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A wedding. Cross-cultural clash. A young woman receiving makeover and find themselves. But no Windex and it is not my Big Fat Greek wedding. In fact, this is not my Big Fat Indian wedding, either. Nevertheless, this feel-good comedy that crosses the territory of similar, if not exactly the same road. Marketing is likely to have much to do with whether Bend It like Beckham finds its audience in North America (and this is, of course, the success abroad), but I would venture a guess that most people who have been entertained My Big Fat Unexpected Box Office Hit will leave this film with the same warm, fuzzy feelings inside.

Jess (Parminder Nagra), a daughter born in the UK Sikh parents. It is also a fairly typical teenager, and, like almost every young person around the globe, feels the need to rebel. Its source of rebellion is to play football / soccer, and she dreams of one day being on the field with his hero, David Beckham and kicking the ball for the winning goal. But while her parents tolerate its sporting passion when she was young, they now believe it should be serious about her life and prepare for the future. This means abandoning “children’s game” to prepare lessons, marriage, and at the university. In a decree to stop playing football comes just as Jess was given the opportunity to play semi-pro all girls team. One of the players, Juliet (Keira Knightley), witnessed Jess play, and invites her to audition coach, Joe (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers), who thinks it is brilliant. So, what teenager do? Sneak out of the house and lie about her whereabouts, of course.

Bend it like Beckham raises serious issues as cultural assimilation, but not to go into any great depth. As East Is East, which is dealing with a Pakistani family coping with the East-West tug-of-war, Gurinder Chadha film recognizes that this is a controversial issue that creates inter-generational conflict, but chose to go for a more uplifting resolution. This is, after all, are for more than light entertainment “message of the film.”

In addition to the main storyline - Jess is trying to escape from his family, control and find themselves without irreversible damage to her relationship with her parents - there are some subplots. One finds Jess, falling to Joe, whose claim to love Juliet. Thus, we have a time-honored romantic triangle. Jess’ best friend, Tony (Ameet Chana), there is a secret, he is afraid to tell his mother. Then there is the question of whether Jess could lead her team to the championship and will be allowed to fly to America, and will give the game. (For example, when United States such a hotbed of soccer mania?) So, of course, we get a great sports movie moment.

Leaders are energetic and likable, especially Parminder Nagra and Kiera Knightley, both of which bring a lot of spirit to them instantly likable characters. Irish actor Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, whose career is on the rise, exudes charisma, and possibly on the way to his sex symbol status. Anupam Kher brings a sense of humanity to a role that could easily have been a caricature - that of a strict father, who is torn between his own beliefs and his desire to please his daughter. Juliet Stevenson as Julia mother, covers cartoon label and becoming the scene-stealing of comic performance. It is strictly two-dimensional, but it’s fun to kind of cartoonish way.

Bend it like Beckham gives a positive signal that no tax spectators in the delivery. This frothy and on, and proud of it. For director Chadha, it is an improvement over its earlier decided to feature What’s Cooking in 2000? He unashamedly wears a crowd-pleaser tag, and it is likely that some critics will gripe that he too seeks to enrapture the masses. Bend it like Beckham is a pleasant enough that sprinkles artificial sweetness of the mixture, do not do lasting and irreparable damage.

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