How does an Indian female, just finishing up high school (or whatever they call it in England), get away from her parent's expectations and play soccer?
This movie was so great! A chick flick about sports. And it had a killer soundtrack. There was the fights over a boy, the struggle with parents, the shopping and clothes that made your eyes pop (Indian clothing is really elaborate).
There was a lot of pressure on Jess, the Indian heroine, to follow the traditional roles for females in her family. Her interest in boys seems to be mostly as opponents or teammates on the playing field. Some of the other Indian girls, including her sister, are much more interested in boys. Jess's mother keeps wanting to teach her how to cook a full Indian dinner.
I loved the wedding scenes, when Jess's sister finally does get married. Oh man! I am now filled with a desire to buy my own sari.
The other female lead, Juliet, shows that it's not just Indian traditions that want the stereotypical female roles for the daughters in the family. Juliet's mother is very distraught at her daughter's preference for sports rather than lacy underthings.
Women are still struggling for recognition in the sports world. Somehow, it seems to be more complicated for us. Bend it Like Beckham adresses a lot of those problems with humor and honesty.
Article comments
1 - kriselda jarnsaxa
While this may not be a major feature of the movie, I have to say that one of the things I really enjoyed was Jonathan Rhys-Meyers' performance as "Joe", the coach. It was good to see that he could play a reasonably "normal" person for once, and he added just the right bit of tension between Jules and Jess, which helped make their relationship feel more real.
I really enjoyed this movie a lot, though. As both a sports movie and a nice bit of romantic comedy, it succeeds, and is a nice diversion for a couple of hours. I know it left me in a better mood after I watched it, and sometimes that's a bit of a trick to accomplish. :)