- Meet Gracie Bowen, she's your average, ordinary 15-year-old girl, except for one thing: she's determined to play varsity soccer. on the boys' team! But when her school forbids her to play and even her family questions her ability, Gracie sets out on extraordinary quest to prove them all wrong. Fighting to change the school's policy and facing off against some of the toughest competitors on the so
Sometimes, to follow your dreams…you've go to bend the rules! Audiences and critics alike are cheering wildly for this "exhilarating…terrific comedy" (Entertainment Weekly) about a young girl who is torn between adhering to family traditions and attaining super-stardom on the soccer field. Hailed as the year's must-see crowd pleaser that "makes you feel good and laugh out loud" (Chicago Sun-Times), "Bend It Like Beckham" scores! (Time Magazine)
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 FetzerSometimes, to follow your dreams?you've go to bend the rules! Audiences and critics alike are cheering wildly for this "exhi! larating?terrific comedy" (Entertainment Weekly) about a young! girl wh o is torn between adhering to family traditions and attaining super-stardom on the soccer field. Hailed as the year's must-see crowd pleaser that "makes you feel good and laugh out loud" (Chicago Sun-Times), "Bend It Like Beckham" scores! (Time Magazine)
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, a! nd 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 FetzerHave you ever dreamed of scoring a goal from the half-way line? Could you bend the ball past a wall of defenders? Have you ever wondered what it takes to become one of the best football players in the world? David Beckham, one of the greatest football heroes of all time, felt it was time to give something back to his fans. Filmed on High-Definition, featuring multi-camera angles, super slow motion, and time slice footage, David shares his knowledge, skills and experiences in this unique and official soccer skills DVD. Never before has a player's technique been dissected so thoroughly. Broken down into easy to use sections - control, space making skills, passing and working for space, turning skills and forward play, crossing, closing down and defending, finishing and free kicks - this is the def! initive soccer skills program. Includes Spanish and French lan! guage ve rsions. Now you can learn to
Really Bend It Like Beckham!Sometimes, to follow your dreams?you've go to bend the rules! Audiences and critics alike are cheering wildly for this "exhilarating?terrific comedy" (Entertainment Weekly) about a young girl who is torn between adhering to family traditions and attaining super-stardom on the soccer field. Hailed as the year's must-see crowd pleaser that "makes you feel good and laugh out loud" (Chicago Sun-Times), "Bend It Like Beckham" scores! (Time Magazine)
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 FetzerBend 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 for! ever. The story of
Bend It Like Beckham is so genuine a! nd detai led 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 FetzerDisc 1: AQUAMARINE Disc 2: BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM Disc 3: JUST MY LUCKMeet Gracie Bowen, she's your average, ordinary 15-year-old girl, except for one thing: she's determined to play varsity soccer... on the boys' team! But when her school forbids her to play and even her family questions her ability, Gracie sets out on extraordinary quest to prove them all wrong. Fighting to change the school's policy and facing off against some of the toughest competitors on the soccer field, Gracie must summon all of her strength and courage, to finally show the world that a girl with a dream can do absolutely anything!
DVD Features:
Audio Commentary
Featurette
Theatrical Trailer
Both on-screen and off,
Gracie is an inspiring family affair that turns real-life tragedy into a spirited tale of fortitude. With former
Melrose Place star Andrew Shue serving as producer and playing a supporting role, and his actress sister Elisabeth Shue (
Leaving Las Vegas) in a supporting role, this modest, $10 million independent production was directed by Elisabeth Shue's husband, TV veteran Davis Guggenheim (director of Al Gore's global-warming documentary
An Inconvenient Truth), and loosely inspired by the death of the Shues' brother, Will. Elisabeth Shue's successful late-1970s campaign to replace her late brother on his high school soccer team serves as the basis for this appealing, no-frills drama about Gracie Bowen (Carly Schroeder), an athletic New Jersey teenager whose soccer-star brother is killed in a car accident. Against the wishes of her initially unsupportive parents (Dermot Mulroney, Elisabeth S! hue), she pays tribute to her brother by pursuing his place on! her hig h school's boy's soccer team. The year is 1978 (with Boston's "Don't Look Back" and other '70s hits on the soundtrack), and girls' soccer doesn't yet exist in American high schools, but Gracie's determination pays off, and without attempting to reinvent the wheel,
Gracie emerges as a satisfying, emotionally authentic story of personal perseverance. In a role that all teenage girls will relate to, Schroeder (a seasoned child-star veteran of soap operas and sitcoms) gives a quietly forceful performance that's sure to boost her Hollywood profile, and the fine supporting cast and a sensibly-written screenplay keep
Gracie from becoming the maudlin tear-jerker it might have been.
Gracie isn't a great film by any means, but for all its familial heart and soul, it deserves to be called a winner.
--Jeff Shannon
