Next Goal Wins

I was really excited when this ended up being the Monday mystery movie. I had been looking forward to it, I didn't expect it to be great, just wanted it to be fun and it is.

It's classic Taika Waititi humor, much like Ryan Reynolds; you need to like the person to enjoy their movies because their films are simply extensions of themselves and their humor. If you're not a fan of Taika, this might not be your cup of tea.

The movie is genuinely fun and funny. Every character appears incompetent, yet many seem to have life figured out. Bad analogy, but it's akin to watching a child play something badly or a homeless man dancing in the rain, dog chasing it's tail-technically futile, but they have no worries and are having the time of their lives. There's an innocence and purity to them, and despite their shortcomings, the movie remains uplifting.

Michael Fassbender felt miscast, but considering it's based on a true story, maybe he was a perfect fit as the actual coach in real life? However, still felt the movie would've been better served if the actual team took the spotlight instead of the coach. A case where the supporting characters outshone the lead.

The 5 stages of grief bit was really funny. I kind of wish they had called "the Hollywood" the Neymar. What happened to the bleeding guy in the clinic? He was so random.

Really cool underdog story, reminiscent of sports comedies from my primary school years in the late 2000s. Like a movie Adam Sandler should've been in. While the plot is one that's been done many times, it feels refreshing touch because it's been a while since a film like this was made.

The movie emotionally kicks into high gear in the last third. The daughter's voicemails added a great emotional touch, providing depth without being too obvious until their purpose is revealed. I found myself asking "why?" a lot-pick up the phone. The movie's nothing extraordinary but it's decent.

The feel-good sports flick might be the most formulaic of film subgenres. You could argue it's even more familiar to us than the slasher movie. How many times have you seen this in a movie: a down-on-their-luck sports team gets a down-on-his-luck coach to whip them into shape, but the coach doesn't want to be there, he tries to get out of it, he ends up bonding with some of the team over their quirky individuality, he starts seeing within them a chance at redemption, they work hard in preparation for the big game, it looks like all hope is lost when the team suddenly lose hope so the coach has to make a big speech, where typically he realises that he has actually regained confidence in the team, and therefore himself (redemption arc).

If you grew up in the '90s like me, you probably know "Champions"/"The Mighty Ducks", "Cool Runnings", maybe "The Air Up There". Prior to that, there's "Bad News Bears", "Hoosiers", maybe also "A League of their Own", though I haven't seen that one, but it seems like a safe bet.

I don't blame them for basically making the same movie over and over again, with changes in sport and location. The formula works; it's like they finally discovered the secret of alchemy: how to turn rubbish into gold.

I particularly don't mind when somebody like Taika Watiti is at the helm. Watiti breathes new life into this formula. I mostly watched it because of him, and the fact that the movie is set in American Samoa, and I've never seen a movie set in Polynesia before.

The movie is made with warm humour, and an eye for detail, and an understanding of place, and what makes Polynesia special. Note details like Sunday being church day, the whole island's speed limit being a slow crawl, the local cop radioing his mother for details.

Also, there's the fa'fa'fiine. Probably few know about the role of transgenderism in Samoan society. Remember what I said about the coach bonding with individual team members over their individuality? And the bit about Watiti breathing new life into clichés? Here's the best example of both: Watiti uses the current issue of transgenderism to reinvigorate this old cliché, making the individual problem the character has something instantly recognisable, and also making it involve an obscure fact about a fascinating culture.

I'd be lying if I said the movie probably wouldn't have been more interesting with less of the formula, but would it have been as successful?

There is one other problem with the movie, though, and that's the casting of Michael Fassbender as the coach. You can forgive him for never dropping his Irish accent in character as a Dutchman, in a movie this good-natured and charming. But can you forgive them for casting him in the first place? Fassbender is a great actor. Check out "Hunger" and "Shame" for two of the best performances of the new millennium. But whose idea was it to cast an actor that disturbingly real and intense in a movie this cheerful and easygoing? He just doesn't fit. They should have cast a Ryan Reynolds or a Ben Affleck type. Somebody with an easy command of Hollywood charisma, who can appear troubled but you know a wisecrack and a wink at the audience is never far away. Fassbender seems to be working from a reserve of pain the audience can't begin to understand. This isn't his world: watching him here I kept being reminded of the character he played in "12 Years a Slave", who was just pure sadism.

This is a smart movie, not for the people looking for a formulaic plot. It starts out that way - misbehaving coach gets stuck with the worst team in the world. Moviegoers expecting a miracle will be disappointed, because this is (mostly) a true story. And truth is always a bit more complicated.

But, it's also not taking's itself too seriously, which is absolutely necessary for the story. It's meant to be dumb and silly, which is ironically what makes it so smart (Yes, that's right). That's why this is for intelligent people who see hardship as the best stuff of life, not that which we must fix to be "whole" people. It's anti-perfectionism and against worshipping advantages over character. Which is what smart people know is most important.

Often, I want a movie that is like a fairytale - that gives me pure escapism. And, I'm certainly not one to nitpick entertainment for not being "realistic", and it annoys me when people complain about that when it clearly wasn't the intention of a film. And, those movies make me laugh and feel happy, and that's great. But, that joy is not like real life. With a film like Next Goal Wins, there is an opportunity to experience true joy for something real, which makes it refreshingly different.

I felt cringe for the coach's drinking and terrible behavior. Unlike I suspect many, I saw his back story coming. I also felt his personal disappointment for his wife's unfortunate romantic choices. He is not a perfect character, nor is he meant to be. My favorite scene is probably the team's little pre-game performance at the final game - it is the climax before the resolution. As I expected what came next, it was a satisfying and cathartic ending to me.

As someone who knows what hitting bottom feels like, I can attest that this film is true at heart. There is not a miraculous undoing of the past. That's just not how life works. And, that's not how you move forward. If you get this message, you will love this movie.

Thomas Rongen is brought in to manage The American Samoa football team, his brief is to get the team to score a single goal in The World cup qualifiers. A team that was sitting at the bottom of the rankings list, and famously lost 31 nil to Australia.

Instantly you'll recognise that Taika Waititi is behind this film, his style is etched all over it, and as I eagerly await the second series of Our flag means death, this hits the mark.

It's not perfect, arguably it's a little slow to start, but as it develops, it just gets better and better, and by the end, I was absolutely engrossed.

Funny, moving, uplifting, it's real life given a feel good twist, a great film for the whole family to enjoy.

I recently read an article from an American website, which was discussing the fact that so many American parts were being played by Brits, here's another example of that, Michael Fassbender does such a great job as Rongen, proving he can do comedy very well.

Well worth seeing.

8/10.

I don't understand how a fair critics have rated this movie so poorly.

This is a funny, feel good movie about underdogs who you route for throughout the whole movie. The characters are likeable, the music is good and mainly it's just a fun movie. It doesn't add anything to the sport film catalog but when it comes to sport films, this is definitely one of my favorites. In my opinion, it's very rewatchable.

You can tell it's a Taika waititi movie with his obvious style of comedy. It works for the majority of the movie but does sometimes feel forced or falls flat. I don't know the whole story about the American Somoan football team but as movie, I really enjoyed this story and would recommend it.