NEXT GOAL WINS — Fruitcake Enterprises

Directing: B+
Acting: B+
Writing: B
Cinematography: B
Editing: B+

We’ve been told for centuries never to judge a book by its cover, so maybe don’t judge Next Goal Wins by its opening shot, which features director Taika Waititi as an American Samoan priest, dressed in a campy robe, and donning what might be the most ridiculous fake mustache ever put onscreen. Waititi as the priest also narrates, very briefly, but effectively sets the tone when he says this is a true story, “with a couple of embellishments.” It’s an amusing acknowledgement of artistic license, and cuts down any sense that this movie is going to be way over the top.

On the contrary, Next Goal Wins is packed to the gills with a winning, goofy sweetness which, somewhat surprisingly, really works. I laughed a lot, and the laughs are consistently borne of a uniquely innocent comic sensibility.

I’d really be interested in what the citizens of American Samoa think of this movie. One could argue that this film grossly oversimplifies their people and culture. On top of that, I’m not sure how to unpack exactly where the “white savior” concept plays into this, what with a White an coming to guide a soccer team of Brown people to victory, which is based on an actual White man who did just that—and the film is directed and co-written by a Brown man (co-witten with Iain Morris, a White man).

There’s also a trans woman on the American Samoan soccer team in this film, which was also the case in real life—the first openly trans athlete to compete in a FIFA World Cup qualifier—played by nonbinary Samoan actor Kaimana. There was a curious thing to realize watching this, seeing how beautiful Kaimana is. Even when trans actors are cast in trans roles, they get the Hollywood glow-up. That’s . . . progress? Side note: the actual trans athlete in question, Jaiyah Saelua, apparently has complicated feelings about this film, which tells part of her story—and the stories of a few of the other team members—while placing the narrative focus on the coach, Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender, here bleached blond). You know . . . the White guy. There it is!

We seem to be still in an era where we take what we can get, and I still have to say, it’s deeply refreshing to see a story like this, in which a trans person exists in a traditional cisgender, particularly male space, and is widely accepted. In fact, “trans” isn’t even quite accurate here, as Jaiyah makes multiple references to fa’afafine, a third gender that is unique to Samoa and widely accepted there. Well, this film is clearly made for American audiences, where that is definitively not the case, and yet here we get a movie that shows how easily these things can work.

I suppose it does complicate some of the narrative choices in Next Goal Wins, particularly when Rongen deliberately deadnames Jaiyah (a sincere apology and reconcilation occurs shortly thereafter), and Jaiyah’s decision to go off hormones so she can continue qualifying to be on the team.

This gets into some sticky stuff when you drill deep below the surface of Next Goal Wins, which Waititi clearly wants us to take in on a fairly surface level. And to Waititi’s credit, he establishes and maintains a precariously sweet and goofy tone in this film, which almost never steps into outright stupid (the aforementioned mustache being a notable exception). He cast a whole bunch of Samoan actors who are collectively full of charisma and charm, while bringing in marquee names for the FIFA staff characters, including Elisabeth Moss (her character also being Rongen’s separated wife) and Will Arnett. Waititi also throws a bone to fans of Our Flag Means Death with a small part given to Rhys Darby.

In terms of plot arc, Next Goal Wins could not be more of a standard underdog sports movie. These may be the biggest underdogs in history, having suffered the biggest loss of any FIFA World Cup qualifying game. But it’s hardly a spoiler to say that, eventually, they get a win, and the movie cuts to several different groups of characters in different locations jumping for joy at their TV sets. I’d say we’ve seen all this before, except we’ve never seen it dressed in lavalavas.

Match that with the Taika Waititi sensibility, and you’ve just got an incredibly winning, feel-good movie. I was giggling early on, and continued to consistently through the end. This film is getting somewhat mixed reactions, but it honestly exceeded my expectations. I really enjoyed it. Then, of course, I came home and thought about how to pick apart its narrative choices.

Overall: B+