Bend It Like Beckham

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Bend It Like Beckham

PG-13

2003

1h 52m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

85%

Tomatometer

156 Reviews

73%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

Jess Bhamra (Parminder Nagra), the daughter of a strict Indian couple (Anupam Kher, Shaheen Khan) in London, is not permitted to play organized soccer, even though she is 18. When Jess is playing for fun one day, her impressive skills are seen by Jules Paxton (Keira Knightley), who then convinces Jess to play for her semi-pro team. Jess uses elaborate excuses to hide her matches from her family while also dealing with her romantic feelings for her coach, Joe.

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Critics Consensus

Inspiring, compassionate, and with a sly undercurrent of social commentary, Bend It Like Beckham is a lively feel-good movie that genuinely charms.

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Namrata Joshi

Outlook

The film caricaturises every character, save the lead players and their sympathisers, in the most obvious manner.

Rated: 2/4

Jan 3, 2019

Full Review

Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Superb tale of a girl's struggle for her dreams.

Rated: 4/5

Oct 14, 2010

Full Review

Jumana Farouky

TIME Magazine

The acting is as nimble as the footwork.

Aug 1, 2008

Full Review

Kanishk Devgan

Film Companion

...a very earnest and uplifting exploration of the daughter of Indian immigrants who just wants to play some football.

Mar 30, 2021

Full Review

Shannon Melero

Jezebel

For any film to be a great sports film it must have staying power, beyond ample training montages and a great comeback game, and Bend It Like Beckham has all of that in spades and more.

Nov 10, 2020

Full Review

Leigh Paatsch

Herald Sun (Australia)

An unashamedly feel-good soccer comedy that is sharper than Cristiano Ronaldo's latest haircut, has better vision than your average linesman and is more uplifting than winning on penalties in extra time.

Rated: 4/5

Apr 17, 2020

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Andy C

Corny and hammy throughout - but still a great feel good watch. The script and acting actually improve as the film goes on as if it were made in two halves.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

11/15/25

Full Review

Will B

Very good film this, didn’t quite know what to expect from it but was well worth a watch. Nothing really to do with Beckham 🤣

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/18/25

Full Review

Stephen C

Funny in 1 hour and 52 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated PG-13 for Sexual Content and Language!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $32,500,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/08/25

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Audience Member

It was long and boring. Also, it was a hard watch with that British accent...

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

07/28/25

Full Review

Mr M

Really well made film, considering the small budget. Can see why it made nearly 15x that at the box office.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

04/17/25

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Ram Y

HORRIBLE! One of the worst movies I'll ever seen.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/31/25

Full Review

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Gurinder Chadha

Director

Parminder Nagra

Jesminder 'Jess' Kaur Bhamra

Keira Knightley

Jules Paxton

Anupam Kher

Mr. Bhamra

Archie Panjabi

Pinky Bhamra

Shaznay Lewis

Mel

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Slap Her, She's French!

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Bend It Like Beckham: Trailer 1

2:00

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Synopsis

Jess Bhamra (Parminder Nagra), the daughter of a strict Indian couple (Anupam Kher, Shaheen Khan) in London, is not permitted to play organized soccer, even though she is 18. When Jess is playing for fun one day, her impressive skills are seen by Jules Paxton (Keira Knightley), who then convinces Jess to play for her semi-pro team. Jess uses elaborate excuses to hide her matches from her family while also dealing with her romantic feelings for her coach, Joe.

Director: Gurinder Chadha
Producer: Deepak Nayar, Gurinder Chadha
Screenwriter: Paul Mayeda Berges, Gurinder Chadha, Guljit Bindra
Distributor: Fox
Production Co: Kintop Pictures, Scion Films, Helkon Media AG, Film Council, British Screen Productions
Rating: PG-13 (Sexual Content|Language)
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 12, 2003, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 25, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $32.5M
Runtime: 1h 52m
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Surround, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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