Film Review – Next Goal Wins (2023)
In 2001, American Samoa took on Australia in a World Cup qualifier. Nobody expected them to beat The Socceroos, but nobody could have foreseen the carnage of a 31-0 scoreline. It was the biggest win in international football history, one that gave the American Samoans the unenviable title of the world’s worst soccer team. They’d never scored a goal and, by the time the 2014 qualifiers came along, they were on the hunt for a new coach.
Taika Waititi’s had almost as much trouble getting his dramatized version of the documentary Next Goal Wins to our screens as the easy-going team at the centre of the story had in scoring a goal. Filming started in 2019, well before “pandemic” became the word of the year. It delayed the film’s release, as did the replacement of a member of the cast and changes to the script. All at a time when Waititi’s star was very much in the ascendancy after Thor:Ragnarok and JoJo Rabbit. The film employs a familiar formula, using the more relaxed island way of life as the backdrop for professional coach Thomas Rongen’s (Michael Fassbender) efforts to coax that elusive first goal out of his team of “losers” while discovering that their way of life is exactly what he needs to kick his own demons into touch.
With some exceptions like Bend It Like Beckham, The Damned United and even Aardman’s First Man, football doesn’t have the happiest of cinematic histories. We won’t mention Escape To Victory. Next Goal Wins falls somewhere in between. The footie isn’t of the highest standard – it isn’t meant to be – and, at times, nor is the film. It’s Waititi going back to his usual territory – the charms of Polynesia and the almost childlike good nature and positive outlook of the locals. There’s a sense of him trying to re-capture the charm of one of his earliest successes, Hunt For The Wilderpeople, but the joyful irreverence that marked him out as a refreshing new voice isn’t there. Now we’re hearing from a director who’s made big budget movies with major studios and that mischievous rebellion has gone. It’s a likeable enough film, but it’s also a long way from his best.
What is essentially an underdog story feels like the script has been heavily influenced by the laid-back attitude of the islanders. It hardly seems to care if you find it funny or not. If it tickles your sense of humour, fine, but if it doesn’t, there’ll be another film that does. And, while Fassbender gives it his best shot in what is little more than a caricature of a role, it’s inescapable that he’s mis-cast and you find yourself yearning for a Ted Lasso re-watch.
But there’s one thing that footie fans will love. There’s no VAR!
★★ 1/2
Comedy | UK cinemas from 26 December 2023 | Walt Disney Studios | Certificate: 12A | Dir. Taika Waititi | Michael Fassbender, Oscar Knightley, Rachel House, Elizabeth Moss, Will Arnett.
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