History Film / BendItLikeBeckham

* TriangRelations: Jules has a crush on Joe, but tells Jess she doesn't; then she feels betrayed when Jess and Joe sort-of-kind-of start a relationship. To complicate things further, Joe isn't supposed to be dating either of them, as their coach, and Jess knows her parents wouldn't approve of her dating without their knowledge, especially a non-Indian guy. Oh, and Jules's mother mis-overhears Jules and Jess fighting about it and [[MistakenForGay believes they've had a bad breakup]].

In 2015 A musical theater production of the movie was released in London.

* BrattyTeenageDaughter: Despite being the protagonist, Jess comes off as this from time to time.
** Her sister Pinky is worse.

** Joe's father was so determined for him to improve his game that he caused him a career-ending injury. Joe also says he'd "piss himself" if he knew Joe was now coaching a women's team.

* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue

* MistakenForGay: Jules's mother is convinced that Jules and Jess are lesbians. [[spoiler:After Jules figures this out, she explains about the LoveTriangle with Joe while bitching Mom out for being a homophobe.]]

* NotThatTheresAnythingWrongWithThat: When Jules is explaining to her mother that she's not a lesbian, she ends it by saying there's nothing wrong with being a lesbian anyways. Her mother, who is in tears and had just thrown a fit over her "discovery", quickly composes herself and adamantly agrees.

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Half the young Indian characters (Jess, Pinky, Bubbly, Taz...)
** Also Jules.

* MasculineGirlFeminineBoy: Jess and Tony are a platonic example. Pretty downplayed in the beginning of the movie, but becomes more distinc later on [[spoiler: when Tony comes out of the closet to Jess]].

* MistakenForGay: Jules's mother is convinced that Jules and Jess are lesbians.
* MrFanservice: Creator/JonathanRhysMeyers as Joe. No wonder all the girls fall over him.
-->'''Tony''': "He's quite ''fit.''"

* ParentalMarriageVeto: Jess's parents' generation are rather torn about exactly how much control they can or should exert over their children. Pinky and her boyfriend are very much in love, but his parents still threaten to pull the plug on the upcoming wedding when they think they see Jess kissing a boy on the street and conclude that Pinky comes from a bad family. Also:

** The main plot, obviously: Jess wants to play football, but Indian girls don't do that.

Jesminder "Jess" Bhamra (Parminder Nagra) is the daughter of Punjabi Sikh immigrants living in London. She loves football ([[SeparatedByACommonLanguage as in soccer]]), but her parents feel she should be focusing on more womanly, Indian pursuits. Befriending Juliette "Jules" Paxton (KeiraKnightley), Jess joins a women's team behind their backs, and [[HilarityEnsues hilarity and drama ensue]].

'''Paula:''' All I'm saying is, there's a reason why Sporty Spice is the only one without a fella!

* BigGame

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Half the young Indian characters.

* ShoppingMontage

* YouGoGirl

* TheBabyTrap: Implied as an rare positive example: Pink's wedding with her boyfriend was called off because of Jess shaming the family. Cut to a time later in the movie where Pinky overjoyed proclaimed that they now ''had'' to let them marry. Then during the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue we see an heavily pregnant Pinky.

--> "Why did she take Jessminder's shoes?!"

* TriangRelations: Jules has a crush on Joe, but tells Jess she doesn't; then she feels betrayed when Jess and Joe sort-of-kind-of start a relationship. (To complicate things further, Joe isn't supposed to be dating either of them, as their coach, and Jess knows her parents wouldn't approve of her dating without their knowledge, especially a non-Indian guy. Oh, and Jules's mother mis-overhears Jules and Jess fighting about it and [[MistakenForGay believes they've had a bad breakup]].)

** Jules's mother can't for the life of her understand why her daughter likes football so much and isn't interested in things like buying padded bras so as to snare a man. (Her father, by contrast, is supportive.)

* GroinAttack: Jess on a male player at the park (lightly, in vengeance for a boob joke).

* MeddlingParents / MyBelovedSmother

* NiceHat: Jules's mother wear a ridiculous one the first time she goes to see her play.

* TriangRelations: Jules has a crush on Joe, but tells Jess she doesn't; then she feels betrayed when Jess and Joe sort-of-kind-of start a relationship. (To complicate things further, Joe isn't supposed to be dating either of them, as their coach, and Jess knows her parents wouldn't approve of her dating without their knowlege, especially a non-Indian guy. Oh, and Jules's mother mis-overhears Jules and Jess fighting about it and [[MistakenForGay believes they've had a bad breakup]].)

* {{Bifauxnen}}: Jules, with her short hair, is mistaken for a boy in one scene.

* DawsonCasting: Parminder Nagra was twenty-six, playing an eighteen-year-old. Inverted in the case of Keira Knightley, who was actually 16 years old at the time of filming and playing an 18-year-old.

* StarMakingRole: This and next year's ''PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' put KeiraKnightley on the map; Parminder K. Nagra also did very well out of it.

* ThrowItIn: The burn scars on Parminder Nagra's legs are real, as is the story of how she got them (give or take a few details). In the movie, they serve as a way to show Jess getting over her last inhibitions about playing with the team.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: This originally ''was'' a [[HideYourLesbians lesbian love story.]]

* MrFanservice: JonathanRhysMeyers as Joe. No wonder all the girls fall over him.

Jesminder "Jess" Bhamra (Parminder Nagra) is the daughter of Punjabi Sikh immigrants living in London. She loves football ([[SeparatedByACommonLanguage as in soccer]]), but her parents feel she should be focusing on more womanly, Indian pursuits. Befriending Jules (KeiraKnightley), Jess joins a women's team behind their backs, and [[HilarityEnsues hilarity and drama ensue]].

''Bend It Like Beckham'' is a 2002 British film directed by Gurinder Chadha.

* HeyItsThatGuy: [[PiratesOfTheCaribbean Elizabeth Swann]] and [[{{ER}} Dr Neela Rasgotra]] (whose sister is [[TheGoodWife Kalinda Sharma]]) play football. Their coach is [[TheTudors King Henry VIII]].

* StayInTheKitchen: A rare example where a female character is demanding this of another one, while a male character opposes it.
** Doesn't really fit this trope, though. While Jess's mom does want Jess to learn to cook instead of playing football, both parents stress the importance of Jess getting good grades on her A-levels so she can attend university.

* FootFocus: There's a scene focusing on Jess' feet, which is justified as Joe is checking her ankle injury.

** The idea of Jess dating or marrying her Irish coach is [[MalignedMixedMarriage objectionable to her parents]] and even Pinky. Even at the end, she tells him they have to at least hold off on a relationship, because her parents have adjusted to enough changes in a short time span.[[hottip:*: Last we see Joe, he is playing cricket with Jess' dad and Teetu, Pinky's husband, and all are having a good time so he is working on them being more receptive to his and Jess being together.]]

* JackieRobinsonStory: Jess's father faced discrimination when he tried to play cricket in English clubs, and he doesn't believe that things have changed enough for an Indian girl to be accepted as a professional footballer. While Jess has it considerably better, she does get called a Paki at least once.