The film begins with a major soccer match, where teams of men are playing against each other. Then the commentator shows Jesminder (or Jess) kicking a ball and scoring.

The hosts of the show discuss how impressed they are about that. But when they ask Jess’s mother, she is very disappointed–she does not approve of her daughter running around with bare legs and playing with men in front of thousands of people. She considers it a huge disgrace to her family.

Yet Jess continues to follow that passion. She sneaks out to the park to play soccer (or football, as it’s called in the UK) and meets up with her friend, Tony, who is gay. This worries her parents since they think she might be in love with him.

Meanwhile Jess’s parents are planning for her sister, Pinky’s, wedding. Jess even has to take part in certain small events that lead up to it.

Later, a girl, Jules (or Juliette) notices Jess’s soccer skills and is wildly impressed by them. The two become friends. Jess even invites Jules to be part of her team.

Unfortunately, Jess’s mom catches her shortly after. Both she and her father give her a hard time about playing soccer. They even ban it.

However, that doesn’t stop Jess from playing. She actually comes up with a way to continue, but not get in trouble. That is to claim that she has a summer job. Pinky covers for her.

Not long after does Jess’s soccer team get invited to play a tournament in Hamburg, Germany. They also go clubbing while there.

But Jess kisses the team’s coach, Joe, who is presumably close in age with her. That leaves Jules heartbroken because she had feelings for him too. Jess even visits Jules to reciprocate–but Jules won’t forgive her.

During the next practice, one of Jess’s teammates says something offensive about her. This causes her to lose control over herself. However, Joe talks to her about it and then comforts her as she cries. But her dad sees this and is not pleased.

The major tournament is going to be held in the US and will include an American talent scout–but it’s also on the same day as Pinky’s wedding. Jess feels down about having to miss the big game.

This movie drew me in the minute I started watching it for the first time in many years. I disliked Jess’s mother once she was introduced, especially since she told her on-air to come home. That is also a form of embarrassing someone.

Which brings me to my next thought. This movie has no villains–the antagonist is Jess’s mom. I found that surprising for a movie from the early 2000s. One of the reasons was that films with non-evil antagonists didn’t seem to peak until the late 2010s, especially with Disney. One example is Turning Red and another is Encanto.

That being said, I didn’t exactly find the characters to be very memorable. Yes, they were distinguishable. But I felt that they were too generic.

Regardless of that, though, some of the actions they did were unexpected. For example, in order to secretly play soccer, Jess would pretend to be sick. Once everyone left the house, she would sneak out. She even kept one of her uniform garments somewhere in her front yard. I found that amusing, especially if it rains.

Another strength was the theme of support, particularly for Jess. One scene that stands out to me was when Joe pulled Jess aside to talk to her about her reaction to the offensive slur. Feeling guilty, Jess dissolves into tears. But what surprised me was that Joe hugged her and she cried into him. Normally, I would find that heartbreaking and beautiful simultaneously, reacting with Aww. However, for this moment, I thought, Well, that’s a strange thing to do. Joe was a coach, even if he looks young enough to be a peer. So, it was also odd that he let Jess make out with him at the club in Germany. Nevertheless, he was a great character. 

Of course, I would constantly root for Jess when she played soccer and when she snuck out to it. I strongly admire the idea of how one should follow their passions and not let others get in their way.

Another aspect that stood out to me were the Indian events, especially the conga line at one of them. But this is likely just because I’m Indian and it reminds me of my culture, although I don’t usually follow it. That’s a different topic, though.

But a story having an Indian character appeals to me, particularly one without an Indian accent. This can make the character more relatable, especially to those within the same demographic.

As with any movie, lots of twists and turns occur. This film actually has more surprises than some of the others I’ve seen. 

And as a comedy, there are some humorous moments. However, it can be easier to make adults laugh than younger people. 

Note, though, that the film is rated PG-13. Mature content is minimal for it, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to show this to little kids. I would suggest it to those 10 and up. I first saw it at age 10 and it was fine.

I give Bend it Like Beckham 4 out of 5 stars.