Starring Parminder Negra, Keira Knightly, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Anupam Kehr, Archie Punjabi, Shaheen Khan, Shaznay Lewis, Ameet Chana, Frank Harper, Juliet Stevenson. Directed by Gurinder Chadha. Bend It Like Beckham is a very charming, down-to-earth story about the conflicts between the goals parents have for their kids and what the kids actually want for both the white and Indian families in the film. For Jess (Negra), she must also face the cultural pressure from her parents, especially her conservative mother (Khan) to drop the soccer, act like a girl, learn to cook and go after a nice Indian boy from a respectable family. It also seems for all the Indian kids in the film, lying and deception are the only ways to handle their parents if they are to do anything they wish to do. Throw in a lot of humour, a little romance and love triangle between the coach Joe (Rhys-Meyers), Jules (Knightly) and Jess and some quite decent soccer action. But most of all, Bend It Like Beckham is just a fun movie about a young woman who has to balance the pressures in her life to play the game she loves. This is a film where the love of soccer is not a requirement, and is one most members of the family can enjoy. If you would like to respond, please click the E-Mail Press Here To Go To The Review List Page