There’s nothing that says soccer movies have to be about just soccer. Want proof? Get thee to a copy of this delightful British coming-of-age comedy. Set in London (the film manages to show off the capital’s diversity, an all-too-rare achievement), Bend It like Beckham tells the story of Jesminder Bjamra (Parminder Nagra), Jess to her friends, who comes from a traditional Indian family but is soccer-obsessed. Ignoring her mother’s complaints that the sport consists simply of “displaying your bare legs to complete strangers,” Jess gets recruited to play for a team by Juliette (Keira Knightley), who is having mother issues of her own (“There’s a reason Sporty Spice doesn’t have a boyfriend”). Before long, they’re not competing just for the ball but also for the attention of their coach, Joe (Jonathan Rhys Meyers).
