KickOff (UK)

This film could have been one of those guilty pleasures fun gay ride but the film was bad on many grounds. I think the film-makers tried to squeeze in a little too much into this story. They wanted everything - nudity, hot guys, every guy's story, gay liking straight, straight closet gay etc etc. Overall the impact is pretty minimal and leaves a lot to be desired.

This is the best and worst day of Archer’s life.  Finally captain of his own gay football team, this ex-soldier has the chance to break boundaries and stereotypes. But his rebellious team has brought along a posse of flamboyant supporters plus his well-meaning but clueless boyfriend has designed a neon pink team strip... size Xtra small. And they up against hardest most cheatingest team in East London for their first match. On the other side, captain Adam is having his own problems: A twitchy goalie on the run from the feds, a coke-fiend midfielder and a Beckham wannabe pretty boy strker with the ball-busting bitch girlfriend from Hell. Desperate Adam drills his team on the crucial importance of playing a gentlemen‘s game - unaware that they are up against a panicky gay team who’ve decided to come out swinging and win this game by any means necessary. Elton, the first time referee, is struggling with a rulebook that is swiftly becoming a work of fiction as both teams get down and dirty. The drama escalates at a breathless comic pace until we reach the grand climax.

If you are expecting it to be a film about football then you'll be disappointed. Indeed the game starts and stops so many times that anyone trying to follow the match itself will be frustrated. Think of this football match as some sort of common thread which joins up each of the characters. Probably because of budget, they couldn't even field a full team, just five to a side! The plot made little sense, and the dialog was flat. It could have been a totally different movie if they focussed more on relationship aspects and take it seriously or maybe just focus on comic football side. Trying to cramp too much into one was a huge mistake.

A very wannabe campy gay version of any regular football movie. (2.5/10)