess isn't showing up to the soccer practices and learns why, he goes over to her house to try to convince her family to let her play. Obviously Jess' parents refused the idea of having a soccer star daughter. Before Joe leaves, he tells Jess that she's amazing and she'd be very useful at an upcoming tournament in Hamburg, Germany. This convinces Jess to sneak off to Hamburg with her team. Throughout the movie it's Joe's encouraging words of wisdom and Jess' inner will that keep Jess fighting for her future.
I thought the movie was absolutely hilarious. The movie deals with important issues such as multiculturalism, racism, sexuality, and pursing your dreams. But humor is used to make the issues a little 'lighter' and more heartfelt. Audiences can easily remember the movie's positive message through the funny quotes and memorable scenes. Also, the acting was fantastic (with the exception of Keira Knightley). Parminder Nagra seemed very real and connected with her character and had great facial expressions. Jonathan Rhys Myers easily played Joe, but he added intrigue and disguise to the character.
However, I have a few minor suggestions to improve the movie. One thing I'd definitely suggest is having subtitles for the Punjabi conversations between the Indian characters. While I was watching in the theater, a lot of Asian people were laughing around me and I was confused by the dialogue. Secondly, I wanted the movie to introduce Joe's father. At the end of the movie we find out what happened between Joe and his father in a simple sentence.
Jess knows the expectations her family of her family and she seems to respect them. But this respect grows immensely at the end of the film. Jess begins to learn to understand her family but little by little, she introduces them to things they never knew about her. Everyone of all races and genders can easily relate to the movie, and that's why it deserves my rating of 4/5 stars!
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