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I bet the filmmakers would love to have a dollar for every time someone compares this movie to "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." Their coffers would be greatly enriched, as comparisons to Nia Vardalos' "Greek Wedding" are inevitable. As I left the screening, the majority of the audience rumblings had to do with renaming the film. I heard "My Big Fat Indian Wedding" and "My Big Fat Soccer Movie" kicked around the most frequently, proving that comparisons to last year's indie-film-that-could will undoubtedly be made.

Prior to watching "Bend It Like Beckham," it had to be explained to me who Beckham was and what was so special about his ability to "bend it." Satisfied with the explanation, I figured "Bend It" would be strictly about soccer (a sport I can take or leave), and thus almost discounted it before giving it a chance. (You'd think I'd have learned not to prejudge a plot before watching it unfold by now.) Anyway, "Bend It" turned out to be a surprisingly smart look at romance, family relationships, and parental expectations - and it happens to be one of my favorite movies of 2003, to date (don't quote me on that; the year is young so this assessment is subject to change).

The story centers around Jess, an Indian girl who loves British soccer star David Beckham (he of the 'bend it' talent), and Jules, an English girl who befriends Jess after she observes her running circles around a group of strapping young men playing soccer in the park.

Jess comes from a very strict Indian family where gender roles are clearly defined. Women are expected to learn to cook and care for their husbands, who are, of course, expected to be the sole breadwinners. This might be fine for Jess' older sister Pinky, however Jess has a dramatically different vision of her own future, and it doesn't entail settling down and cooking the perfect chapatti. Jess sees herself as a female version of her hero, David Beckham, competing in soccer rather than cooking for an acceptable Indian man as tradition dictates.

Jess secretly joins Jules' competitive women's soccer team, and is forced to lead a double life in order to not disappoint her parents and still play the sport for which she lives and breathes. Sneaking out to practices and traveling with the team to tournaments puts a strain on her home life. She must concoct outlandish lies to justify her absences from home. To complicate matters, she finds herself falling for her soccer coach, a guy who is off-limits for many reasons including the big one - he's not Indian (hence the obvious comparisons to "My Big Fat Greek Wedding").

According to director Gurinder Chadha, the actors in "Bend It Like Beckham" went through months of rigorous training to look like real soccer players. That training paid off as the soccer scenes are convincingly realistic. Parminder Nagra (Jess) and Keira Knightley (Jules) are simply terrific as the two young women yearning for the freedom to conquer the world of soccer. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers does a great job as the coach who unexpectedly gets caught up in a sticky love triangle. There's only one scene where Rhys-Meyers doesn't look the part, but fortunately it's near the end of the film and so won't distract audiences too horribly. (When you see the film, pay close attention to Rhys-Meyers running through the airport and you'll understand exactly what I'm referring to.)

"Bend It Like Beckham" is a charming film with a little something for everyone. Combining sports, strong independent women, romance, family values, and comedy, "Bend It's" a refreshing addition to the increasingly stale romantic comedy genre.

Overall Grade: B+

"Bend It Like Beckham" is rated PG-13 for language and sexual content.