Bend It Like Beckham
Bend It Like Beckham is a 2002 sports comedy-drama film directed by Gurinder Chadha from a screenplay by Chadha, Paul Mayeda Berges, and Guljit Bindra. The film stars Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Anupam Kher, Juliet Stevenson, Shaznay Lewis and Archie Panjabi.[6] In Bend It Like Beckham, Jesminder Bhamra (Nagra) and Jules Paxton (Knightley) chase careers in professional football despite their parents' wishes.
For the 2015 West End musical, see Bend It Like Beckham: The Musical.Bend It Like Beckham
- Paul Mayeda Berges
- Guljit Bindra
- Gurinder Chadha
Gurinder Chadha
- Gurinder Chadha
- Deepak Nayare
Justin Krish
- Kintop Pictures
- Bend It Films
- Roc Media
- Road Movies Filmproduktion[1]
- 12 April 2002 (United Kingdom)
- 3 October 2002 (Germany)[1]
- 12 March 2003 (United States)
112 minutes[3]
English
$5.6 million[4]
$76.6 million[5]
Development for the film began after Chadha, Bindra, and Berges completed the screenplay by early 2001. Nagra and Knightley were hired soon after, with casting rounded out with the additions of Meyers, Kher, Stevenson, Lewis, and Panjabi by that May. Principal photography began in June 2001 and lasted until September, with filming locations including London, Shepperton Studios, and Hamburg. Production collaborated with The Football Association, while the film's title refers to David Beckham's curling free kick technique, also known as bending.[7][8]
Bend It Like Beckham was theatrically released first in the United Kingdom on 12 April 2002 by Redbus Film Distribution. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for the screenplay, light-hearted tone, and commentary on Punjabi social norms and culture. Bend It Like Beckham grossed $76.6 million at the box office, making it the highest-grossing football sports film.[9] In 2015 it was adapted into a stage musical that opened at the Phoenix Theatre.[10]
Plot[edit]
18-year-old Jesminder "Jess" Bhamra is the daughter of British Indian Punjabi Sikhs living in Hounslow, London. Jess is passionate of football, but her parents do not support her interest. However, she sometimes plays in the park with boys, including her best friend, Tony, who is gay, although her family thinks he has his eye on her. Her family is occupied with planning for Jess's sister Pinky's imminent wedding.
Jules Paxton, a member of the Hounslow Harriers, a local women's amateur football team, notices Jess's football skills, befriends her, and invites her to try out for the team. The coach, Joe, a young Irish former player whose own career was derailed by injuries, accepts her into the team. Although Jess's parents (mainly her mother) forbid her to join the team, she plays behind their backs, claiming to have a summer job when she is actually at football practice. When he learns that Jess is on the team without her parents' permission, Joe pleads with Mr. Bhamra to allow Jess to play, but he refuses, revealing that he does not want Jess to suffer the way he did when he was excluded from a cricket club because of anti-Indian sentiment.
With Pinky covering for her, Jess travels with the team to play a match in Germany; the Harriers lose the match after Jess fails to score on a penalty kick. When they go out clubbing in Hamburg after the match, Jules catches Joe and Jess about to kiss. This sours the two girls' friendship, as Jules also is attracted to Joe despite denying fancying him when Jess asked her earlier. Furthermore, Jess's parents find out she is still on the team by seeing a newspaper article about the Hamburg match. After returning, Jess goes to Jules's house to try to patch up their friendship, but Jules's mother, confused by overhearing only parts of an argument out of context, thinks they are hiding a lesbian relationship.
Jess's father secretly attends one of her games and sees Jess mocked with a racial slur by an opposing player, and Joe hugging her afterward to comfort her. The Harriers qualify for the finals of the league tournament, but the championship match—with an American talent scout in attendance—is to be held on the same day as Pinky's wedding, so Jess resigns herself to missing the game. At Pinky's wedding, Jess is visibly miserable; her father tells her to go to the game so she can be happy on her sister's wedding day. The Harriers are behind 1–0 when Jess arrives, but they rally, and eventually, Jess wins the game with a free kick. The scout offers Jess and Jules sports scholarships at Santa Clara University in California. Jules and Jess share a hug and kiss to celebrate, furthering Jules's mother's suspicions. Jess returns to the wedding, now able to celebrate. Jules's mother gives Jules a ride to the wedding as well, but when they arrive, Mrs. Paxton accuses Jess of being a hypocrite and a lesbian. Jules drags her mother away, angrily clarifying her relationship with Jess.
Later that day, Jess has still not told her parents about the scholarship; she is afraid they might not allow her to go to the United States on her own. Tony, out of friendship for Jess, decides to lie to the family and tell them he will get engaged to Jess as long as she gets to go to any college she wants. The Bhamras happily accept, but Jess immediately confesses the truth. Jess's mother ignores Jess's heartfelt speech and scolds Jess's father for letting Jess leave Pinky's wedding. But her father announces he doesn't want Jess to suffer as he did, and accepts her desire to play football. Jess runs to the football field to tell Joe of her parents' decision. The two almost kiss, but Jess pulls away, saying her parents would object, and that although they had come far enough to let her go to America to play, she doesn't think they would be able to handle another cultural rebellion from her.
On the day of Jess and Jules's flight to America, the two are about to board the plane when Joe arrives and confesses his love for Jess. The two kiss secretly and Jess agrees to sort out their relationship (and her parents) when she returns for Christmas. While at the airport, they see David Beckham with his wife Victoria, which Jules takes as a good sign. The two leave through the gate giving happy waves to their families.
While Jess and Jules are away, they send a team photo indicating their continued success in football. Mr and Mrs. Paxton also patch up their relationship, Pinky becomes pregnant and Mr. Bhamra gets back into playing cricket with Joe.
Release[edit]
Theatrical[edit]
Bend It Like Beckham was released theatrically on 12 April 2002 by Redbus Film Distribution. The film then received a limited theatrical release in the United States on 12 March 2003 by Fox Searchlight Pictures. When originally released in the United Kingdom, it topped the country's box office for the next three weekends, before being overtaken by About a Boy.[14][15]
Home media[edit]
The film was released on DVD and VHS on 18 November 2002 by Warner Home Video, and re-released on DVD and VHS on 30 September 2003 in the United States by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. Among the DVD bonus features, several scenes did not make the final release. Some include dialogue from Pinky's friends and from Jules, as well as her mother meeting Kevin and his friends outside a shop, which would have been helpful, as Kevin is mentioned three times but is never seen.
On the North American Billboard video charts, the film entered the top ten of the Top DVD Sales and Top DVD Rentals charts, at number six on Top VHS Sales, and number seven on Top VHS Rentals.[16]
In the United Kingdom, it was the sixth most-watched film of 2003 on subscription television, with 810,000 viewers on Sky Premier that year.[17] It was later the most-watched film on UK television during the first half of 2005, with 7.3 million viewers on BBC1 during that period.[18] Combined, the film drew at least 8.11 million UK viewership during 2003 and 2005.
Reception[edit]
Critical response[edit]
Bend It Like Beckham surprised critics and met with mostly positive reviews. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 85% based on 154 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The consensus states, "Inspiring, compassionate, and with a sly undercurrent of social commentary, Bend It Like Beckham is a lively feel-good movie that genuinely charms."[19] Metacritic gave the movie a score of 66 based on 32 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[20]
Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times noted that the film "was really full of easy humor, an impeccable sense of milieu that is the result of knowing the culture intimately enough to poke fun at it while understanding its underlying integrity."[21]
The Times of India noted the film's social context, saying, "[it] is really about the bending of rules, social paradigms and lives – all to finally curl that ball, bending it like Beckham, through the goalpost of ambition ... The creeping divide shows that Britain is changing, but hasn't quite changed yet. The stiff upper lip has traveled miles from the time Chadha's father was denied a pint at some pubs at Southall, but like dollops of coagulated spice in badly stirred curry, discrimination crops up to spoil the taste, every now and then, in multi-racial Britain."[22]
Planet Bollywood gave the film a mark of 9 out of 10: the "screenplay not only explores the development of Jess as a person, but also the changing values and culture of NRI teens: Jess's urge to break the social norm of the Indian home-maker, her sister's (Archie Punjabi) sexually active relationship, and the gay Indian [Tony, played by Ameet Chana]."[23]
The Hindu argued, "If ever there is a film that is positive, realistic and yet delightful, then it has to be Dream Production's latest venture directed by Gurinder Chadha... Light-hearted, without taking away the considerable substance in terms of values, attitudes and the love for sport, the film just goes to prove that there are ways to be convincing and honest."[24]
Jamie Russell at the BBC gave it 4 out of 5 stars, and argued that "Mr Beckham ought to be proud to have his name on such a great film."[25] The British film was distributed by iDream Productions in India,[26] and went on to set the record in India for most tickets sold during a single weekend for a foreign movie.
Bend it Like Beckham has also been favorably received by LGBTQ+ community members and press, with one reviewer from Vice noting its discussion of queer themes and symbolic queer undertones. The reviewer also shares: "Keira Knightley told PrideSource that she wants a lesbian Bend it Like Beckham sequel and agreed that her and Parminder’s characters should've ended up together."
Box office[edit]
In the United Kingdom, the film grossed over £11 million, making it one of the highest-grossing Black/Asian-themed British films.[27] With $32.5 million in US box office revenue,[28] Bend It Like Beckham became the highest-grossing Indian-themed film in the United States[29] since Gandhi (1982).[30] At the time of its release, Bend It Like Beckham became the highest-grossing association football themed sports film in the United States; it remains the third highest-grossing film there in this genre (behind Kicking & Screaming and She's the Man).[31] The film grossed $76.6 million worldwide.[28]
North Korean broadcast[edit]
To mark the tenth anniversary of North Korea's relations with the United Kingdom, an edited version of Bend It Like Beckham was broadcast on North Korean state television on 26 December 2010, Boxing Day. The British Ambassador to South Korea, Martin Uden, said it was the "first-ever Western-made film to air on television" in North Korea.[33]