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Goal! Sometimes it’s still possible to be surprised at the movies. Take two recent soccer flicks that had a brief run in theaters earlier this year, and are new to home video this month. "Goal! The Dream Begins" is the story of one immigrant’s struggle toward fame and fortune with a prestigious British soccer -- no, football -- club. "The Miracle Match" is the based-on-a-true-story of a ragtag team of mostly Italian immigrants from St. Louis recruited to form a United States World Cup team in 1950. The men improbably beat the British squad in a game that went down as one of the biggest upsets in soccer history. I fully expected to love "The Miracle Match" and merely tolerate the cheesier titled "Goal! The Dream Begins," but instead I found the former to be a plodding bore and the latter a fun, if overly clichéd, movie. In "Goal!," Kuno Becker plays Santiago Muñez, an undocumented immigrant living in Los Angeles with his adoring little brother, saintly abuela, and stern father. When not slaving away doing lawn work, Santiago is busy with a local soccer league, where he excels. One day, a kindly British fellow (Stephen Dillane) happens to see Santiago in action, and though he’s been out of the football business for years, he’s so inspired he calls upon an old pal, the manager of Newcastle United. You can probably see where this is going, and sure enough, every box in the underdog sports movie checklist is filled:
But despite its by the numbers plot, I liked "Goal!" because, like many an underdog film, the star is a fresh-faced unknown whose earnest looks and enthusiastic approach lift the film above its faults. There's also some great soccer action, which looks and sounds great on DVD. Speaking of soccer action, one of the nifty (but too short) extras on the disc is a highlight reel of Golden Moments from FIFA World Cup games from years past. In fact, I think FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) may have even had a hand in the production of this film, as a few real-life soccer stars show up in cameo appearances.
FIFA might want to distance itself from "The Miracle Match," though. Director David Anspaugh helmed the stellar sports films "Hoosiers" and "Rudy," but "The Miracle Match" fails to live up to his previous efforts. The film is told in flashback by journalist Dent McSkimming (played by a creaky Patrick Stewart), who was there at birth of the 1950 United States World Cup team, and watched them beat the British squad despite overwhelming odds. The U.S. team was made up of players from St. Louis and New York, and if we are to believe "The Miracle Match," they kind of didn't get along, but kind of did. The movie can't make up its mind whether this team is at odds with one another or they're good buddies. Little of their personal lives are revealed, and the one black player on the team is gently mocked for his voodoo beliefs, but otherwise embraced by all the players. Would this have happened in 1950, just three years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in American baseball? I guess so, if he scores the winning goal, which he does, in a match that is strangely unmoving. The majority of the movie takes place in the week leading up to the big match. During this time, coach Bill Jeffrey (John Rhys Davies) says next to nothing to his players. He's not a very inspiring leader. Neither, for that matter, is team captain Walter Bahr (Wes Bentley), though he is quite handsome. "The Miracle Match" flopped in theaters. When it was released in 2005, it was titled "The Game of Their Lives." Maybe the producers felt a name change would boost interest in the movie, or at least hide it from negative publicity associated with that theatrical release. On the other hand, there are already two sequels lined up for "Goal! The Dream Begins," and so with soccer -- excuse me again -- football enjoying increased popularity in the United States, moviegoers should look forward to more goals both on and off the silver screen. 9/27/06 Back to the main Cinema Tuesdays Reviews page More about the Cinema Tuesdays series  |
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