More of these soccer travelogues are needed. The game is huge all over the world and it means so much to so many people. It's an important lesson for our children to see that this is a game to be cherished for life. You don't have to reach the pro level to keep the game with you forever.
The unfortunate irony is that one of the narrators of this movie -- the insufferable Gwendolyn -- is a bit sour on the game because she didn't live up to her own vision of greatness. Sure, she's a nice player, we can see this during the pickup games, but clearly she's not pro quality. However, we have to endure her whining faux-introspection regarding a final chance to make it to the pros. Hello? This movie is about the joy of playing, not your obsession with failing to make the grade. Did you learn nothing from the film you made? The second narrator Luke is a bit more easygoing and he seems to enjoy the game while thinking about his future away from it. However, Luke is also a bit of a numbskull, somewhat dopey and monotone as well. At one point he muses about law school as the next love of his life following his soccer career, then he says something like "well, I don't know if I really love it." Sure, dude, we get the idea. The two of them together are not the best choice as tour guides, but it's their movie so we're stuck with them.
The best parts of the movie are of course the scenes in various countries where we meet the real players, the people who love playing barefoot on asphalt or dirt lots strewn with trash. Some make their own soccer balls. All play because they love soccer.
This will sound harsh, but it's unfortunate this concept was delivered to us by two kids who clearly have had everything spoon fed to them throughout their lives. It really shows in their tendency to act like dolts when on camera and their tendency to deliver the narrative without any real feeling. This movie was a great way for Gwendolyn to run away from the book she was writing (I cringe at the thought of her penning her masterpiece "Reflections on a Pampered Existence: How a Duke University Education Turned me Into a Force for Social Change." Luke seems to be biding his time before law school. We learn this early on in the movie when a dry, harpie-like creature who may be his Aunt sits next to him and openly mocks him for not pursuing a serious line of work.
My advice for viewers of this film: turn off the sound when the narrators are on screen and turn it up when memorable characters appear and actual pickup games are played.
The unfortunate irony is that one of the narrators of this movie -- the insufferable Gwendolyn -- is a bit sour on the game because she didn't live up to her own vision of greatness. Sure, she's a nice player, we can see this during the pickup games, but clearly she's not pro quality. However, we have to endure her whining faux-introspection regarding a final chance to make it to the pros. Hello? This movie is about the joy of playing, not your obsession with failing to make the grade. Did you learn nothing from the film you made? The second narrator Luke is a bit more easygoing and he seems to enjoy the game while thinking about his future away from it. However, Luke is also a bit of a numbskull, somewhat dopey and monotone as well. At one point he muses about law school as the next love of his life following his soccer career, then he says something like "well, I don't know if I really love it." Sure, dude, we get the idea. The two of them together are not the best choice as tour guides, but it's their movie so we're stuck with them.
The best parts of the movie are of course the scenes in various countries where we meet the real players, the people who love playing barefoot on asphalt or dirt lots strewn with trash. Some make their own soccer balls. All play because they love soccer.
This will sound harsh, but it's unfortunate this concept was delivered to us by two kids who clearly have had everything spoon fed to them throughout their lives. It really shows in their tendency to act like dolts when on camera and their tendency to deliver the narrative without any real feeling. This movie was a great way for Gwendolyn to run away from the book she was writing (I cringe at the thought of her penning her masterpiece "Reflections on a Pampered Existence: How a Duke University Education Turned me Into a Force for Social Change." Luke seems to be biding his time before law school. We learn this early on in the movie when a dry, harpie-like creature who may be his Aunt sits next to him and openly mocks him for not pursuing a serious line of work.
My advice for viewers of this film: turn off the sound when the narrators are on screen and turn it up when memorable characters appear and actual pickup games are played.