‘NEXT GOAL WINS’ Review: The Return of The Feel-Good Film

Taika Waititi’s newest film, “NEXT GOAL WINS,” is a quintessential feel-good film.

It follows the story of the hopelessly terrible American Samoa soccer team, which infamously lost a FIFA match 31-0 to Australia in 2001. Determined to score at least one goal at the World Cup Qualifiers, the team hires a washed-up coach to lead them toward success. “NEXT GOAL WINS” is not perfect by any means — it suffers most from inconsistency in its editing and performances. Still, the film accomplishes exactly what it should — it leaves a smile on its viewers’ faces and revives the beauty of the feel-good genre.

“NEXT GOAL WINS” has all of the elements of a typical Taika Waititi film — quick humor, loveable characters, and stunning shots of nature. Yet, the film’s editing prevents Waititi’s usual charm from ramping up right away. The first half of the movie is cut in a much slower style than viewers might expect from Waititi, with the jokes being given too much room to breathe. This awkward pacing is likely a result of the reshoots that the film underwent during its production. As the film progresses, the jokes get faster, the editing speeds up, and the usual Waititi pacing comes to the forefront. Still, the initial slowness takes a while to wear off, and the inconsistent editing style risks losing audiences before the film begins to hit its stride.

Inconsistency also plagues the film’s performances. Some actors gave their all; for example, Michael Fassbender brings an admirable amount of dedication to his role of Thomas Rongen, the Dutch-American football coach brought in to fix American Samoa’s soccer team. While Rongen’s tough-love act might have seemed one note if played incorrectly, Fassbender brings deep emotion to the role. Another standout performance comes from Kaimana, who portrays Jaiyah, a faʻafafine, or third-gender, member of the American Samoan team. Jaiyah is unrelentingly true to herself and contrasts well against the hot-headed Rongen. As Rongen learns to accept Jaiyah, their dynamic takes on a touching paternalistic tone, and by the film’s end, their growth becomes one of the most satisfying parts of the entire story. While these two actors were endearing to watch, not every performance was satisfactory, with the big-name actors seeming to phone in their roles. Will Arnett and Elisabeth Moss were exceedingly bland, to the point where the film would have been better without the distraction of their characters. Instead, the film would have benefitted from a tight[ER] focus on Rongen and the core American Samoan team instead of including a variety of A-list cameos.

While these aspects detract from the film’s quality, Waititi’s endearing humor and distinct understanding of the feel-good genre nonetheless make the movie enjoyable to watch. Waititi’s jokes are not flashy or based on shock value, but play upon the optimistic attitudes of the American Samoan characters and their contrast against Rongen’s grumpy demeanor. Waititi draws upon the contagious happiness of the American Samoan people for much of the film’s humor, and their positivity is impossible to dismiss. The story beats are predictable, but they also build upon emotions that are organically formed throughout the narrative. Waititi makes it easy for viewers to laugh at the jokes and smile at the characters’ successes.

It can often feel like the quaint comedic genre is not as popular as it once was, with blockbuster action films and dramas dominating the box office. Yet, Waititi keeps the feel-good film alive in a way that can’t help but make audiences smile. “NEXT GOAL WINS” is not overly ambitious or extraordinarily clever, but it is an exceedingly upbeat film that leaves viewers feeling a bit more uplifted than when the movie began. “NEXT GOAL WINS” knows that it is a lighthearted film at its core, and it doesn’t want or need to be more.

—Staff writer Hannah E. Gadway can be reached at hannah.gadway@thecrimson.com.