Bend It Like Beckham (Widescreen): Amazon.ca: DVD: DVD

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Bend It Like Beckham is true girl power. This glorious comedy centers on Jess (Parminder Nagra), an Indian girl born in England whose only desire is to become a football--or, as we say on this side of the Atlantic, soccer--star like her idol, David Beckham; but her traditional family refuses to even consider it. With the help of her new friend Juliet (Keira Knightley), Jess secretly joins a girls' team under the guidance of a male coach (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). As the team starts to gain some attention, Jess's secret can't be kept forever. The story of Bend It Like Beckham is so genuine and detailed that it transcends all the sports-movie formulas that it also fulfills with cheeky exuberance. Wonderfully acted, and written and directed with loving care by Gurinder Chadha (Bhaji on the Beach, What's Cooking?), this movie is pure delight from start to finish. --Bret Fetzer

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Customer Reviews

169 Reviews

5 star:		(103)
4 star:		(40)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(9)

Average Customer Review

4.3 out of 5 stars (169 customer reviews)

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4.0 out of 5 stars Coming of age, Indian style, Jun 22 2004

By

David Bonesteel (Fresno, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Bend It Like Beckham (Widescreen) (DVD)

Cultures clash when talented young Jesminder Bhamra (Parminder Nagra), an Indian girl living with her family in England, earns a spot on a girls' soccer team. Running around in shorts in public is simply not appropriate for a proper young lady, and the time needed for practice would clash with Jess's many obligations, such as preparing for the wedding of her older sister (Archie Panjabi), learning how to cook a proper Indian meal (including vegetarian), and getting into a good school. Jess is soon trying to juggle her home life and her exciting new soccer life, which includes a new best friend (Keira Knightley) and a love interest (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers).

This is a very exhuberant and entertaining film. It follows the basic formula of a coming-of-age film but does it without any missteps. The cast is wonderful. Special mention goes to Anupam Kher and Shaheen Khan, who play Jess's parents. Writer/director Gurinder Chadha (with co-writers Paul Mayeda Berges and Guljit Bindra) has made a very entertaining movie.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Suprisengly Great, Jun 17 2004

By

newfound32 (los angeles ca) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bend It Like Beckham (Widescreen) (DVD)

What makes a great movie is that the viewer should leave watching this film with a good taste in the mouth that "the movie was good. I enjoyed it." This movie delivers exactly that. The movie shows how traditional values get in the way of the dreams of a British Indian girl looks at. Making "curry", cooking "roti", and singing praises of her husband is a cliché of any Indian girl. How about playing football (soccer in British) Sounds strange? Well, that is what you are all set to witness. A British Indian girl is just about excellent playing football (soccer) and wants to excel in it. But that's not her parent's cup of tea. More than that, she falls in love with a white guy? The Indian cliché family is not going to stand for it. How she hides, runs, and gets her bit of the world is all, "Bend it Like Bekham" is all about. Wait a second, did you think than the movie is a serious melodrama? Hell No! It's an out and out comedy. The comic scenes are extremely hilarious and make you laugh and enjoy the good times melt on the big screen. This movie was surprisingly great, when my cousin brought this film I thought typical chick flick, but it is for some reason a great film. This is a must see film.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A winning goal !!!!!, Jan 10 2007

By

M. B. Alcat "Curiosity killed the cat, but sa... (Los Angeles, California) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Bend It Like Beckham (Widescreen) (DVD)

"Bend it like Beckham" is a film about dreams, more specifically about the dream of Jess (Parminder Nagra), a young teenager who would love to play soccer as well as her idol, David Beckham. There are two problems, though. The first is the fact that she is a girl, and the second is her very traditional Hindu family.

The first problem proves to be easily surmountable, as Jess meets Jules (Keira Knightley), a girl who happens to play in the local soccer team. Jules introduces Jess to the coach of her soccer team, Joe (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers). Despite some initial skepticism, Joe incorporates Jess to the team, after a great try out.

Unfortunately, Jess cannot share her happiness with her family. Her parents are immigrants from India, and even though they have lived in England for a long time they still cherish their old traditions. Of course, and according to them, a good girl shouldn't play soccer: she should think about getting married :)

As a result, Jess hides the good news from her father (Anupam Kher), mother (Shaheen Khan) and sister (Archie Punjabi), and begins to play soccer with her new team. As you can imagine, keeping her family from finding out the truth will be quite difficult and hectic. Meanwhile, we will learn some things about cultural differences, friendship, love and (why not?) soccer.

On the whole, I highly recommend this movie, even if you aren't that much into soccer. It is very entertaining, but it also helps you to reflect on our increasingly multicultural societies. I specially liked the overall positive message, and I would like to recommend this movie to you and your family. It is a winning goal :)

Belen Alcat

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars "It put me off beans on toast for life."
This charming little movie combines sports, young love, and family conflict to make an utterly entertaining comedy/drama. Read more

Published on Jun 15 2006 by Kona

1.0 out of 5 stars Save time and money
I just watched this movie and I feel disappointed. The original idea is very good and was for more, instead the film turns in to a cheese soap opera which I just wanted to stop... Read more

Published on July 11 2005 by chayito