19th Dec2023

‘Next Goal Wins (2023)’ Review

by James Rodrigues

Stars: Michael Fassbender, Kaimana, Rachel House, Oscar Kightley, David Fane, Beulah Koale, Will Arnett, Elisabeth Moss, Uli Latukefu, Chris Alosio, Lehi Makisi Falepapalangi, Rhys Darby | Written by Taika Waititi, Iain Morris | Directed by Taika Waititi

Released in 2014, Next Goal Wins was a phenomenal documentary from directors Mike Brett and Steve Jamison which followed the American Samoa football team as they attempted to persevere following a historic 31-0 loss to Australia. Much in the vein of Grey Gardens, Man On Wire, and Marwencol, the acclaimed documentary has been dramatised into a feature film, this time by Taika Waititi and The Inbetweeners co-creator Iain Morris.

Next Goal Wins focuses on Dutch American coach Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender), whose only option to evade being fired is to coach the American Samoa team. As he arrives with a bad attitude and a drinking problem, it soon dawns on Thomas that he may be able to transform this team into an elite squad.

Released almost a decade ago, the documentary praised the big-hearted determination of this team who intended to persevere in the face of mockery. That makes it disappointing how the film can feel like it is mocking the team in favour of Rongen’s personal journey to be less angry, with little attempt to know the individual members of the American Samoa team, including relegating demoralised goalkeeper Nicky Salapu to a deus ex machina. This feels a far cry from Waititi’s best works like Boy and Hunt For The Wilderpeople, which made the locations and its people feel crucially real even amidst the jokes.

Spare a thought for Jaiyah Saelua, the faʻafafine defender who made history as the first transgender player to start a qualifying FIFA game. Despite Kaimana’s terrific performance, the character feels relegated to a prop to help Thomas’ growth while being defined largely by her hormones. While Thomas’ journey to understanding and accepting this transgender player would have felt revolutionary decades ago, it feels not good enough in 2023.

Most criminally is how, for a comedy film, the laughs are notably missing. Despite some fun performances from Rachel House and Oscar Kightley, the film barely offers something even to titter at, particularly involving an irritating cameo from Waititi. What remains is a feature that transforms such a gripping tale into a formulaic disappointment which struggles to last in the memory, and somehow manages to resemble a poor replication of both the similarly named documentary and Taika Waititi films.

** 2/5

Next Goal Wins is released in UK cinemas on December 26th.

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