Bend It Like Beckham (2002)

Two ambitious girls, despite their parents' wishes, have their hearts set on careers in professional soccer.

Director:

Gurinder Chadha

Writers:

Gurinder Chadha, Guljit Bindra

Stars:

Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Meyers

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 17 wins & 19 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Parminder Nagra	...	Jess
Keira Knightley	...	Jules
Jonathan Rhys Meyers	...	Joe
Anupam Kher	...	Mr. Bhamra
Archie Panjabi	...	Pinky Bhamra
Shaznay Lewis	...	Mel
Frank Harper	...	Alan Paxton
Juliet Stevenson	...	Paula Paxton
Shaheen Khan	...	Mrs. Bhamra
Ameet Chana	...	Tony
Pooja Shah	...	Meena (as Poojah Shah)
Pavenpreet Kaur	...	Bubbly (as Paven Virk)
Preeya Kalidas	...	Monica
Trey Farley	...	Taz
Saraj Chaudhry	...	Sonny (as Saraj Chaudry)

Storyline

A kaleidoscope of color and culture clash humorously as an Indian family in London tries to raise their soccer-playing daughter in a traditional way. Unlike tarty elder sister Pinky, who is preparing for an Indian wedding and a lifetime of cooking the perfect chapatti, Jess' dream is to play soccer professionally like her hero David Beckham. Wholeheartedly against Jess' unorthodox ambition, her parents eventually reveal that their reservations have more to do with protecting her than with holding her back. When Jess is forced to make a choice between tradition and her beloved sport, her family must decide whether to let her chase her dream...and a soccer ball.

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Plot Keywords:

tradition | hinduism | marriage engagement | lingerie | team | 

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Taglines:

Don't call Them Chicks!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language and sexual content

Did You Know?

Trivia

The chauffeur driver of the Rolls Royce in the wedding scene was not an actor, but an actual chauffeur, and was unaware he was in a film. He believed instead that it was simply a wedding with a lot of cameras. It was only discovered he was in the film when, to their surprise, one of his relatives saw him in the background.

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Goofs

When the men are fighting over the video camera at the wedding, one man gets it away from the cameraman and in the next shot the cameraman has it back in his arms and curls up on the floor with it.

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Quotes

Jess: [after family accuses her of kissing a white boy who is really Jules] Me? Kissing? A boy? You're mad. You're all bloody mad.

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Crazy Credits

Special thanks to ... Bhamra Family ...

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Alternate Versions

Two versions of the Region 2 DVD exist. In the retail sale version the profanity during the closing credit outakes is bleeped out - in the video store rental version, available at the same time, it's left unbleeped.

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Connections

Referenced in Gilmore Girls: Let Me Hear Your Balalaikas Ringing Out (2005)

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Soundtracks

I Wish
(2001)
Written by Carsten Shack (as Carsten Schack (Solshock)), Kenneth Karlin, Peter Biker and Eugene Wilde
Published by EMI Music Publishing Ltd./Zomba Music Publishers Ltd.
Performed by Victoria Beckham
Licensed courtesy of Virgin Records Ltd.

User Reviews

Great Entertainment

Jess is 18, very smart and wants nothing more than to play football, when she joins a local team she has to lie to her parents again and again, as they would never approve of her chasing her dream, they want her to settle down with a nice Indian boy and learn how to cook.

Bend it Like Beckham is a very funny feel good movie that doesn't need to be deep and complex, it's just fine as it is. The cast are all very good and they play their roles very well, the story is simple and predictable, but it works perfectly and the script is very realistic and very funny.

A great Family movie 8/10

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [United States]

Country:

UK Germany USA

Language:

English Punjabi Hindi German

Release Date:

1 August 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bend It Like Beckham

Filming Locations:

Bara Hall Park, Hayes, Middlesex, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

GBP3,500,159 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$161,528, 16 March 2003

Gross USA:

$32,543,449

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$76,585,828

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kintop Pictures, Film Council, Filmförderung Hamburg

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1