May 27 movie: Bend It Like Beckham. This is another one of those "I can't believe I didn't see this until now" movies. The plot sounds (and is) a bit formulaic -- a coming-of-age story about a teenage girl from a traditional culture (South Asian), trying to find her place in a modern world (London) and pursue her passion (football) without disrespecting her strict parents. But it works because it's so funny and so loving towards its characters. Georg commented that the film didn't really transcend its genre. In a way that's true, but in another way it isn't: Bend It Like Beckham manages to wholly avoid the saccharin glow that seems such a common pitfall for culture clash comedies (My Big Fat Greek Wedding, I'm looking at you). It's warm but not "heartwarming," if that makes sense.
I don't much care for sports movies but the film did an incredible job of making the football scenes exciting and fun. They really captured the joy of doing something so well. Most of the girls on the team were actual football players, but the two stars were (according to the DVD extras) actresses who didn't play & had to be coached to pull off those amazing moves.
The DVD included the best DVD extra I've ever seen: a cooking segment with the director demonstrating how to make aloo gobi, while her aging mother and aunt (?) sit behind her and critique her work. Every cooking show should have Indian grannies hovering and kibbitzing!
The most important thing we learned from Bend It Like Beckham is that Indian movie weddings have way better music than American movie weddings.
3 Comments
ooh, i love that new blue dress icon!
Thank you! That was my special parade day outfit for Houston. I covered a headband to match the dress. Considering the heat, the wind and all the running around, I was really pleased at how well my hair held up.
(For those not reading the LJ feed, we're talking about this photo: http://userpic.livejournal.com/15419503/1499607 )
I recently saw part of Pirates of the Caribbean, but stopped because I got bored. But now I know how Keira Knightley is, and can see her in Bend it Like Beckham. "Warm but not 'heartwarming'". I like that. Never minding other quality differences between these various movies, would you use that WBNH description for "Brassed Off!" or "Billy Elliot"? What movies *would* you call WBNH?