Bend It Like Beckham

Liberated, Westernized daughters versus their traditional, ethnic mothers--it's the trendiest genre in crowd-pleasing independent cinema (see My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Real Women Have Curves). Pick an ethnic minority, embrace its clichés and use them for punchlines, then put your female heroine (attractive, not gorgeous, with a realistic body type) in a position where she's torn between family and future. This English import is about the soccer-fanatic daughter (Parminder K. Nagra) of Sikh immigrants pursuing her sporty dreams behind the backs of her disapproving parents. Yet despite its feel-good predictability--and because of writer-director Gurinder Chadha's adoration and appreciation of Indian culture--this perfunctory but surprise box office hit is totally entertaining, even if it is formulaic. Recommended. [Note: Available in both widescreen and full screen versions, DVD extras include audio commentary by real-life spouses writer-director Gurinder Chadha and co-writer Paul Mayeda Berges, a 15-minute behind-the-scenes making-of featurette, a 15-minute “Who Wants to Cook Aloo Gobi?” cooking featurette (with Chadha, her mother, and aunt at a restaurant in London), 10 deleted scenes, a six-minute music video-style behind-the-scenes montage of the song “Hot, Hot, Hot!”, a text recipe for Aloo Gobi, a soundtrack spot, and trailers. Bottom line: a winning extras package for a winning little film.] (R. Blackwelder)