Goal!
| Year: | 2006 |
| Production Co: | Milkshake Films |
| Studio: | Disney |
| Director: | Danny Cannon |
| Cast: | Kuno Becker, Allesandro Nivola, Gary Lewis |
Feel good story set in the world of soccer as a young Mexican immigrant in LA is spotted by a UK scout and bought to England to get a crack at the big time and play for a pro English league team.
It's a worthy idea with a lot of appeal and potential (which we've nevertheless seen before everywhere from Rocky to Get Rich or Die Tryin'), but the film has two major flaws.
The first is that after setting up how incredible this one in a million, once in a lifetime opportunity shot it is to impress the coach and selectors and make the team, the hero spends an awful lot of time stuffing it up and getting another chance, the last time just because he happens to be in a cab with and befriends the star first grade player.
The other flaw is that he seems to hit the big time too quickly, and suddenly the movie doesn't seem to be about him trying to make it - suddenly he's getting photographed by sleazy tabloids in the arms of starlets and attending parties with the likes of David Beckham.
We all want to hit the big time and we identify with the hero trying to get there. As soon as he gets there, we can feel satisfied that he's made it because he deserved it, but we can't identify with him anymore, so the only formula to use in this sort of A Star Is Born character arc is for the whole film to be about the battle and for us to leave the hero when he's made it.
We have to believe in the fantasy that life is perfect when you make it. If he makes it and then shows us the ugly or difficult side of fame or success, it destroys the fantasy and we don't care enough in him making it any more.
A very photogenic cast and group of locations and its heart eagerly on its sleeve make up for the downfall of the narrative however and it's a nice, unchallenging few hours.
It's a worthy idea with a lot of appeal and potential (which we've nevertheless seen before everywhere from Rocky to Get Rich or Die Tryin'), but the film has two major flaws.
The first is that after setting up how incredible this one in a million, once in a lifetime opportunity shot it is to impress the coach and selectors and make the team, the hero spends an awful lot of time stuffing it up and getting another chance, the last time just because he happens to be in a cab with and befriends the star first grade player.
The other flaw is that he seems to hit the big time too quickly, and suddenly the movie doesn't seem to be about him trying to make it - suddenly he's getting photographed by sleazy tabloids in the arms of starlets and attending parties with the likes of David Beckham.
We all want to hit the big time and we identify with the hero trying to get there. As soon as he gets there, we can feel satisfied that he's made it because he deserved it, but we can't identify with him anymore, so the only formula to use in this sort of A Star Is Born character arc is for the whole film to be about the battle and for us to leave the hero when he's made it.
We have to believe in the fantasy that life is perfect when you make it. If he makes it and then shows us the ugly or difficult side of fame or success, it destroys the fantasy and we don't care enough in him making it any more.
A very photogenic cast and group of locations and its heart eagerly on its sleeve make up for the downfall of the narrative however and it's a nice, unchallenging few hours.