In a soccer coach comes from far away to lead a hapless group of athletes. He91裸聊视频檚 a fish-out-of-water type, ill-suited for the job, but rises to the occasion and everyone feels good at the end. Wait, you91裸聊视频檙e thinking, that91裸聊视频檚 the plot of 91裸聊视频淭ed Lasso.91裸聊视频�
Well, only kind of.
Writer-director 91裸聊视频� the manic, slightly unhinged mind behind and 91裸聊视频� offers a sports movie that91裸聊视频檚 not, of course, a sports movie and the opposite of whatever Jason Sudeikis was doing on his TV series.
91裸聊视频淣ext Goal Wins91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频渋nspired by true events91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频� 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 91裸聊视频� 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 Waititi91裸聊视频檚 hands, it becomes a sloppy, quirky, pop culture-studded frothy comedy that gently apes other underdog sports movies but doesn91裸聊视频檛 offer much but a mildly funny respite from reality. It makes 91裸聊视频淏end it like Beckham91裸聊视频� seem really deep.
Waititi himself 91裸聊视频� he couldn91裸聊视频檛 resist stepping into his own film 91裸聊视频� 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 91裸聊视频渁 tale of woah!91裸聊视频� (Shakespeare isn91裸聊视频檛 laughing).
Fassbender here is the opposite of Lasso 91裸聊视频� he91裸聊视频檚 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. 91裸聊视频淪omething91裸聊视频檚 not right about that guy,91裸聊视频� says one islander. 91裸聊视频淲ell,91裸聊视频� comes the response. 91裸聊视频淗e is white.91裸聊视频�
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, there91裸聊视频檚 a scattershot of pop culture references 91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频淜arate Kid,91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频淭aken,91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频淭he Matrix,91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频淎ny Given Sunday91裸聊视频� and even Frank Sinatra (91裸聊视频淵ou91裸聊视频檙e riding high in April, shot down in May91裸聊视频�). At times, these seem more like the director91裸聊视频檚 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.
91裸聊视频淣ext Goal Wins91裸聊视频� is most winning in the way it handles the team91裸聊视频檚 star player, Jaiyah Saelua, who became the first nonbinary player to compete in a men91裸聊视频檚 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 it91裸聊视频檚 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 everyone91裸聊视频檚 list for the part but he sticks the landing, to mix sports metaphors. 91裸聊视频淣ext Goal Wins91裸聊视频� isn91裸聊视频檛 a tale of 91裸聊视频渨oe91裸聊视频� or 91裸聊视频渨oah!91裸聊视频� but 91裸聊视频渕eh.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淣ext Goal Wins,91裸聊视频� a Searchlight Pictures release that91裸聊视频檚 in theaters Friday, is rated PG-13 for 91裸聊视频渟ome strong language and crude material.91裸聊视频� Running time: 103 minutes. Two stars out of four.
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