For those who get the BBCAmerica channel, looks like a good soccer film. 8-10 pm The Match (alias The Beautiful GAme) 1999 From IMDb database. Plot Summary The Match is a contemporary romantic comedy, set in the idyllic Highland village of Inverdoune. Wullie Smith, still carrying the physical and emotional scars of the childhood death of his younger brother, is the village milkman. A young man whose potential is concealed his gently diffident exterior, Wullie is locally known for his remarkable T.F.R. (Total Football Recall) and for his not-very-secret love for Rosemary Bailey, the breathtaking daughter of Bill Bailey, a local farmer with a curious affection for his cows. Rosemary has returned briefly to her home with a college degree before she leaves again to pursue a career in the big city. The single-street village has only two pubs - the ramshackle delights of Benny's Bar, spiritual home of its charmingly eccentric clientele and the sterile modernity of Le Bistro, owned by former professional footballer and preening narcissist, George Gus. But Benny's Bar may soon be lost forever. A bet made to settle a feud between the original owners of Benny's Bar and Le Bistro was made long before anyone living in the village today can remember. The ancestral feud is to be finally resolved by the result of the annual football (soccer) contest between the two bars in this hundredth year of the contest. Past form indicates poor prospects for the Benny's Bar team which has lost for 99 years in a row. But it is only the result of this, the hundredth game, which will determine which bar is to be closed forever by the winning side. Review Summary: An enjoyable, light romantic-comedy. The Match is a comedy in the same vein as The Full Monty. It falls short of the latter in terms of sustained laugh-aloud comedy but has a naive sweetness and a fairly exciting footballing climax. The calibre of the cast is excellent - perhaps to the film's ultimate detriment - and the plot both light and fantastic. The comedy remains constant but never belly-wrenching; the romance sweet but never Romeo & Juliet-threatening; and the football match climax enjoyable but never over-whelming. Having said all that, the film feels like it might have worked more successfully as an out and out kids' movie. The comedy is fairly accessible (if a little UK-specific) and the sporting battle widely appealing to children. Add to this cameos from England's most famous footballer and one of the world's biggest stars (I'm not spoiling the surprise) and there is much to be said in favour of this small, enjoyable film. Other Reviews at http://gist.imdb.com/CommentsShow?165384
There might be a few people on here that feel differently but I didn't care at all for this movie. They've been showing it on BBC America for a few months now. You might enjoy it, just don't expect a lot of it do with soccer. I wouldn't call it a soccer flick.
Monster. I suggest you watch "Ratcatcher" which has subtitles. For the first 5 minutes we were trying to figure out what Eastern European country the movie was based in. Turns out it was in Scotland. 10x times harder to understand than this one on tonight.
Must have listened to too many Rangers webcasts when Claudio played there, I understand it perfectly.
You could understand them in the movie Ratcatcher?!?! If so, you have an uncanny ability. I've watched quite a few Scottish movies and could understand them but this one is ridiculous. I'll have to find out where it was shot in Scotland. Parkhead_Faithful, maybe you can help me out if you see this thread.
Never seen Ratcatcher. Never heard of Ratcatcher, actually. Meant the one on the telly now. Was that Alan Shearer?
Oh, ok. You scared me for a second. I caught it on Sundance late one night. ________________________ I think the drunk guy talking now is a great actor (Saving Private Ryan, Witness Protection.)
My Name is Joe is the name of a film that is subtitled. At least, I think that's the name of the film. Takes place in Glasgow. Fairly tough for those not used to it. Of course, you could watch Monarch of the Glen for simple accents.
Yes it was. When I saw it was Shearer, it got my hopes up, as I'd read that there was a movie set in Newcastle where he has a cameo, but this was a different movie altogether. I didn't think it was great --highly predictable, some of the direction on the final match could've been better, etc. But I did think it was cool when the pub team came out of the bus right before the match wearing the... (sorry, won't give it away). Personally, the only reason I kept watching (besides the fact that the A-league playoff match on FSW was a total dog) was that I was trying to figure out who that guy was who looked like Tom Sizemore. Turns out, it was Tom Sizemore (AKA "the drunk guy talking right now" from Brian's post).
Took me a while to recognize Neil Morrissey (Tony from British Men Behaving Badly) as the really good player who doesn't want to play anymore. Dave