Category: Comedy
-
How to win with ‘Total Football: the Movie’ (2009)
There are things to like about Total Football: the Movie, and largely those occur in the last 30 minutes of the film. What the team does to win made me enjoy this Australian film.
-
Hard to stay awake through ‘My Dad’s a Soccer Mom’ (2014)
My Dad’s a Soccer Mom plays to a stereotype of loud-mouth narcissistic Black professional athletes. When Lester Speight is the star, it’s hard to tell any other story. An NFL linebacker whose contract is not renewed, he ends up playing stay-at-home Dad to his 10 year old daughter.
-
Sexy, funny Chilean ‘Lady Futbol’ (2005)
Lady Fútbol is a 2005 comedic episode of Infieles, a Chilevisión adult TV series about infidelity. A young wife in a sewing factory is ignored by her husband, who is more interested in football.
-
‘Mike Bassett: England Manager’ (2001) a $$$ success
Intelligent and brilliantly stupid, Steve Barron’s mockumentary, Mike Bassett: England Manager, is one of the most successful soccer movies, scoring over $23M at the box office***. Second division manager Bassett tries to lead England through 3 qualifiers for Brazil and World Cup 17 (analogous to WC 2002). In a comic tone similar to This is…
-
‘Bad Parents’ (2012) roguishly true before it goes dark
The title Bad Parents is a clue that this indie film is in the Bad Grandpa, Bad Teacher, Bad Santa genre. But it is more than that because up until the 58th minute, this indie film rings roguishly true.
-
The sexism of ‘Gregory’s Girl’ (1981) can’t be tolerated today
Gregory’s Girl is an iconic coming-of-age movie from 1981. Using a cast of teenagers from the Glasgow Youth Theatre, Writer-Director Bill Forsyth follows Gregory as he schemes to win the heart of the ground-breaking girl who has joined his high school football team.
-
Soccer fans bind together in ‘La Gran Final’ (2006)
Soccer cannot unite the world. But for a few hours, the motivation to watch a game allows people to set aside their differences. La Gran Final is a triptych of disappearing cultures joining with the modern forces that swallow them, to watch, with ebullient shared enthusiasm, the 2000 World Cup Final of Germany versus Brazil.
-
‘Looking for Eric’ (2009) and finding a wise Cantona
Don’t be put off by the opening scene of Looking for Eric, where Eric the postman tries to kill himself by driving on the wrong side of a roundabout. Stay for the ride, because this movie is a comedy-drama with an outrageous feel-good ending.
-
Ideal soccer date movie: ‘Romeo and Juliet get Married’ (2005)
A few years after making Bossa Nova, Bruno Barreto directed this Brazilian comedy, O Casamento de Romeu e Julieta, which is another, even better, soccer date movie.
-
Mystical and omnipotent ‘Shaolin Soccer’ (2001)
After watching a slew of soccer movies, I reopened my Shaolin Soccer DVD. I liked it 10 years ago, but now I recognize how inventive the movie is. A group of penniless former Shaolin monks rekindle their love of kung fu by applying it to soccer.
-
‘Mean Machine’ (2001) soccer’s version of ‘The Longest Yard’
Burt Reynolds’ The Longest Yard is one of my favorite movies, and Mean Machine is almost as good. This British soccer version, starring former EPL player Vinnie Jones, stays pretty close to the original story.
-
The no-talent path to becoming ‘El Crack’ (2011)
With absurdist humor, Chileano Writer-Director Nicolás López delivers a Southpark-like tale in El Crack. Freddy (Ariel Levy), who calls himself Mr. Fantasia, fancies himself a top forward with fame in his future. But the only reason he gets any playing time is because his wife murders his competitors.
-
‘Johan’ (2005) finds love despite 10 footballing brothers
Johan is a very enjoyable dramedy/romance that, in a gentle way, shows that soccer is just a game, even in the Netherlands. The youngest in a family of 11 soccer-obsessed Dutch boys and their father, Johan doesn’t fit in because his obsession is music.
-
If Jurgen Klinsmann preferred ‘Guys and Balls’ (2004)
This German soccer movie, Guys and Balls, is predictable but very cute. Ecki, a small-town goalkeeper and baker, is kicked off his semi-pro team for being gay. In defiance, he organizes an all-gay team to play against his former team in their home stadium, resulting in a nice strike against homophobia.
-
Young monks get to watch ‘The Cup’ (1999)
You don’t expect much to happen in a Buddhist monastery. So it is not surprising that Phörpa (The Cup) is very slow paced. A spirited young soccer-obsessed monk defies the monastery’s way of life in order to watch World Cup 1998. But the abbot, although he does not understand why men fight over a ball…
-
‘The Match’ (1999) a small but classic underdog soccer movie
The Match is a sweet spin on the underdog theme. The story is set in a picturesque Scottish village, the teams represent two pubs in a 100-year competition, and this is the year that winner takes all.
-
Rodney Dangerfield earns respect for ‘Ladybugs’ (1992)
Ladybugs is the first soccer movie to make me laugh all the way through! Chester knows nothing about soccer, but he volunteers to coach the boss’ daughter’s team in the hopes of getting a long-deserved promotion.
-
‘Soccer Mom’ (2008) is a movie for moms
The first time I saw Soccer Mom on cable, I didn’t like it. The soccer was bad, and the makeup for Missi Pyle—who masquerades as a famous male Italian footballer in order to coach her daughter’s team—was so unbelievable it was distracting.
-
Review: The Art of Soccer with John Cleese (2006)
Variously named as the The Art of Soccer with John Cleese or the Art of Football from A to Z, it appears this made for TV film was commissioned by Germany for World Cup 2006. John Cleese pontificates on 26 alphabetical aspects of the game.
-
Fits of ‘Kicking & Screaming’ (2005) not funny next to kids
Although Will Ferrell often plays a psychotic jerk, he is really a jock who majored in sports broadcasting at USC. Maybe that’s why so many of his movies have a sports theme. Kicking & Screaming is his soccer movie.
