INSTANT MOVIE REVIEW : BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM – Those of you who know about soccer, or as our friends in England call it, football, know that David Beckham is considered a national treasure in England, where he plays for Manchester United, a team that gained its name, I presume, because they stick together through thick and thin. Let’s forget for the moment that Beckham is rumored to be leaving United to play for Real Madrid, the incredably rich Spanish team which already sports such renowned international superstars such as Zinedine Zedane and Ronaldo among others. But I digress. In any case, David Beckham’s trademark move is a bending penalty kick which curves around walls of defenders and finds its way improbably into the goal. In Bend it like Beckham, our heroine, Jess must follow her dreams to become a soccer star. Allow me to explain the story to you in the form of a metaphor. Let’s pretend that Jess is David Beckham. David is playing a game during which he is fouled, and he has a penalty kick. And let’s say that if David makes the kick, instead of getting a goal, he instead achieves his dream of playing womens’ soccer in the United States. And instead of a wall of defenders, David has to bend the ball around a wall of his Punjabi parent’s preconceptions and cultural hangups, not to mention some interesting hijinks involving his female teammates and love-interest coach. I will not spoil the ending by telling you whether Jess can Bend it like Beckham, so to speak, but I will say that despite the rave reviews this movie recieved, it was only mildly entertaining to me. Unfortunately, I found it cute, but also slow and predictable, despite some mildly interesting characters and a girl who looks just like Natalie Portman. Alas, Bend it like Beckham is to me, this year’s Big Fat Greek Wedding. Thus, I can only give it 6/10 stars.
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