Goal! The Dream Begins - Austin American-Statesman movie review

'Goal! The Dream Begins': Little action, less drama

By JOHN DeFORE
Austin American-Statesman

When you go to a sports movie and the star is the least charismatic person on screen, a generous excuse might spring to mind: that young fella must be a rising star in the sport being depicted and his awkwardness will be outweighed by performance in the film's action sequences.

Touchstone Pictures

'Goal! The Dream Begins'

2 out of 5 stars

The verdict: Desperately needs kick in the plot.

Director: Danny Cannon
Starring: Kuno Becker, Stephen Dillane, Alessandro Nivola, Anna Friel, Marcel Iures
Run time: 117 minutes
Release date: May 12, 2006
Rating: PG for language, sexual situations, and some thematic material including partying.
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This would be the wrong assumption in "Goal! The Dream Begins," a standard-issue follow-your-dreams feature whose dim star, Kuno Becker, is not a soccer hero but a Mexican soap opera star who sidelines in music.

Well, that explains the dearth of exciting sports footage in the film, which spends little time on the field and rarely trains its camera on players' feet once it gets there. Soccer fans who bring unconverted friends might feel "Goal!" does a poor job of capturing the game's visceral rush; those of us whose only knowledge is gleaned from surfing past Telemundo broadcasts will be shocked that at no point in the movie's long two hours do we hear a frenzied announcer yell "GOOOOOOOOAAALLLLLLL!" Oh, well.

What we do get is another entry in Disney's recent bid to exploit every arena of sport, from basketball's hardwoods to country club fairways. The plot is a connect-the-dots affair: Santiago is an illegal Mexican immigrant in L.A. destined for a life of menial labor, until a scout from Newcastle notices him by accident. The agent offers a once-in-a-lifetime tryout for Newcastle United, but going to the U.K. means rejecting Dad's more modest American Dream of a father/son lawn crew.

In Newcastle, the drama has all the excitement of a soggy U.K. sky: Santiago never faces a setback lasting longer than a scene-and-a-half; the dangers of impending fame are too sanitized to be threatening; and a strong supporting cast can't overcome a script with no imagination.

"Goal!" is the first of a planned trilogy and has already been a success in other countries. It's a competently filmed story, but one wonders how it will do in territories where the sport is a novelty, not a way of life.