At the Movies: 'Bend It Like Beckham'
3 minutes ago

By MATT WOLF, Associated Press Writer

You don't have to know who British soccer superstar David Beckham is
to enjoy "Bend It Like Beckham," which finds fresh cinematic moves in
a musty old formula. (Oh, yes, he also is Mr. Posh Spice.)

Co-writer-director Gurinder Chadha's third feature film has the kind
of plot you could recite in your sleep: Jess (Parminder Nagra) — the
18-year-old daughter of orthodox Sikhs — defies all sorts of
obstacles to make it in the mostly white male world of British
soccer, starting with a family that has decidedly different plans for
her.

Will Jess succeed in fulfilling her dreams? Or will she fall into the
domestic pattern of her older sister, whose impending marriage has
mom and dad very happy?

The issue acquires very real urgency when it turns out that Jess'
climactic match with a local women's team is scheduled for the same
day as her sister's wedding.

The pleasure of this film lies not in its outcome, which is largely
preordained, but in the alternately comical and troublesome path
traveled by Jess on her way to scoring the most deeply personal of
goals.

For one thing, there's her tomboyish friend Jules (Keira Knightley
(news)) — a fellow soccer fanatic with designs on a soccer career in
the United States.

Jules isn't quite as cropped in the hair department as Jess' hero,
Beckham ("this skinhead boy," as her mother dismissively describes
him). The problem is Jules' passion for team coach Joe (Jonathan Rhys-
Meyers (news)), which ultimately becomes a wedge between her and
Jess.

Why? Because it's Jess, unexpectedly, who ends up in Joe's fond
embrace, even if Jules' mother Paula (Juliet Stevenson, in a
hilarious turn) mistakenly assumes that the two teen girls are the
ones in love.

Even though Chadha's movie is inevitably dominated by women, Ameet
Chana offers delightful support as Jess' best male friend, Tony, who
breaks a familial taboo all his own by admitting he is gay. ("You're
Indian!" Jess exclaims, in a spontaneous cry of disbelief.)

And in what is probably the most straightforward role that Rhys-
Meyers has yet played — he was the androgynous glam rocker of "Velvet
Goldmine" — Joe and his heedless father make quite a contrast with
Jess and her overprotective parents.

At least Jess comes from a family that cares, Joe argues, whereas he
himself does not. To that extent, a moralizing Joe gets to speak for
the film as a whole, which will leave even non-enthusiasts of soccer —
who predominate in America — caring about the outcome, too.

"Bend It Like Beckham," a Fox Searchlight release, is rated PG-13 for
language and sexual content. Running time: 109 minutes. Three stars
out of four.

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