Although the movie Next Goal Wins hasnât gotten any buzz for Globe or Oscar awards, this immensely audience-pleasing film just might be the ticket for you and your kids during the holiday season. The historic Jones Theater offering on the silver screen this coming weekend, Next Goal Wins retells the tale told in 2014âs homonymous documentary: the unlikely turnaround of the pitifully awful American Samoan soccer team, winless in FIFA play and ranked last in the world.
The film critics who believe it is their right and bounden duty to be snobs, cruel ones at that, have fallen all over their self-importance to let us know how everyone should be content with the almost decade-old documentary and bypass the comedic sport film. So much for those category mixing Grinches, Scrooges all; theyâll probably all get coal in their Christmas stockings anywayâŚ
Seriously, as a more mellow and adult reviewer, Tim Appelo, notes, writing for AARPâs online entertainment page, Next Goal Wins is âa feel-good movie with potential to inspire audiences to cheer on this ragtag bunch.â Iâm all for feelinâ good during the festive weeks surrounding the winter solstice, and I imagine you are too.
Actually, there is a kind of sub-plot, or parallel narrative quite alive and well in the movie that deserves our attention. The alcoholic coach called up out of his downward spiral to tend to this team in oblivion, Thomas Tongen (played by Michael Fassbender) is also led to Samoan spiri- tuality, and, this being a feel-good movie, finds recovery. Point being, what are next goals in a reconstructed life all about? Perhaps the old adage âmore than meets the eyeâ is applicable to this PG-13, hour-and-three-quarter film.
You could certainly give it a chance to move you, no matter how often weary and jaded critics claim itâs all been done beforeâ remember, those folks live in the dark everyday watching movies. We, on the other hand, slog through some messy and painful times and benefit from some distracting cinematic stories sometimes.
As usual, itâs only being done three times at the historic Jones, tomorrow and Saturday at 7 p.m., and Sunday, December 17 at 2 p.m. The PG-13 rating, by the way, is for âsome strong languageâ and âcrude material,â nothing the kiddos havenât heard before out ân about in the world, Iâd imagine. You can always check the trailers online, of course, in case you want to preview your decision to come on into town by yourself or with the family for a light, fun movie.
And remember, the ticket prices are so astoundingly affordable even those nasty critics would come to Westcliffe just for the wallet-joy of a movie night hereâŚ
â W.A. Ewing
