History Film / BendItLikeBeckham

'''Teammate:''' Guess you'll be marrying an Indian, then.\\

* WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent:
** The theme of children defying their parents' expectations, and particularly the traditionalism of Indian immigrant parents versus their more assimilated kids, comes up again and again (with varying results).

* ComicallyMissingThePoint: The Indian parents and elders have no idea what Jules's mom is freaking out about following the wedding reception; they believe the whole incident is partly a complaint about their noisy celebration and partly confusion over Jules's short hair.

* FantasyForbiddingFather: Jess's try to put a stop to her football ambitions several times. [[spoiler: Until the end thankfully]].

* ParentsAreWrong / ParentsAsPeople: Jess's parents are clearly loving and supportive, but the cultural clash between them and their daughters drives much of the plot. Attention is given to how her mother feels about her potential in-laws not thinking Pinky is good enough for their son. In the end, her father convinces the family that Jess should pursue her dream because the world has changed and he doesn't want her repeating his mistakes.

* ShoppingMontage: Complete with a Spice Girls alum soundtrack.

** This joke gets extra points when Posh Spice appears in the end of the film with ''her'' fella- the titular UsefulNotes/DavidBeckham [[note]] the "Beckhams" are actually played by lookalikes for this scene[[/note]]. Maybe Paula [[TheCuckoolanderWasRight had a point...]] At the time though, Sporty Spice actually ''did'' have a boyfriend (she was last to become a mother though).

* WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent: The theme of children defying their parents' expectations, and particularly the traditionalism of Indian immigrant parents versus their more assimilated kids, comes up again and again (with varying results).

* GenderNonconformingEqualsGay: Half the reason why Paula was so quick to assume Jules is gay is because she's tomboyish and plays sports. The other half was OutOfContextEavesdropping.

** Subverted with Jess's parents, who don't particularly think of football as being a "man's sport" or their daughter as being particular masculine, but feel it's childish and no longer proper for a young lady of Jess's age to be focusing on a game (particularly one played with men while dressed in shorts) instead of her studies and learning to be a good homemaker.

* CompanionCube: Jess talks to the poster of David Beckham in her room.

* FakeShemp: Jess' opening daydream uses stock footage of the actual David Beckham, but his "cameo" at the end uses a lookalike along with one for his wife [[Music/SpiceGirls Victoria]].

* LocalSoundtrack: A variation. The film, which prominently features David Beckham as Jess's idol, has a soundtrack with no fewer than four songs by Music/SpiceGirls alumnae, including two by David Beckham's wife, Victoria Beckham.

** This joke gets extra points when Posh Spice appears in the end of the film with ''her'' fella- the titular David Beckham [[note]] the "Beckhams" are actually played by lookalikes for this scene[[/note]]. Maybe Paula [[TheCuckoolanderWasRight had a point...]] At the time though, Sporty Spice actually ''did'' have a boyfriend (she was last to become a mother though).

* AirplaneArms: [[spoiler:Joe runs around in a circle with airplane arms when he scores in a game of cricket with Jesminder's father and Pinky's husband]].

* ScarsAreForever: Jess has a prominent burn scar on her leg from a childhood accident. She's initially reluctant to wear the shorts that are part of the team uniform because they'll expose the scar. Joe convinces her it's okay by showing her the scar on his knee from his CareerEndingInjury.

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Half the young Indian characters (Jess, Pinky, Bubbly, Taz...) "Jess" is explained fairly early as a nickname for "Jesminder", "but only my mom calls me that." Jules, meanwhile, is short for "Juliette".

* ParentsAsPeople: Jess's parents are clearly loving and supportive, but the cultural clash between them and their daughters drives much of the plot. Attention is given to how her mother feels about her potential in-laws not thinking Pinky is good enough for their son. In the end, her father convinces the family that Jess should pursue her dream because the world has changed and he doesn't want her repeating his mistakes.

** Inverted with Jess's parents who are more about her getting into college than doing girly things.

* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Jess and Jules have to play together during their fight.

* BrickJoke: Jules gives Jess her mother's shoes to wear for the wedding, so that she can spend the money she was given for that on soccer cleats. At the wedding, Jules's mother demands the shoes back on seeing them.

* 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 (although in real life several women footballers have married their coaches), 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]].

** When Jess is talking about how a love match works, one of her teammates asks if an Indian would be allowed to enter into a love match with a white person. Jess replies that no, they may be allowed ''some'' freedom of choice, but her parents (and most Indian parents) would never consent to their child marrying anyone but another Indian, and one of the same faith (she, a Sikh, would not be allowed to marry a Muslim or Hindu).

** When Jess is talking about how a love match works, one of her teammates asks if an Indian would be allowed to enter into a love match with a white person. Jess replies that no, they may be allowed ''some'' freedom of choice, but her parents (and most Indian parents) would never consent to their child marrying anyone but another Indian.

* BareYourMidriff: Jules wears crop tops and sports bras throughout the film, [[{{Fanservice}} highlighting Keira Knightly's slender figure.]] Notably she's almost always in a sports bra at football practice, while the other girls are usually in football shirts.

* MeddlingParents: Jess's try to put a stop to her football ambitions several times. [[spoiler: Until the end thankfully]].

* NiceHat: Jules's mother wears a ridiculous one the first time she goes to see her play. Her dad comments that they'll be lucky if she can even fit into the car.

-->--'''Jess'''

* CoolBigSis: Pinky covers for Jess on realizing she wasn't at HMV, and merely wants to know the truth when Jess returns home. She does ask why Jess has to go for such a difficult route but supports her nonetheless. In the end, she is beyond thrilled on hearing Jess got a full-ride scholarship to an American college.

* HarsherInHindsight: Jess' dad speaking about how he was bullied out of playing cricket in England for being Indian/Sikh hits especially hard in light of the reports of deep-rooted racism that still exists in English cricket, years after the movie was made.

* GracefulLadiesLikePurple: Jess's mother wears a lilac dress and hat when going to the final. It just shows how extremely feminine she is compared to everyone else.

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