Bend It Like Beckham

PG-13

Released Mar 12, 2003

1h 52m

Comedy

List

85%

158 Reviews

Tomatometer

73%

250,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Jess Bhamra (Parminder Nagra), the daughter of a strict Indian couple (Anupam Kher, Shaheen Khan) in London, is not permitted to play organized soccer, even though she is 18. When Jess is playing for fun one day, her impressive skills are seen by Jules Paxton (Keira Knightley), who then convinces Jess to play for her semi-pro team. Jess uses elaborate excuses to hide her matches from her family while also dealing with her romantic feelings for her coach, Joe.

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Premiered Apr 03

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Critics Consensus

Inspiring, compassionate, and with a sly undercurrent of social commentary, Bend It Like Beckham is a lively feel-good movie that genuinely charms.

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Arnold D

This is a generational classic that hits home on so many levels. The Re-Watch value in this film is ever present.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/28/24

Full Review

Michael W

This soccer movie was great. Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Archie Panjabi, Anupam Kher, Juliet Stevenson, Frank Harper, and the rest of the cast did a great job in this movie. This story about two teenage girls wanting to play professional soccer against their parents wishes was dramatic and inspirational. It's about fighting for what you want to do with your life and not end up like your parents. If you haven't seen this movie yet, check it out sometime. It's worth watching.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

04/22/24

Full Review

Foxface C

Very inspiring. Great Story.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/28/24

Full Review

purplealchemist

Better than I thought! I had no expectations and no idea what this film was about going into it. But it's super cute! A nice way to introduce Indian culture to someone unfamiliar with it. All of the characters were fun. A good, fun, heartwarming movie with a little cheese on top.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/25/24

Full Review

Fille L

How are these punters such good storytellers? Like all of them! David's parents, friends. I enjoyed the pointed intention to juxtapose opposing opinions and recollections from the cast. Overall It's fun to watch but also appalling to learn what they went through. Im not a footie so it's always headscrathing the fanaticism of some nations--but especially UK--with it. I also thought England's fascination with David and his family was simply that, an English thing. Had no idea they used the poor guy as a scapegoat for all the ills of their country. No wonder he moved to LA. I'm starting to think the English are awful!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/05/23

Full Review

Ethan K

This movie was garbage. I really wish I could give it 0 stars but unfortunately I can only give 0.5 stars, so thats what it will be. The only reason I clicked on the movie is because it had a very famous well-known soccer player in the title, with his trademark, "Bend it like Beckham." I thought that this would actually be an entertaining movie because of it but it was possibly one of the worst things I have ever laid eyes on, it was so bad I couldn't even get through half the movie because watching grass grow is like magic compared to this trash. First, this is literally just teen girl drama, and every scene is one of the most predictable things known to mankind. Nothing about this movie even has to do with soccer, it is just some girls doing a workout that happen to be wearing a soccer uniform, added with a couple 5-10 second scenes of shooting and dribbling that your average 5 year old is capable of. As soon as one of the girls touch the ball, you can instantly tell that they are top ten least unathletic and coordinated people on this planet based solely on the way they run. People talk about youtube having click bait all over it, but I don't think that anyone should be able to mention the word click bait without mentioning this trash hope of a soccer movie. Overall the best thing about the movie is that there was a David Beckham picture on the wall of her room, that was the main highlight of this movie because everything else was insanely uneventful. This is a must DO NOT WATCH, PLEASE, FOR YOUR OWN GOOD, if you do end up watching this, i wish you the best of luck, get well soon! complete trash.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

06/15/23

Full Review

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Gurinder Chadha

Director

Parminder Nagra

Jesminder 'Jess' Kaur Bhamra

Keira Knightley

Jules Paxton

Anupam Kher

Mr. Bhamra

Archie Panjabi

Pinky Bhamra

Shaznay Lewis

Mel

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Namrata Joshi

Outlook

The film caricaturises every character, save the lead players and their sympathisers, in the most obvious manner.

Rated: 2/4

Jan 3, 2019

Full Review

Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Superb tale of a girl's struggle for her dreams.

Rated: 4/5

Oct 14, 2010

Full Review

Jumana Farouky

TIME Magazine

The acting is as nimble as the footwork.

Aug 1, 2008

Full Review

Kanishk Devgan

Film Companion

...a very earnest and uplifting exploration of the daughter of Indian immigrants who just wants to play some football.

Mar 30, 2021

Full Review

Shannon Melero

The Muse/Jezebel

For any film to be a great sports film it must have staying power, beyond ample training montages and a great comeback game, and Bend It Like Beckham has all of that in spades and more.

Nov 10, 2020

Full Review

Leigh Paatsch

Herald Sun (Australia)

An unashamedly feel-good soccer comedy that is sharper than Cristiano Ronaldo's latest haircut, has better vision than your average linesman and is more uplifting than winning on penalties in extra time.

Rated: 4/5

Apr 17, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

Jess Bhamra (Parminder Nagra), the daughter of a strict Indian couple (Anupam Kher, Shaheen Khan) in London, is not permitted to play organized soccer, even though she is 18. When Jess is playing for fun one day, her impressive skills are seen by Jules Paxton (Keira Knightley), who then convinces Jess to play for her semi-pro team. Jess uses elaborate excuses to hide her matches from her family while also dealing with her romantic feelings for her coach, Joe.

Director: Gurinder Chadha
Producer: Ulrich Felsberg, Simon Franks, Zygi Kamasa
Screenwriter: Paul Mayeda Berges, Gurinder Chadha, Guljit Bindra
Distributor: Fox
Production Co: Helkon Media AG, Kintop Pictures, British Screen Productions, Film Council, Scion Films
Rating: PG-13 (Sexual Content|Language)
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 12, 2003, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 25, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $32.5M
Runtime: 1h 52m
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Surround, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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