By Cyd Zeigler jr.
Outsports.com

You may not find the answers to life, or original filmmaking techniques, in the film, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more enjoyable story, and a more likable cast, than the one put together in Fox Searchlight’s BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM.

It doesn’t break any new ground ground; in fact, it follows ground previously broken quite nicely – complete with clichéd jokes, typical handling of dramatic situations, and a storyline more predictable than the Red Sox in the postseason.  What the film does provide wonderfully is a cute, light, two hour escape more enjoyable than most of what Hollywood is releasing, that does manage to challenge a couple stereotypes along the way.

And, if you needed a couple reasons to run out and see it, try these on for size:  great soundtrack that will stick in your head for days, a gay character (and you’ll never guess which one until he tells you), lesbian rumors and a burgeoning hunk that once made out with Ewan McGregor.

Director / Cowriter Gurinder Chadha weaves a charming story around Jess Bhamra (Parminder Nagra), a teenage Indian girl living with her family in the suburbs of London, who is obsessed with Brit soccer star David Beckham.  She’s also got moves of her own, aptly dribbling past a group of older boys in the first minutes of the film for a score.  The problem with all this:  it’s not proper for an Indian girl to take in interest in sports as Mrs. Bhamra (played convincingly by Shaheen Khan) reminds her from the opening sequence:  “your sister’s getting engaged, and you’re sitting here watching this skinhead boy.”

In steps Jules Paxton (Keira Knightley), a soccer player for a local girls team, who convinces Jess hide her soccer playing from her parents.  Her parents, of course, find out that Jess has continued with soccer and ban her from playing.  Jess quickly goes back to sneaking around, finding excuses to get out of the house and head to the soccer field.  Back and forth the two sides go until Jess decides to heed her parents’ words with her sister’s wedding coming

As a prince on a white horse, the girls’ soccer coach, Joe (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), steps in and confronts Jess’ parents.  Meyers (You may remember him from Velvet Goldmine, in which his Brian Slade shares a kiss with Ewan McGregor’s Iggy Pop) lights up the screen every time he’s on it – and it’s no wonder that he has the hearts of his two star players.

At its heart, the film is about the choice Jess must make:  be the traditional soon-to-be-good-wife that her Indian family tries to force her to be, or break away and express her passion for playing soccer.  It’s a storyline that any gay man or lesbian can relate to – and that was not lost on the filmmakers: while it’s not at the center of the film, there is some gay-themed content from a gay character to suspicions of one of the players’ moms that her daughter and another player might be more than teammates.  Mr. Bhamra (Bollywood legend Anupam Kher) delivers a speech, about opportunity and being yourself, near the end of the film that any gay man would love to see his father give.

Soccer fans will find plenty of action, edited adeptly by Justin Krish.  Though, while Jess’s room is covered with posters of Beckham, if you’re hoping for a glimpse of Becks, you’ll have to wait until the final scene of the film – and even then, it’s a distant shot of him walking with his spicy wife (who supplies a song, “I Wish,” on the soundtrack). 

As the film brings together two difference cultures, the soundtrack is a wonderful melding of traditional Indian music with a wide range of other genres from dance to Reggae to pop.  The theme song for the film, “Texas,” by Inner Smile, is as catchy of a tune as you’ll find; no doubt you’ll be hearing it remixed to death on dance floors and in gay clubs this spring.  Sporty Spice (now Mel C) gets the brunt of a lesbian joke in the film and still sports a track called “Independence Day,” which is a little Avril Lavigne, a little Hoku, and a great anthem for the film. 

In all, BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM is a charming, satisfying escape that will pull out a laugh and a tear and send you from the theater singing, “Hot Hot Hot.”