Bend it like Beckham

 3.5/4

Starring: Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightly, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Anupaum Kher, Shaheen Khan, Archie Panjabi, Juliet Stevenson, Frank Harper

Rated PG-13 for Language and Sexual Content

Few films are as deliriously delightful as "Bend it Like Beckham."  With a smart script, sparkling performances and a light touch from director co-writer/director Gurinder Chadha, this ode to football (er, soccer) and girl power is hard to resist.

Jess (Nagra) is mad for football.  Her room is decked out in Manchester United gear and has a shrine dedicated to David Beckham himself (she even asks his picture for advice).  And she plays it in the park with friends every chance she gets.  There, she is spotted by Jules (Knightly), who plays for the minor league team, the Harriers, and invites her to try out for the team.  Joe (Rhys Meyers) sees that she's got some serious moves and offers her a spot on the team.  Now she's having the time of her life.  There's just one problem: her traditionalist Indian family has no idea what she is doing.

This is a movie that will put a grand smile on your face.  The key is that it likes the characters, and we like them too.  Even Jess's parents are less villains and more the Portokalos family from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."  Bollywood legend Anupaum Kher and Shaheen Khan find the middle ground to play Mr. and Mrs. Bharma.  We view them as Jess does (there is no way she could possibly come clean about being on the team) and yet are still able to laugh at their most fatuous moments.

Not to be forgotten of course are the three lead performances by Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightly and Jonathan Rhys Meyers.  As Jess, Nagra has spunk but also a dose a vulnerability.  She genuinely wants to do right by her family, but it becomes increasingly clear that the life they want for her will not make her happy.  She's at a crossroads with what, for her, is an impossible choice.  Keira Knightly shines as Jules, who is happy to have a gal pal.  She also relishes being Joe's shining star and playfully flirting with him.  But when it turns out that Jess grows to like him too, trouble starts.  Jonathan Rhys Meyers finds the perfect note to play their coach.  He mixes power and aloofness to command respect and awe, and adds just a touch of kindness to make him attractive.  Getting his attention is like getting attention from a star.  In this way, the actor's sex appeal can be measured in gigatons, and it allows the love triangle to feel real as opposed to a narrative contrivance.

The film is almost always cheerful, but much must be made of the film's humor quotient.  "Bend it Like Beckham" is genuinely funny, at times riotously so.  Shaheen Khan has some perfectly scandalized one-liners, and there is a subplot with Jules's mother (Stevenson) who thinks that her tomboy daughter is a lesbian that is guaranteed to leave everyone in stitches.

Flaws are minor.  There are some pacing issues, and a key scene involving Mr. Bharma doesn't have a good follow through.  And as charming as the film is, it still has some pedestrian direction.  But again these are minor quibbles.  "Bend it Like Beckham" scores!

Note: I have no idea why this is rated PG-13.  If there's a movie more perfect for pre-teen girls, I haven't seen it.

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