Next Goal Wins (2023)

Director: Taika Waititi
Cast: Michael Fassbender, Oscar Kightley, Kaimana, David Fane, Rachel House, Beulah Koale, Will Arnett, Elisabeth Moss
Screenplay: Taika Waititi, Iain Morris
104 mins. Rated PG-13.

For my money, the best in sports movies tend to lean toward underdogs and the amazing stories that I’ve never known. That’s easy for me, because I don’t follow sports enough to know most stories. It’s one of the reasons I love ESPN’s 30 for 30 series, and it’s one of the reasons I was so taken with Taika Waititi’s (Jojo Rabbit) newest film, Next Goal Wins.

In 2001, the American Samoa football team lost 31-0 to opponent Australia, becoming the worst loss ever in international football. In an effort to elevate the team’s status, or at least score a single goal, they hire the Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender, Inglourious Basterds), a Dutch American coach who’s been given an ultimatum, to coach them to a victory, or just one goal. Just one goal. Just one goal. Can Rongen motivate this unusual team to score, or where they unravel his very psyche in the process?

I’ve never seen the original 2014 documentary that this film takes its title from, but in the years since its release, I’ve been hearing the whispers of Waititi’s involvement in a feature adaptation. It stayed in the background while he made a little extra cash directing two Thor films, and finally dropped this year after filming reshoots to eliminate social pariah Armie Hammer out of the role that eventually went to Will Arnett (Ratatouille). For this viewer of sport films and not real sports that much, I can attest that Next Goal Wins was an absolute delight, something that I needed in my life considering all the stress that I’ve felt in the past few months. Waititi’s film lifted me up and inspired me that anything is possible with baby steps. After all, Rongen’s goal isn’t to win the World Cup. It isn’t even to win a game. His goal is to score a single goal. That generally silly premise lays a foundation for Waititi to introduce his colorful characters to the mix and create an exciting narrative that’s more focused on relationships than gameplay.

To be fair, I do have a type when it comes to sports films. My favorites include those oddball character underdogs like Eddie the Eagle or The Phantom of the Open, and Next Goal Wins sits firmly in that group, films that are more about the game than the wins and losses. All throughout my youth, I was taught that winning is the most important element and it caused me to lose interest in sports because I was never very good at them. Waititi’s film showcases the importance of enjoyment in the game, and how it brings the team closer. Sure, it’s a rudimentary notion, and some elements of his script, co-written with Iain Morris, tend to lean in on the schmaltz and simple sport film cliches, but when it’s working, I was enthralled with laugh-out-loud moments and football excitement.

The strongest relationship dynamics in the film come from Fassbender’s Rongen himself and the team’s manager Tavita (Oscar Kightley, Moana) as well as its center-back player Jaiyah (Kaimana), who eventually became the first transgender national footballer to play in the FIFA World Cup qualifier. Rongen’s interactions with Tavita are usually more joyful and funny, but Kightley and Fassbender have great chemistry and a lot of heart. Rongen and Jaiyah, however, create a lot of friction and conflict in the film, specifically in how the coach views his trans player, referred to by the team as a fa’afafine. Their scenes together are heated, angry, and they serve to make Rongen look like an asshole, specifically when he deadnames Jaiyah. It’s a painful scene and one that truly shocked me, even though the film is set a decade ago when society treated trans people even shittier than they do now. While we’ve made (small) strides, this scene highlighted Rongen’s uneducated character and his inability to recognize the humanity of others. Juxtaposing this scene with the later growth in both Rongen and Jaiyah (who also struggles with listening to others and showing focus on the field) really captivated me.

Next Goal Wins was a delightful experience, and one that I’m so excited to see again. Writer/Director Taika Waititi has crafted a film full of joy, a sports movie that I wish I had as a kid. I’m surprised that it’s not getting more universal acclaim, but this movie fan can tell you its one of the most fun experiences I’ve had in a theater all year.

4/5
-Kyle A. Goethe

For my review of Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement’s What We Do in the Shadows, click here.
For my review of Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok, click here.
For my review of Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit, click here.