Beckham's influence
at Old Trafford was growing, although his choice of change strip
wasn't expected to go down well with fans
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Football, ex-members
of All Saints, Gary Lineker, stars of Goodness Gracious Me. Recipe
for success? Sadly not. The boys 'n' girls have missed a sitter.
Nigel Bell
Several years
after the success of Bhaji on the Beach, director Gurinder
Chadha returns from a stint of movie making in America to the shores
of Blighty. Sadly she doesn't seem to have moved on since the mid-90s.
The Plot
18-year-old Jess Bhamra (Nagra) is mad on football. What's more,
she's an excellent player. Sadly, a glamorous career as a soccer
professional is the last thing on her parents minds. They want her
married off, skilled in the art of making the perfect aloo gobi.
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| What do
you mean my kness look like Ryan Giggs? |
When Jess's
talents are spotted by Jules Paxton (Knightley) she's invited to
join the local women's football team.
She becomes
a first team regular but has to keep everything secret from mum
and dad.
When they find
out they hit the roof and ban her from playing again.
The girl rebels,
she falls for her football coach, her sister's about to get married,
she falls out with her best friend, gets accused of being a lesbian,
finds out another best friend is gay. And that's before the big
soccer match against QPR ladies.
The verdict
Bend It Like Beckham is a huge disappointment, especially
when considered against Chadha's movie debut Bhaji on the Beach.
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| The producers
were determined to outdo Baz Luhrman's Moulin Rouge |
That film was
witty, dramatic, cutting edge in terms of the problems faced by
young British people of different religions growing up under the
pressure of cultural traditions.
Beckham,
unlike the footballer, is obvious, cliché and predictable,
merely retreading many images and ideas from her debut.
It's with heavy
heart I have to report this because, and it's not often I can name-drop,
I went to college with director Gurinder Chadha.
I love Bhaji
and after her stint in America I was expecting great things
from this film.
The trouble
is she seems to have stood still since she went to the States. Films
like East is East appear to have past her by.
 |
| Sir Alex
Ferguson questioned his scout's choice of a new centre forward
|
The relationship
between Indian and British cultures as reflected in film have moved
on since Bhaji on the Beach. Gurinder Chadha hasn't.
The issues of
conflict between the traditional way of Indian life and the more
relaxed views of Asian children who've lived in the UK all their
lives have mainly been tackled before.
It's the old
problem of agreeing to an arranged marriage and being a good wife
verses your own ambitions (in this case Jess's desire to play football).
Even where Chadha
tries to juxtapose Jess's dilemma with that of football colleague
Jules (her white mother (Stevenson) doesn't want her playing football)
it just doesn't strike as anything dynamic.
The backdrop
of football is what the producers are probably hoping will catch
the imagination but the references are stereotypical.
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| The prospect
of tickets to see the Manchester United third team in action
didn't go down well with all members of the family |
You have the
offside law being explained to a none football fan using dishes
and bottles, a sequence with Gary Lineker and Alan Hansen that's
more reminiscent of Alastair McGowan's impersonations and Goodness
Gracious Me鈥檚 Kulvinder Ghir acting just like a character out
of the comedy series.
More than anything
the film is let down by the writing. The pivotal scene comes half
way through the movie when Jess's coach Joe comes to her house to
persuade her parents to let her play football.
Jess's father
gives a long speech about how he was one of the best fast bowlers
in India but wasn't allowed to play in any cricket teams when he
came to Britain.
Given the reason
for Joe's visit you expect him to retort by saying don't make the
same mistake with your daughter. She has the chance of the sporting
career you were denied.
He doesn't and
yet the rest of the film heads to this obvious conclusion.
Being slightly
more upbeat there are some good one liners such as "Get your
lesbian feet out of my shoes." "Lesbian. I thought she
was Pisces." And Juliet Stevenson's performance as Jules's
mother is excellent.
But it's not
enough to lift Bend It Like Beckham into the premiership. It's simply
lower league stuff.
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