Barnes & Noble

Arguably this year's most charming comedy, Bend It Like Beckham is a flawlessly executed coming-of-age story structured around the cultural and intergenerational pressures faced by members of a girls' soccer team in England. The movie focuses on Jesminder "Jess" Bhamira (played by radiant young Indian actress Parminder Nagra), whose immigrant Sikh parents disapprove of her obsession with soccer. They believe she should be honing her cooking skills and looking for a nice Indian boy to marry, but Jess rejects their entreaties and instead joins the Hounslow Harriers, developing a crush on her coach (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) into the bargain. The narrative developed by director and co-writer Gurinder Chadha isn't startlingly original, but it is infectiously effervescent and unexpectedly moving. In this case, familiarity does not breed contempt, primarily because Chadha takes a commonsense approach to characterization and avoids clichés. Much of the credit for Beckham's success belongs to its cast. Nagra makes her character independent-minded but not contemptuous of the cultural traditions to which her parents adhere. Jesminder's friend and teammate, Juliette (Pirates of the Caribbean's Keira Knightley), faces similar problems at home, especially from a doting mother (Juliet Stevenson) who can't understand why her tomboy daughter wouldn't rather wear a Wonderbra and adopt more girlish ways. The gentle tweaking of conventional values bespeaks affection and respect and places this eminently enjoyable movie far above its coarser Hollywood contemporaries. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

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

Entertainment Weekly

The most exhilarating movie so far this year. It's made up of many familiar elements -- think Monsoon Wedding meets My Beautiful Laundrette meets Personal Best -- yet before long, you catch on to how buoyant and funny and original it is. Owen Gleiberman

Washington Post

There's a great sense of fun in the cultural collision between Indian and British lifestyles -- often within the same person. Desson Howe

Los Angeles Times

Smart, lively and altogether warmhearted dramatic comedy. Kenneth Turan

Product Details

• UPC: 024543084266
• Source: 20TH CENTURY FOX
• Region Code: 1
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital
• Editions: Subtitled, Dubbed
• Time: 1:52:00
• Sales Rank: 7,331

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• In America / Bend It like Beckham
• Girls Will Be Girls Collection
• Fox Searchlight Spotlight Series, Vol. 2

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