The Match (1999)

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

I enjoyed this movie thoroughly. The only reason I gave it an 8 is because of the "love" interests they try and through it. If they would have just kept the movie about football between the two pubs, then it would have made a 10 easy. Funny and entertaining, just can't get better than that. In all honesty, the football scene is way too short for the build up. I will admit, the ending is predictable. It starts off OK, builds, plateaus, then ends predictably. I recommend this to anyone who loves football. However it does not portray small town Scottish life very well. Rent it or buy it, you'll love it. I give it 3 thumbs up.

Although this is clearly low budget, and full of sports clichés (also a goofy plot idea), the music is wonderful, and I thoroughly enjoyed the show. The opening scene to "Hot Love" by T Rex hooked me, and the scene of the underdog team taking the field is also a delight. "FBI" by The Shadows is a musical treasure! I rarely notice music in movies, but this show had me checking all the musical credits at the end. The love story is more than a bit juvenile, but again it is well-intended, and it did not detract from the story. Sometimes coarse language will put off some viewers, but this is still a good-hearted movie. "Fever Pitch" is of course a better soccer show, and this will never be remade as a baseball show, but you do not need to be a soccer fan to enjoy it.

Scottish milkman Wuille's life is in a bit of turmoil. His sweetheart has returned to the village and his local pub is at risk from being shut down as a result of a century old bet with another pub to win a football match. With his pub's group of thugs seemingly having no chance Wuille decides to move his life on by making his feelings clear to Shelia and coaching his team to victory.With the success of The Full Monty, everyone wanted to make a British comedy that would cost little but hit big. The Match is one of those attempted clones but it doesn't quite work as well as it could do. The plot is promising but little of it carries through. The subplots and history behind the main characters isn't really followed – for example the loss of Wuille's brother or the relationship with Shelia, neither are fully explored.The comedy is of the amusing but not hilarious type with some good characters but nothing to write home about. There are no jokes that really stand out and rather the film has a general air of being bemused rather than funny. It all makes for a watchable film that will quickly fade from your memory. The use of music makes it feel like every other Brit comedy of recent memory, the tunes of nice but it just sticking to the formula and shows no real evidence of invention.The cast are OK but don't really stand out, they are all pretty average. Beesley is an average lead but love interest Blair does little but look pretty (although she does do it well!). Grant is camp and OTT but is good value. The cast of the two pubs are easily drawn comedy characters but none of the cameos really work. Sam Fox is nice to look at but does nothing, Shearer is simply pointless, Ian Holm is miscast but Brosnan is reasonable as he appears to be mocking his involvement a little!It doesn't really work but the gentle air of predictable amusement is just enough to make this light enough to pass 90 minutes. Just don't expect anything more than that – there is a reason why this was not a global sleeper hit.

This was actually an enjoyable movie to watch, but nothing I would recommend to anyone as a "stand out". The entire movie centres around the pending soccer match between rival pub customers with the winner vanquishing the losers pub for ever.The central character is the ultimate hero with the customary love interest that bears fruit at the very end of the movie. There are a couple of Cameo appearances from Alan Shearer and James Bond himself to carry some weight to the cast.Sometimes these sort of movies can be a very enjoyable experience and I probably saw this one on the wrong day (was looking for something more meaty in plot).It's sort of like a Full Monty crossed with Notting Hill type movie but not as good as either and certainly not as funny.That said, passes the time when nothing else to do.