In a soccer coach comes from far away to lead a hapless group of athletes. HeB次元官网网址檚 a fish-out-of-water type, ill-suited for the job, but rises to the occasion and everyone feels good at the end. Wait, youB次元官网网址檙e thinking, thatB次元官网网址檚 the plot of B次元官网网址淭ed Lasso.B次元官网网址�
Well, only kind of.
Writer-director B次元官网网址� the manic, slightly unhinged mind behind and B次元官网网址� offers a sports movie thatB次元官网网址檚 not, of course, a sports movie and the opposite of whatever Jason Sudeikis was doing on his TV series.
B次元官网网址淣ext Goal WinsB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址渋nspired by true eventsB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� stars Michael Fassbender as a bitter Dutch-American soccer coach assigned to help the struggling American Samoa national team qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The team is an international laughing stock and still stinging from having been on the wrong side of the worst loss in international soccer history B次元官网网址� a 31-0 thrashing by Australia in 2001.
Waititi and co-writer Iain Morris based their movie on a 2014 British documentary of the same name and you can instantly tell why Waititi gravitated toward the story. It has a clash of civilizations, explores overcoming loss and it has a beautiful lesson about embracing those who are different.
In WaititiB次元官网网址檚 hands, it becomes a sloppy, quirky, pop culture-studded frothy comedy that gently apes other underdog sports movies but doesnB次元官网网址檛 offer much but a mildly funny respite from reality. It makes B次元官网网址淏end it like BeckhamB次元官网网址� seem really deep.
Waititi himself B次元官网网址� he couldnB次元官网网址檛 resist stepping into his own film B次元官网网址� frames the movie in the first minutes by playing a priest on American Samoa who promises this will not be a tale of woe but B次元官网网址渁 tale of woah!B次元官网网址� (Shakespeare isnB次元官网网址檛 laughing).
Fassbender here is the opposite of Lasso B次元官网网址� heB次元官网网址檚 broken inside, angry outside, egotistical and unyielding, a coach fired from his last three teams and given a career lifeline no one else wants. He has no home-spun wisdom to offer, just routine high school bullying. B次元官网网址淪omethingB次元官网网址檚 not right about that guy,B次元官网网址� says one islander. B次元官网网址淲ell,B次元官网网址� comes the response. B次元官网网址淗e is white.B次元官网网址�
The coach will eventually be redeemed by American Samoa itself, by the nobility of its people and the goodness of their souls, with the movie getting dangerously close to worn-out movie cliche territory.
The script had an opportunity to really examine the demand of winning at all costs versus the rewards of merely having fun and having a passion for sports but abandons any lessons in a flurry of team-building montages.
This being a Waititi movie, thereB次元官网网址檚 a scattershot of pop culture references B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淜arate Kid,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淭aken,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淭he Matrix,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淎ny Given SundayB次元官网网址� and even Frank Sinatra (B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檙e riding high in April, shot down in MayB次元官网网址�). At times, these seem more like the directorB次元官网网址檚 idiosyncrasies than plot advancers.
The script also takes a weird sort of glee mocking the islanders, who are portrayed sometimes as playing dress-up. One sits at a desk with a keyboard and a monitor but no computer and another makes siren noises with his mouth in a police car because of faulty equipment.
B次元官网网址淣ext Goal WinsB次元官网网址� is most winning in the way it handles the teamB次元官网网址檚 star player, Jaiyah Saelua, who became the first nonbinary player to compete in a menB次元官网网址檚 FIFA qualifier. Played with real tenderness and joy by nonbinary actor Kaimana, the role and the way her teammates and the coach relate to her is genuine and touching.
There are other really nice turns by Oscar Kightley, Will Arnett and Elisabeth Moss, but itB次元官网网址檚 Fassbender who must do the bulk of the lifting here. His accent is spotty and he may initially not have been on the top of everyoneB次元官网网址檚 list for the part but he sticks the landing, to mix sports metaphors. B次元官网网址淣ext Goal WinsB次元官网网址� isnB次元官网网址檛 a tale of B次元官网网址渨oeB次元官网网址� or B次元官网网址渨oah!B次元官网网址� but B次元官网网址渕eh.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淣ext Goal Wins,B次元官网网址� a Searchlight Pictures release thatB次元官网网址檚 in theaters Friday, is rated PG-13 for B次元官网网址渟ome strong language and crude material.B次元官网网址� Running time: 103 minutes. Two stars out of four.
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