Movie Review: Bend It Like Beckham

While I am tempted to sum up this movie in one line (Two beautiful young women playing sports: 'nuff said!), I think I can eek at least three paragraphs outta this deal. First, though, in an effort at full disclosure, I must admit something to you all: I am a twelve year old girl. At heart, I've never outgrown my love for movies about angsty teenagers or fun sleepover flicks (just wait until I review She's the Man. And Bring It On! And Legally Blonde, oh god!). So you'll have to bare with me while I gush over movies like this one about cheeseball female friendships and grrrl empowerment.

Jess (Parminder Nagra) is an Indian girl living in England under her family's traditional, yet mostly lenient and supportive, control, and all the poor girl wants to do is play soccer! Luckily Juliette (Keira Knightley) spots her serious skillz at the park one afternoon and invites her to try out for a girl's team. The head coach is dreamy Mr Jonathan Rhys Meyers (with an Irish accent!), whom the girls fight over a bit, and Jess ultimately snags/snogs. (No worries though, there's still plenty of lesbian subtext between these friends for you to cling to.)

Really, it's an hour and a half of watching ladies in short shorts kick a ball around and hug and shop for sports bras. But you know, in this world where all young women seem to want to do is grow up and "be famous" (without doing anything, of course, like reality TV has taught us all is painfully possible), where we're forced to settle for people like Lady Gaga and Shayne Lamas and post-Mean Girls Lindsay Lohan as role models, it is  refreshing to pop in this flick and watch women who are actually doing something, and who might encourage/inspire the viewer to get off their bum and do something too.  Not that you should go out and try to play soccer; no one really plays that outside of grade school. Maybe try baseball or something. Anyway.

Here is a recipe for beans on toast:

1. Cook up some baked beans
2. Butter some toast
3. Spread beans on toast
4. Don't burn yourself!
5. Throw that rubbish away and replace with peanut butter and jelly.


Next Up: Better Off Dead