A Mostly Film Podcast

Soccer? Football? Whatever!

• BnR Radio • Season 1 • Episode 18

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0:00 | 1:09:28

Ricky and Brandon have caught World Cup fever! So now they dive into the surprisingly small world of soccer films. 

SPEAKER_05

Hello, hello, and welcome to another episode of a motorly film podcast. We are the fans of Footy, the savants of soccer, and the gawkers of GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. My name is Brandon, and with me as always is Ricky. Ricky, how are you today?

SPEAKER_01

I'm doing pretty well, but I gotta say, after that opening, I have no idea what this episode could be about.

SPEAKER_05

Oh, that's not good because you should be well more prepared than this.

SPEAKER_01

Oh wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. We're almost 20 episodes in, and now you want me to start preparing? Come on, guy.

SPEAKER_05

Haven't prepared yet? Why start now?

SPEAKER_01

Come on, guy. Our our our fans can tell. They're like, gosh, this one guy comes prepared. I'm the one who like We have a very good dichotomy here, you know? You're the professional one, I'm the stoner one.

SPEAKER_05

The stoner. Okay. All of you in your your biodome posters behind your head. Yep. Mm-hmm. Ricky, enough joking. What is our topic today?

SPEAKER_01

Well, you know, this is kind of random, but uh we're gonna talk about soccer films. I feel like there's something going on, but I don't know.

SPEAKER_05

Uh uh, you know, now that you mention it, I believe there's something called the FIFA World Cup.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, yeah, FIFA, yeah. FIFA.

SPEAKER_05

Yes, the FIFA World Cup is today. Uh well I mean it's been happening, but the FIFA third third place game is today. Third place game is today is when we're recording, and then tomorrow uh will be Sunday will be Spain versus Argentina in the finals. Ricky, have you watched any of the World Cup this year?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I've watched some. Um I was rooting for Germany, so that worked out well. Yeah, yeah, no, they are doing great. Yeah. Um It's funny, the um the Argentine uh England game I uh turned on um the other day, and um I turned it on like right at the end. So like I saw like um this guy went in and he like just barely missed the uh shot. And I was like, oh man, that was crazy. And then five seconds later they uh hit the what ended up being the game winning goal. So it was crazy.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, it's because it was yeah, I think you're right. I think it was like the last five minutes of the game of Argentina versus England. England was one up up one nil, and Argentina ties it up and then in the extra time just seals it. I I was really rooting for England or France because they had both haven't won it in a pretty long time. England, what, 66 years ago? Something like that.

SPEAKER_01

France France won uh in 2018.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, they they were pretty recent. Spain wasn't I think Spain was before 2018 as well, because they've won it as well.

SPEAKER_01

But I think only Yeah, they're they've been a while. Um yeah, because the last one was Argentina in 22.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Um Yeah, I I was rooting for Germany, and then like I guess second, like just uh one of the countries that like has never won or like Yeah, hasn't won in a really long time. I I my my pick was England. Um I thought, you know, this was gonna be their year to do it, but nope.

SPEAKER_05

No, I mean what a I mean it's such a heartbreak to lose like that when you're up almost the entire game, essentially. You're in the final few minutes and you just kinda let it slip through your fingers. I did watch USA versus uh Bosnia, which they won, and then I got to watch them get absolutely demolished by Belgium 4-1. And even when it was like 2-1, it felt like it was out of reach, and then they just tacked on a third goal and then a beautiful fourth goal just to really twist the knife. Yeah. It was very embarrassing to watch.

SPEAKER_01

I mean, I think the men actually like this was like their best performance in a while. Cause like, um, how it's been, like I guess I should should say that I got into like pro soccer in 2017. That was when I started like paying more attention. But um like usually it's like the the US women are so good and like the men just like aren't. I I think the women have won't have four of the nine women's world cups, I believe. They they've won a lot, yeah. Yeah, it's they're incredible. I don't think the men have really been relevant since like the 90s. No, not at all. Yeah. So I think they still like over per per performed here. Um yeah, like like I I follow it. Like I've definitely grown like to be a fan, but like when I got into it in 2017, I've kind of like fallen off some. Like I don't watch it as much. But if it's on, I'll be like, oh yeah, I'll like check this out and everything.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, it's one of those sports that I've never followed super closely, but anytime it's on, or if I'm watching it with someone who's a super fan, their energy gets me hyped, and I want to watch it with them. I remember uh maybe a year ago I was visiting someone and they were a uh a huge Arsenal fan, and so we end up watching an Arsenal Arsenal. I'm a Manchester City fan, so beautiful. But I mean just just their excitement of watching it was very fun, and I I think one thing I do love about it is that the game doesn't stop, it just keeps going and going. Where if you watch American football, it's one play, 30 seconds of downtime, commercial, another play, maybe another play if you're lucky, commercial. You know, so it that's I I can definitely see why people would hate American football compared to you know football, where it's just nope, they just keep going, they do not stop the entire time.

SPEAKER_01

I uh saw uh a s a stat after the Argentina game where like Messi had run like five miles or something. Oh my god. Yeah, like I mean that you know that makes sense. I mean they're just constant, like yeah, it's like I understand where like people can get bored with it. Um what I say is like you you have to like respect like the m mechanics, I guess. It's like cause it is, you know, just like there's sometimes there isn't a lot of excitement, but it's like you know, having that of patience and just like oh man, like like you know, they're they're coming, oh no, it's switching back and forth, you know, and everything. It's like you have to r really respect the uh game, I think. But I always love like this, um this actually ties into like when we start talking about the uh films, but it's like it's such like a worldwide like outside of America, like it's oh my god, yeah. Everywhere, like it's like the biggest sport. Like oh no, anytime I hear someone's universalists, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05

No, anytime I see someone's like the Super Bowl's the biggest sport in the world, I'm like, oh, so you're just like a moron. Got it. Like it's Super Bowl is the biggest sport in our country. Like that's the biggest event. But no, the World Cup is the most popular event in the world. I think well, I maybe I guess the Olympics, I don't know, are more popular, but I I maybe I would have I would bet the World Cup is more popular than the Olympics. But I could be wrong. But definitely you know, they're both more popular in the Super Bowl globally.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and it's kinda tough because like, you know, the World Cup's one sport, whereas like Olympics are just you know, like sometimes you have to wait a little bit, you know, to like in like the crazy times, it's like you have to like pick this one specific time to like see the sport that you're focusing on. Whereas, you know, the World Cup is just, you know, if you're a soccer fan, they're there you get right. Um Yeah, and I mean l like football's not our our football isn't really that popular, you know, outside of the US. I mean, you know, Canada has like theirs, but it's like small. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05

And I know the NFL is trying to have their outreach, like they'll do London games. I think they did one in Berkeley. Right, yeah. Mexico City, I believe, got some. So they're trying, but it's it's gonna take a while to make that sport as popular as actual soccer slash football.

SPEAKER_01

I don't think they ever could. No, it's it's like I don't think it could ever surpass. Yeah, it's so old too.

SPEAKER_05

I know a lot of people say they don't watch it because they're like, oh, they all they do is flop. All they do is fall over and flop. And I'm I go, like, have you watched the NBA before? Or you know, people flop in football all the time. The amount of times I've seen wide receivers just fall over and be like, Where's my flag? Like, it happens all in every sport.

SPEAKER_01

To be fair, a lot of the times the flops are entertaining as hell. Yeah, absolutely. It's like there are like some where it's like he like just took a bullet to the chest. It's like, bro, like nobody touched you.

SPEAKER_00

Like he's he's the one Shakespeare. He has like like like like the uh the the screamers they use for like blood. Like, where did he get that?

SPEAKER_04

Alas, I've been struck down by Arthur. My children, I see them. I see them in the light.

SPEAKER_02

Woo!

SPEAKER_05

Oh god, that'd be hilarious. Well, I think that's a perfect segue into the world of film. Riki, when I was trying to research some soccer films, I found a Rotten Tomatoes article that was the top 52 soccer films, and I thought that was like, okay, let me just scroll through and see what they say. But what I found it kind of interesting is like once you get past like 20-ish of them, they were allten. There there really wasn't a lot of soccer films that were reviewed well. And when I tried to think of soccer films off the top of my head, I could only get a handful. Which is why I actually did have to look up online to see what else I could find. So I'm curious if there's just m if they're just not that ubiquitous of a uh genre, or if because maybe Hollywood is obviously more Americanized, so maybe maybe the soccer films or football films are overseas more and therefore don't get as much spotlight here.

SPEAKER_01

I mean, I just couldn't really find a ton in general. Like like I mean, l looking at that article, I feel like it was like including like all countries, just like all films in general. Yeah. And like, um yeah, and that kind of surprised me with how popular uh soccer is globally. Like I was like, why don't they make more films? Um yeah, it was really weird to to me. Like in yeah, I mean, I do understand it here, um, because it's like, you know, it's not one of our most popular sports here. Um but yeah, I guess I would just expect it more like globally for them to like turn out more soccer films. Um Yeah.

SPEAKER_05

Well then I want to start with one that I did watch that I wasn't even familiar with that I thought was kind of spectacular. And it was from 2009, and it was called The Damned United.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, that that was when I I still haven't seen it, but it's like that one was like near the atop, it seems like. And um that was uh Tom Hooper. It sure was uh went on went on to do King's Speech and Lay Miz. And Cats.

SPEAKER_05

Cats, of course. I mean, I've seen all those movies. Uh actually I've not seen Cats yet, I do need to go see it still. Um but I think Damn United might be his best. I really liked it a lot. Uh I the reason I actually watched it was one, it was pretty high on that Rotten Tomatoes list, but when I was looking through like old Reddit threads, people were saying, Damn United, watch that one. And the reason for it is it's it's technically a biopic, but both the book and the movie were sued for defam uh defamation and won. So there's clearly a lot of slanderous stuff in there, but I still really loved it from what the story it was trying to tell, because basically it follows um a coach named Brian Clough, who's played by Michael Shannon, which might be this might be one of my favorite Michael Shannon roles. He was incredible in this, he's so good.

SPEAKER_01

You mean Michael Sheen?

SPEAKER_05

Right?

SPEAKER_01

No.

SPEAKER_05

Oh, I'm sorry, yes, yes, Michael Sheen. Yeah, yeah. Um thank you. I was like, great. Um I I fucking wrote Michael Sheen too.

SPEAKER_01

Bri British Michael Shannon. Exactly.

SPEAKER_05

That's right. Yeah. I fucking wrote Michael Sheen on my thing too. So um Michael Sheen uh is incredible in this. He's he's so fantastic. And so Brian Clough was a uh player who eventually turned coach and coached for a um football club called uh Darby County and did very well with them. Basically took them from Division II all the way to Division I and actually won the title in Division I, which was a huge, like, oh my god, how do you do that? What a great coach. He basically has this rivalry with uh Leeds United and their head coach, uh Don Revy, who was played by Colmey in this movie. And it's it's interesting because this rivalry basically is Michael Shannon's character hating this other guy, and this other guy doesn't really think about him. He's just kind of like, I'm doing my own thing, you're just a sad man with a grudge. And so when uh Don steps down or he retires, I actually I think he moves on to uh actually coach the England national team. So when he moves on, leads United needs a new coach, and they get this Brian guy, and he only lasts 44 days there. He does horrible as their coach. And the whole movie really is more about uh Brian Clough's kind of grudge and insecurities as a person. Because what he'll do is I I apparently like the very first day he was there to coach these guys, he said, and I the you know, quote unquote, who knows if this is actually true, but apparently he did say, like, every award you guys have won means nothing to me because you're all cheaters and like thugs and bad players, like you're you all cheated to get those, so your uh accomplishments don't count. That's a crazy way. Let's go play that is a fucking crazy way to start coaching. And so it's it's so funny because like watching this movie, I feel like America does a thing where you you kind of root for the guy, like, oh, the coach is gonna take over this fucky young group of misfits and he's gonna help them win.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I totally thought this was like a feel-good story.

SPEAKER_05

Um it's such the opposite. It really is this coach who just has such a massive chip on his shoulder. Even though he's had a great player career, he clearly had a very good coaching career, and just you know, g fucking destroyed Leeds United from the inside because he just wanted to be so much better than this next you know, the coach that he he wanted to be so much better than Don, and he just wasn't scrudge. Oh yeah, and so it's him just sabotaging everything and doing really horrible things. Uh, he had a a real-life colleague named Peter Taylor, played by Timothy Sparks, uh, who was there with him in Darby County, and at one point, uh Michael's character puts in a resignation letter for him and uh Peter to Darby to basically kind of leverage like, hey, if we don't get paid more or whatever, we're gonna we're gonna leave. And after after winning the championship, this is like the year after they won the championship, and Darby went, okay, deuces, and accepted the resignation. And the I felt and according to this story, Peter Taylor had no say in this. He was like, I what are you talking about? You you you res you resigned for me? You piece of shit. Um and so it it then becomes about how they go to another team later, and then you know, they kind of get bumped around and all this kind of stuff. They they eventually Brian and Peter, after making up, after their friendship crumbles, goes to a team called Nottingham Forest, in which they won the European Cup in consecutive years, 79 and 80. And that's kind of how the movie ends with it kind of being like, Look, they did it, good for them. But in reality, Brian and Peter, like, they won their their championships, and then their friendship split again. So, like, it just seems like at least the way the movie presents Brian Clough as a very, very chaotic, toxic person. It's so good, and it's a a really cool look at kind of the fragility of someone and how ego can just absolutely decimate you. I adored it, and the actual soccer in it is super intense at times. Like those guys are hitting the shit out of each other in that movie. It is it is brutal. Um yeah, it's it's great. I think you would love it quite a bit. It it might actually be my favorite Hooper film because it is kind of well shot and the uh screenplay is fantastic, which I believe Hooper wrote as well. Um if I'm not mistaken, I should fact check that real fast. But yeah. Awesome, awesome movie, maybe the the coolest soccer film I've ever seen, and that's why I wanted to start with it.

SPEAKER_01

Um so the the lawsuit did Brian's family sue over the book in the film?

SPEAKER_05

I believe Brian's family sued over the book. Um the film was sued by, I think, the estate of one of the players on Leeds United. Because they slander like the star player of Leeds United a bit to make him look like a bit of a bell end.

SPEAKER_01

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_05

Uh Peter Morgan and David Peace wrote it, not um Tom Hooper. Uh David Peace wrote the novel, Peter Morgan wrote the actual screenplay, uh, which uh for those who don't know, Peter Morgan also wrote Frost Nixon, which is one of my um favorite political dramas.

SPEAKER_01

And the the the Queen Yeah. Yeah, that is one that I definitely wanna check out. It's great. It's really great. But Ricky, what's one that you watched? Um so I'm curious if you watched this one as well. Um so I actually had a coworker who like I think had watched this recently and he like told me about it. And then like I saw it on the list, very highly rated. This is called Shaolin Soccer. Oh, I watched it. I watched it. Yeah. Let's talk some Shaolin Soccer. Alright, good. Um so this is made by Steven Chow, who uh probably is the most popular film is Kung Fu Hustle. And I think I enjoy Kung Fu Hustle more.

SPEAKER_05

That's kind of the consensus from what I was able to see.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Um this is like it. It's fine. I mean, like like it was it doesn't take its seriously it's very over over the the the top what I loved is like so in the beginning that this guy they they call him golden leg 'cause you know like he's just so like great and everything and then the it was the opposing was it manager or or was it like uh his teammate or I can't remember it was it was a player on the other team. Okay, like like like hired these guys to like break his leg and everything.

SPEAKER_05

So hold on because you're skipping how it happened.

SPEAKER_01

So well didn't they like just go up and like hit his leg like Tanya Harding does it was literally in the middle of the game like he he he misses the kick.

SPEAKER_05

First off it's team evil versus team fixers. Yes yes yeah yeah so the on team fixers golden leg misses the game or misses the game winning like kick and then like on the field he's you know oh no I lost and then people come out of nowhere and start breaking his leg on the field and stopping it yeah and then so like what what's the time frame?

SPEAKER_01

Is it like 15 years later? I think so something I can't re remember exactly but it's like Golden leg now like like you know he's walking with a permanent limp and everything and he's like you know um just like this like servant pretty much to like the the the the guy who like had his leg broken.

SPEAKER_05

Um 'cause the guy basically paid Golden Leg to throw the game and then for some reason also paid a mob to break his legs.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah yeah there's um there's not a whole lot of like you know like if you don't like if you have a problem with the story like you're you're probably gonna have a problem with the film it's it's not meant to be I mean it it's supposed to be over the top the way the soccer is is like like picture like Dragon Ball Z pretty much like like crazy ass shit. Like people are kicking the ball so hard that uh the other people's like clothes are flying off.

SPEAKER_05

Correct it's just you know balls are catching on fire or like having like wind effects. It's it's very silly.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah so like it's it's very much like um 'cause like Golden Leg meets this guy on the uh street and like he's like all about like Kung Fu and everything. Um so then like you know the the marriage be between Kung Fu and soccer you know happens. Um so yeah I mean I guess you you can like speak better probably to the actual story part because like I wasn't like I I kind of I kinda picked up early on like what it what it was and I was like alright like I kinda like zoned out oh no I was like were you not like into it?

SPEAKER_05

I mean it's it's fine like it's just like it's so fun I thought it were worked a lot better in like Kung Fu hustle like yeah that's that's fair I'll I'll give you that it's it's definitely pure comedy like as you said uh the a main character Stephen Chow's character is steel leg and as you said he thinks kung fu fits for everything and he explains it because he sees a woman like fall over on a banana peel. That was great. I did like that the slow motion she's like she looks like looks at to the left at one camera looks to the right at another camera both being like Whoa so good. But Stephen Chao's character is lets everyone know oh if everyone knew Kung Fu life would be easier like parking a car and it cuts to like someone like kicking a cart like parallel they just kick the cart apart yeah there's a moment where he falls in love with not falls in love but he sees a a woman that I guess eventually becomes the love interest and for almost no reason whatsoever he starts to sing at her because he's like this is how I express my emotions that was so weird.

SPEAKER_01

I was like why are they singing right now?

SPEAKER_05

Then they have a dance break to celebration like celebrate good times come on where everyone who's just around this park just starts dancing and singing for no reason. It is not really explained at all. There's like a a later scene where Mighty Leg or excuse me Steel Leg and uh his buddy Ironhead have to like replace a band.

SPEAKER_01

That's probably my my my favorite character because like literally he's called Ironhead and like this guy just constantly like breaks a bottle over his head and like he has no reaction because that's why they call him Iron you know and then it's like he's like slamming his head like constantly into a wall or something and then it's like no reaction.

SPEAKER_05

Stupid there there's another character but basically the whole plot is after um Goldenleg finds out that you know he he's never gonna move up in on team evil and get to coach his own team he sees Steel leg and says great we'll start a soccer team and they start to recruit all the people that were in his old like Kung Fu uh crew and they're all retired kung fu people so you have Ironhead you have a guy that can do like spinning bird kicks basically another guy named Little Brother who's basically able to like walk on air but the joke is that he's a big fat guy now and he loves food so much and there's a scene where they try to get someone to be like make sure you can kick this egg without breaking it and he breaks it and so little brother sucks the egg off the guy's foot. Dude he's just like constantly all about that egg man. Then the egg then the egg falls on someone's crotch and then the guy like mugs at the camera like oh no I'm about to get my crotch sucked and they literally have to like hold the guy back from not sucking this egg off a guy's crotch dude he like yeah he he goes for it no matter where that egg is it's and it's a raw egg like come on bro like it's so stupid and it's so like I mean it it really is one of those things of like we were gonna do this because we think it's funny like at one point they go against a team of women that are all wearing fake mustaches for some reason not explained it just happens um I would say there was one moment that I really loved which was when they're training for the first time against like a uh just another group of people playing like a game and it basically turns into a battlefield like literally people are getting tackled and like kicked and at one point Steven Chow hits the ground and you start seeing like bullets fly over him and he starts like crawling away and has like a gun for some reason. It's just so wild it is so great. Um it the strangest thing about this movie is that the love interest character is basically getting like yelled at and made fun of almost the entire time like they don't even try to make the love interest love interest because like her she's got horrible burned face and kind of like acne and um but the well the one thing Steven Chow like always finds her attractive right like I mean his next character like yeah he never made fun of her um yeah and then until like the very end where she like I guess shaved her head she's clearly wearing like a bald cap and he calls her ET and he's just like she's like I want to help play soccer with you guys and he's like no you look like ET. Phone home ET you don't belong on Earth one of my favorite jokes in it was one of the guys um he he replaces the Goldics in the final match every character basically keeps getting knocked out and so one of my favorite jokes is when a guy before the final kick happens to basically kick him out of the game he pulls out a cell phone he's like hey I've kept the secret for you from 20 years. I love you. And then on the line you hear this isn't Chun this is Kung and he responds with Ah Kung Please tell your wife what I just told you yeah yeah yeah I love that and it's like played like like serious it's so good.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah no I I love this I had a really good time with it I was cracking up watching it yeah it's like it's one of those where like if I was in a certain mood like 'cause I feel like like I gave it like a seven out of like so so so I mean I was like you know like it's not a bad movie it's just it wasn't for me in that moment. But it's like you know it's like it has its audience and I can like r respect its charm and everything. I mean like the the uh kung fu's cool as hell and like you know all all that all the moves and everything and honestly I'm sure you can find a lot of like the soccer scenes on YouTube and just enjoy that and be fun. Oh for for sure yeah I think I gave it a seven as well because there are some moments where like the jokes stop coming and it does feel like it gets a little slowish but I think the beginning's really really fun yeah well uh Ricky since we both watched that one what give us another one what's another one you liked so this one was one from my childhood that I um I don't think I ever owned it but like I and I was like telling a coworker I was like I think that might be why I loved it so much because it was one of the films that I didn't own but I would like rant at at like blockbuster so like because I wasn't watching it all the time it had like you know it was like more special to me I guess this was a Disney film. Oh it's called The Big Green Oh I don't even know what this is what is it so it's this small town in uh Texas and um alright this film does not I recognize the poster yeah go ahead yeah this film does not really hold up like I was like oh this is not a very good film um so so so it's a small small town in Texas and like it's like so run down it's like they don't really have anything they have like one one cop um it's like they have a random goat that like just is there like it's not explained like like like why it's there it's just there. But um so like this woman comes to like teach at the uh school and uh she sh she's British and um so of course what's she gonna do? She loves soccer so she introduces soccer to to them. Um and it's funny 'cause like so the the first time she like comes to town she sees like uh I think it's like four of the the main boys so they're like bored so of course what they do for fun is like they have like a bag of like Cheetos. So what they do is they pour these Cheetos all over themselves and like they lay in the grass and then birds just flock to them and eat the Cheetos off of their body. What? And then it's like so like the uh teacher sees this and she's like what are you doing? And that's like they're like we're bored Excuse me it's come on dude like what else are they gonna do?

SPEAKER_05

It's oh God is it is it trying to be like really like wacky kid humor is that what the the whole vibe is pretty much yeah yeah like like it's but it's like it's not the sandlot I'll tell you yeah so like I'm looking at the poster and I do recognize this because it's uh Patrick Renna who plays Ham in the Sandlot and the poster is him getting Squints in it.

SPEAKER_01

Is he really? Yeah Squince is also in it both of them from from San Sandlot. Oh and um Ste Steve Gutenberg's like the uh biggest star in it he's the uh sheriff oh that's amazing but Bug Hall is in it and like I had like thought that um because Bug Hall was Alfalfa in the Little Rascals movie from the nineties. Um and I thought that um he was like older for some reason but but no this was like a year after Little Rascals so he's still like r really young. But um like the the second half like like so like they they all like you know it's like they don't want to play soccer and then it's like this uh I think he's from Mexico like this this young boy from Mexico and like his mom they like come to town and like he he ends up being like good at soccer. So like you know he's like the the star player and everything. So like they like go to their fur first game and everyone else sucks but but him but then it's like he kinda like him and like the teacher they kind of inspire them to like you know want to get better and everything. And then the um coach of the other team like convinces one of the uh the girls on the team her uh dad to like re report the mother and the son as illegals so it's like they're like yes so it's like they're they're like oh we have to move again you know we have to like get out of here but then it's like the uh sheriff but then the uh sheriff comes and saves the day because it's like he like stops them and gets them back.

SPEAKER_03

That's the most unbooked I've heard so far about this movie.

SPEAKER_01

And then it's like and it's great because like the dad like just he feels bad for doing that. Sorry we're trying to get you guys deported. So it's like he like cause like his his his daughter like had a crush on the boy. Um so like yeah he ends up like um his arc is like you know he's like not interested in the soccer and everything and then he ends up in the end like going to his daughter's game and everything and it's like oh dad's here and my boyfriend's back and he wasn't the board I feel like uh it's like it it does not hold up dude but it's like but I will say the the uh second half is a lot better than like the first like like once they like start like getting more into the soccer and like actually growing as a team and stuff it's like it's it's fun.

SPEAKER_05

Um but yeah it's like dude like what the how did I enjoy this so much as a kid I'm sure those Disney movies were all designed to be like let's just be as wacky and silly as possible. Kids aren't really gonna care about the plot as long as someone gets hit in the junk and goes no then this is gonna be a 10 out of 10 film for them.

SPEAKER_01

And you know thinking about it now I'm pretty sure like cause when did Angels in the outfield come out? I think that was 93 and like Sandlot was before that 94 for Angels in the outfield okay so like yeah I feel like all these films were like kind of like trying to like capitalize on like the Sandlot love popular and stuff.

SPEAKER_05

Oh yeah people love the Sandlot. I love the Sandlot.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah well I mean yeah yeah I still l love that but I mean I feel like it probably made a good amount of money too when it came out um so everyone's like so Disney's like yo we gotta do this we can do this yeah here's here's Art Yeah with a goat yeah the goat is on the poster and that kind of tells you almost everything you need to know about what that movie's gonna be yeah so like it does have like some some good like heart heartwarming moments but I was like yeah this ain't a good film oh I'm I'm 100% gonna watch it um Patrick Renna there there's a a movie trivia game I I need to remember what it's called Cine Two Needle or something like that.

SPEAKER_05

Um but Patrick Renna is one of my deep cuts for uh that's a movie trivia game because he's in a horror film called Dark Ride that only I've I've seen apparently um but we'll we'll discuss that for another day because that's one of the eight films to die for yeah uh let's see should you know what I'll I'll stay in theme with uh movies that probably aren't that good and I watched it last night with my wife uh you better be careful here if this is what I'm thinking from 2006 no okay you're good um from 2006 Oh oh I know what what this is I haven't seen it but I know what it is yeah it is called She's the Man with Amanda Bynes uh which for those who don't know it's basically trying to be 12th night uh by William Shakespeare it's like a modern interpretation of it and very loosely like it it really is just the I kind of look like my brother and there's gonna be some similar names but most that's basically all it takes from it. So the story is that Amanda Bynes is a girl who plays soccer and her school cancels the girls soccer team because there's not enough people that play and when they're like oh well then can we just uh audition for or audition can we try out for the boys soccer team it has the most cartoonishly evil guys they're like girls playing against boys girls are weak and stupid like that's it's literally that and so she ends up uh dressing up like her brother who's supposed to be going to another school her brother leaves the country to do his rock band so she tries to look like her brother Sebastian and then play on their soccer team instead and so it's a lot of like Amanda Bynes trying to be a boy comedy and her attempt to be a boy in this 2000 movie is her basically just trying to talk like a young black man. It's very weird. Oh god it's like she's like hey brah like catch me on the flip side home skillet like it's a lot of that you're like oh no no luckily it is very silly and every guy that she does that to is just kind of like this this this per this guy's weird. So no one's dapping her up or anything.

SPEAKER_01

Is this guy super racist?

SPEAKER_05

Like damn this guy is really racist but I loved watching it with my wife because you could tell she was kind of telling me how much she loved this as like a middle schooler. I was yeah I was like did did she love this as a kid it the movie opens with like everyone's playing soccer on a beach and they're bikinis and they're cute guys there and then they're kissing some cute guys and they're partying and dancing and soccer soccer soccer this movie has the worst kissing I've ever seen in a movie just learned how to kiss her like some kisses are meant to be kind of comical so you go okay but even the the sweet romantic kisses at one point Amanda Bynes like goes full open mouth trying to kiss this guy's face and the guy comes in tongue first like ah and it's it's in this moment it's supposed to be played for like oh this is her oh Channing Tatum's in it by the way this is the kiss she has with with the very young Channing Tatum who by the way is secretly sensitive. So instead of being like a I just want to see a girl's titties he's very much saying things I would like to see your titties if you uh would like to show if you consent madame he cares about feelings in this movie Ricky don't you slander Channing Tatum he loves feelings in this movie. The Tatums yep uh you need to watch it for a couple reasons one it's a great 2000s time capsule uh at one point someone I always love love those that is like you can tell right away the decade oh my god the amount of all American rejects that was getting played in this movie it was they played uh a couple all American rejects songs they played okay go they did a punk rock cover of the Mary Tyler Moore theme song like she's gonna make it after all like it's so good. And you better believe it happened during a shopping montage At one point, uh Amanda Vine says something to someone about like, oh yeah, I'll give him your number. What's your number? 1-800 Biatch. Oh. There are so many moments that my wife was loving because it reminded her of like, this is what a coupirl is. Because at one point someone, her ex-boyfriend, says something like, Hey, give me five seconds to talk to you, and she starts counting to five with her fingers, and she goes, Well, I'm not gonna talk to you because you're a big old jerk, and then slaps them. It is pretty good. Yeah. The soccer in it though, oof. I will say, Channing Tatum actually has some moves where you go, oh shit, he he looks pretty athletic.

SPEAKER_01

Amanda Bines is not in the strip club.

SPEAKER_05

Uh Amanda Bines really looks awkward kicking the ball around. It's very rough. Um there's a couple last things I want to quickly say. There's David Cross is in it, who is just weirdly obsessed with Amanda Bynes' character, because he uh well, first off, uh David Cross is dressed like the Six Flags guy for some reason. And every time he sees Amanda Bynes's character, because you know, Sebastian is a transfer student, and uh David Cross is like, well, you know, I used to be a transfer student before I became the principal here. So you and I are quite the same alike, and just weirdly is bonding with Amanda Bynes' character.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, okay. So it's so it's not a creepy sexual. No, no, no. Okay.

SPEAKER_05

He does say something like, oh god, no. You know, for 2000 comedy, there wasn't a lot of jokes that didn't hold up in terms of like, uh there is uh one joke that really actually made me crack up super loud, and there's this nerdy girl named Eunice, and she's got like the massive like braces headwear nerd style. And at one point, uh Amanda binds a Sebastian, is really cool and is on a fake date with Eunice, and now you know Eunice is cool because she's dating the cool guy for a second, and one of the guys in the movie's like, Man, how come when when I thought Eunice was kind of cute, you all made fun of me, but when when Sebastian likes him, likes her, then then she's cool now. Screw you guys, I hate high school. It's a legitimately great line and an amazing delivery. It is. I love that. Screw you guys, I hate high school. I've said it 50 times since last night. It's so funny. Um also for no reason at the very end of the movie, uh, when Sebastian comes back out, there's a whole like, wait, which one's a real Sebastian? And they're trying to say, no, Sebastian's actually secretly a girl. And then the boy Sebastian's like, I'm not a girl, and they go, prove it. And in the middle of this soccer game where there's hundreds of people, he just pulls down his pants and shows his crotch to everyone.

SPEAKER_01

I mean, how else you gonna do it?

SPEAKER_05

And no, I mean, like they also sometimes you just gotta do it, they also stop the soccer game so they can figure out who's a boy in the game. And uh, don't worry, Amanda Bines then flashes her breast to everyone to prove that she's actually a girl later in the same, like basically the same scene. You don't wait, she she really does you don't see anything, but like she does like No, but I mean it's like so he did that Oh dear Lord because then then he goes away and she comes back out and they're like there's the there's Sebastian still. Oh my goodness. And when she's like, I'm actually Viola, I'm a girl, and they're like, prove it. She's like whoop and then like flips her shirt.

SPEAKER_00

I would also like to prove that like people never would have like, can we prove now? Alright, never the cops just show up in that stamp.

SPEAKER_05

It's it's not a great film. I had a lot of fun because my wife was having a blast with it still, and it was great to have her recite the lines as they were happening. It was bringing me a lot of joy.

SPEAKER_01

She like knew it so well still.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, she she hasn't seen it in you know 15 years, but she was saying, Oh man, this is all coming back to me like second by second.

SPEAKER_01

That is awesome.

SPEAKER_05

Uh it it is very humorous because you do have Amanda Bynes trying to be like a boy and constantly saying things like, yeah, I'd tap that. It's just come on. Oh, it's so good. You know what? I changed my mind, it's a 10 out of 10. Alright, Ricky, what has you got?

SPEAKER_01

Alright, so I watched one more, and I saved the best for last. Like this this is a film that I saw years and years ago, and I loved it. And I watched it again the other day, and gotta say, still holds up. Uh, I feel like you've probably seen it. This is maybe the best soccer film. Bend it like that guy.

SPEAKER_05

I I did watch this one as well. So good.

SPEAKER_01

Um yeah, like Dude, the uh young me, like and Kira Knightley, like, oh man.

SPEAKER_05

She's probably like 18 or so in this movie. She's very young.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, but oh man. When I was a kid, oh yeah, no, she's she's like love of my life.

SPEAKER_05

Like, oh yeah, when you're when you're yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_01

But but yeah, it's like this young Indian girl. Um, she she loves playing soccer, but um she she comes from like a very strict like i i Indian household, and it's like her uh sister's like um about to get married and everything. And like the the uh sister who's getting married, that wasn't an arranged marriage. Like like they just found each other, I believe.

SPEAKER_05

I think it was kind of both where like they were sneaking off and hooking up before.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, cause I feel like they like make it sound like you know, it's like we we just like fell in love, like like it's like you know, um, but yeah, it's like the the family's cool with the other family. Um but it's like so they're like trying to get her married, and that is like a big deal, and then they have like a strict idea of like what they want from the other daughter, and she's like, I just wanna play soccer, like you know, that is what I enjoy doing, and you know, I'm good at it. And um the family's like, nah nah nah nah nah. So it's like she's like uh Kira Knightley like like sees her playing and Kira Knightley plays for a team, so she's like, Hey, come join our team. So she she joins, and then so it's like the the whole thing is like she's like playing for this team and like trying to like keep it hush hush from from her her family, but then the family keeps finding out and then it's like it's like okay, well how can I keep doing this and everything. And what is great too is like they like um the uh families like keep thinking like they're the uh two girls are are gay, yeah. So it's like they're like freaking out and it's like they want to be like like it's like some of them like kind of want to be supportive, but also it's like oh we don't want this and everything and it's like nope we're we're we're not gay we're just like best friends and everything and it's just like it's very it's very charming, I guess, and like you know there's an innocence to it, um, and it's just like a a cute little feel feel-good film and like the um I think the Asaker's done like like really well. Yeah, I think so. Um and yeah, it's just like that is like my my best way to subscribe it, I guess, is like a um I'm a feel-good like uh film.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, absolutely. Um so I I did re-watch it as well. Also another pretty good late 90s, 2000s time capsule because all of the the the white girlfriends have crazy like spice girls' hair. Every single one.

SPEAKER_01

Dude, so that was another thing that I totally for forgot is like my number one spice girl, Melcy. They use her on on the uh the the soundtrack, like like n a number of her songs are on the soundtrack. I was like, oh hell yeah. And it's like they actually like like um the one mom like like references like Sporty Spice and how like this is why Sporty Spice like doesn't have a man or like whatever.

SPEAKER_05

It's like oh shut up, like one thing I I really found kind of fascinating about this was it very easily could have been kind of like she's the man where it's like girls playing sports, pretty stupid, right? Like it could have easily been that, and there's a pretty good support system in this movie for from some people, like uh specifically Kira Knightley's father is totally supportive, her mother is not.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, that was cool.

SPEAKER_05

Um, in fact, you see quite a lot of the women more so being the naysayers of saying, no, this is not what women do, which I think is kind of a nice uh way to point out that you know generations change. I also felt like I was learning a little bit about kind of Indian perspective because there was a big thing where they they bring up quite a few times where they think that um she's where Jess, the the main girl uh by played by uh Parmendernagra. Uh by the way, she's 28 in that movie.

SPEAKER_01

Dude, I was like, cause like right after this, she joined ER, and I used to love ER. Um, and it was like, yeah, like she's pretty damn old. It's like Kira Kira Knightley was like fairly young.

SPEAKER_05

She looked cause like Yeah, I was like, she's almost 10 years older than Kira Knightley in that movie, and they look the same age, if not like Parminder kind of looks a little younger, but yeah. But uh as I was saying, it it kind of made me interested that the one of the things they kept saying for Jess is oh no, is she dating someone? Oh no, is he a Muslim? Like there there was that this fear about that of oh no, they're dating someone, and it's not an Indian boy, because even Jess's character at one point says, Can't date a white boy, can't date a black boy, can't date an Asian boy, definitely can't date a Muslim. And it it it was kind of enlightening to go, oh, okay, so that is just sort of the the perspective of possibly this culture is that no, do not go outside of our traditions. And in a way she does because she's going outside to play soccer, to play um this game that they do not want her to play. So it is kind of a nice uh movie of hey, find your own way, find your own path as well.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and um it's directed by an Indian woman woman, and I didn't do like a ton of research on like if this is like based off of her life or anything. But I mean, you you know there's like you know, she's like been there like firsthand, so I mean she can like relate, you know, so she's like, you know, to some extent I'm sure like putting her own experiences in there. So I think that that helps too.

SPEAKER_05

I've definitely heard like if you listen to comedians like Camel Nangiani or Margaret Cho people that have have um what's I'm trying to think of Margaret Cho's line, immigrant as fuck, parents. Uh I believe is how she referred to them. That like they have their their culture that is just very different from the Americanized culture of you can do whatever you want, where a lot of other cultures go, you're gonna become a doctor, you're gonna become a lawyer, like you're not doing this frivolous whatever. Um so yeah, I'm sure you're right. She the she probably did draw from her own parental experiences and said, like, oh, I'm gonna put put in their strictness and their worldviews into this movie.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and I mean I think the uh parents are are handled well too. I do. Because it's like you know, they don't really come from like a place of like, you know, malice or anything. It's just like, you know, they just you know want the best for their children, and even like like the um Kira Knightley's mother, it's like she's like trying to like just like understand, I guess, what's like going on.

SPEAKER_05

She's like nervous, but it's like oh oh okay, like we like Kira Knightley's mother thinks that you know they're gay, and oh no, she broke my daughter's heart. So she's like, ah, she's she's gay, which means her life is gonna be so much harder, but also I do feel bad because my daughter is sad. Yeah. And the you know, she tries to defend her by yelling at Jess at the wedding, and at one point uh has a line I really like where she's like, You're you lesbian broke my daughter's heart or whatever, and then someone in the background just goes, lesbian. I thought she was a Pisces. It's just a good line.

SPEAKER_01

How did you So the one thing that like I don't know, how did you feel about the Jonathan Reese Myers character?

SPEAKER_05

That was a little like the arcade. Yeah, he played Joe, which is their coach, that they both kind of have like a crush on, and I think uh Kira Knightley's character is actually dating him, and then he starts to She she she's not really button really likes him.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, because like she like tells her like you know, like, oh, you know, like I don't like him, you know, it's like he uh can't, you know, like date players or anything. And then, you know, he sees them kiss and then she's like, you bitch. And it's like like in like I don't know, it's like it's 'cause like clearly they're like supposed to be like fairly young and like I don't know, that is like the one thing that like I mean there are like moments where where it's like he like seems like a good guy and like there are like some redeeming qualities, but also it's like dude, like you shouldn't have like put yourself in this yeah it's definitely that's something that doesn't hold because now we're in a time where we realize oh position of powers you probably shouldn't hook up with your anyone that you have any kind of power over.

SPEAKER_05

But yeah. I mean the one thing I'll say that's maybe good about it is because as we said, Jess specifically says she's not supposed to date anybody outside of her heritage, so the fact that she like says, I'm also gonna kiss a white boy, maybe that's a bit of its own subtle take of hey, this is still her rebelling or choosing her own path. So maybe you can kind of put it in that bucket. Um But yeah, I mean it's not it's not my favorite part of the movie.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and they also do a cool thing with um like um there's like the this guy who's like Jess's friend, and um they're like, oh, you know, like maybe you guys could like get married and everything, and then it turns out that like he's gay, and like I feel like that is handled like like really well too.

SPEAKER_05

Um pretty early progressive because still early 2000s, you didn't talk about gay kids like to really show them in a posture.

SPEAKER_01

You know, it's like he he doesn't want to like come out to like you know the other guys and everything because it's like I mean, you know, they're gonna like judge him and like just like act differently and everything around him. But then it's like he's like, dude, just like because like their his friends are like kind of like criticizing, like, it's a girl And he's like dude shut up like you know but it's like yeah like their relationship too, it is an early like like two 2000s, really cool like handling of it, like to where like they aren't like oh my gosh, he's gay, you know, just like making light of it or everything. So I thought that was really cool.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, I mean specifically because his buddies are making fun of women playing sports, you kind of think, okay, he's defending her because he wants to date her, which isn't necessarily a horrible instinct by any means, but the fact that he wasn't trying to date her and was defending her kind of makes it go, oh no, it's just you shouldn't be laughing at women for playing sports. Like, just don't be dicks.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I think it's it was definitely uh ahead of its time um for where where where we are now.

SPEAKER_05

Oh, for sure.

SPEAKER_01

For sure.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, I I thought it was a cool reveal. I I don't think I've seen a a reveal like that since what Paranorman I think had a pretty good gay reveal in it. Right, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And that was like 10 years later. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05

And also like in a cartoon movie, so yeah, yeah. Yeah, I I really did like Benedict Beckham. I I was kind of surprised how much I enjoyed it. I even liked it from the beginning where they clearly edit her into uh like an actual professional match. That was that was pretty good, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

I was like, oh, that this doesn't look that that bad.

SPEAKER_05

It's yeah, it it's funny because we did talk about how the US isn't really uh considered to be a great soccer team, but it did make me look something up because a plot point in the movie is they're really excited that a uh scout from the US is coming to see one of their games.

SPEAKER_01

And yeah, because the the uh league is opening up. Yeah, and it was an early So right right now there's the NWSL, and that's like around like ten years old now, I think. Um and like before then there were like some earlier leagues. So like, yeah, this was like an early 2000s American League, one of the first four women.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, I actually I think it was the first professional league. And cause that made me look it up because I was thinking, why are they so excited to go to America? Like I've always heard the joke being, oh, you go to play professional American soccer when your career is over. And so I it looks which a lot, maybe. Yeah, and that's so I was curious why are they so excited unless it's just like uh American movie, maybe, but it really isn't. But it's because they US had the first professional women's team. Now England had women leagues, and some paid, some didn't, but I guess as far as in terms of like the professional version where it's no, this is what you will do and nothing else, US was the first one to do it. So I thought that was kind of an interesting point that hell, you maybe you maybe researching research something, but like Beckham.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, like like now I think it's like 'cause like a lot of US players will go overseas, cause like I guess the competition is kind of stronger, I guess. But it's funny cause like even like a lot of women from overseas will like come here to go to college. So it's like it's I don't know, it's kinda weird. I don't know like how all that works, like but yeah, it is very interesting.

SPEAKER_05

Well, I I will I want to end on one thing here, which is I love Kira Knightley as an actress and everything I've seen her in. I once saw someone do an impression of her that that's all I can see now. It's such a damn good impression. I'll show it to you later. But basically, someone said something along the lines that uh in every movie, Kira Knightley's mouth and teeth are two separate actors both competing against each other for the same Oscar. And I can't unsee it.

SPEAKER_01

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_05

Because she does always kind of have like this, like it almost looks like she's puckering her lips a bit and everything. Okay, yeah, yeah. I I kind of see it. And and I I don't know if it's just, you know, it has clearly she's not doing anything on purpose, it's just the way her face is constructed, I guess. But I can't unsee it, and like that impression hasn't ruined Kira Knightley for me in so many movies, which is such a shame because that she's great in everything I've seen her in.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05

It's very silly.

SPEAKER_01

But Ricky. I still love you, Kira Knightley. We we all do, we all still love her.

SPEAKER_05

But Ricky, let me just ask you one final question. Do you think these movies have done a good job showcasing soccer?

SPEAKER_01

Some. I think Ben to like Beckham. Yeah, m big green, maybe not so much. I mean, it has a good message in the end, like um shall in soccer, yeah. I just Get pissed that uh real soccer's not not like this. Like, you know, like aren't people exploding and like where's all the fire and flame and everything? I have a feeling like damned United's probably like the best representation.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, if I had to guess. There is one I wanted to watch. I need to I I just didn't have time to get to it, unfortunately, but it was called Victory. And it's from the 80s, and it has uh Michael Cain, Sylvester Stallone, and Pele.

SPEAKER_01

That's the one.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, like like that one I wanted to watch too, because like the cast alone, I'm like, oh hell yeah.

SPEAKER_05

The only reason I didn't watch it first was because I was thinking, just kind of from the description, was uh uh Allied uh prisoner of war is prepared for a soccer game against the German national team to be played in Nazi-occupied France. Or excuse me, uh Nazi-occupied Paris. And while they're trying to make plans for to get the team to escape. And I was kind of thinking, I bet it's gonna be more war focused than soccer focused, so I didn't get to it. And I could be wrong, it could be. But the fact that Pele is in this movie is crazy. So great. Yeah. So maybe I'll get to it just to see. Um wow, Max von Seidel's in it. Of course, Max von Seidel. If there's a German, they're like, we're gonna get the most German person we know.

SPEAKER_01

We'll uh we'll we'll both have to watch that one. I'm pretty sure Max von Seidel's Swedish, though.

SPEAKER_05

I you know, I don't know. He's uh it feels like he only plays Germans. He's a German demand. His name is Max Von. It has Vaughn. He's a German. Uh well, Ricky, I think that's a good place to wrap it up there, unless you have any final thoughts.

SPEAKER_01

No, um yeah, uh watch the uh game tomorrow. Yep. As of re recording to uh see who won.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, this comes out the the day after, so don't watch it. Uh hopefully you missed it. And we're gonna tell you turn it on and watch, because I can't believe what happened in that game. We're gonna you know we're gonna predict. Let's predict. Let's end on that. Who's gonna win it? Argentina, Spain.

SPEAKER_01

I'm gonna go Argentina. What's the score? Back to back. Um I think it's gonna be close.

SPEAKER_05

I'm gonna you know what? I'm gonna say Spain's gonna go with the upset 2-1. In fact, there's gonna be a uh red card in like the 70th minute that's going to be crazy. Like we're we're recording this on Saturday, so if this comes out and I'm right, I uh I'm I'm gonna get sponsored by a Calchi or some shit.

SPEAKER_01

Everyone owes us a million dollars.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, but there's uh Argentina's gonna get a red card in 70th minute, and then Spain's gonna be able to capitalize on it and take the lead. Oh, snap.

SPEAKER_01

Whoops. I'm gonna be texting you. Up 70th minute, here we go. Here comes that red card.

SPEAKER_05

Well, thank you for listening to another episode of a Mostly Film Podcast. I've been Brandon, and with me, as always, is Ricky. Now please go watch some movies.

SPEAKER_00

Bye.