Rating:
Queer Content: 
Hunk Factor:   It doesn’t hurt that most of the male cast spend almost the entire film dressed only in shorts!
Babe Factor: 

Plot
This is the best and worst day of Archer’s (Ian Sharp) life. Finally captain of his own gay five-a-side team – Platoon FC – this queer ex-soldier has the chance to break boundaries and stereotypes while doing what he loves best: playing football. However, he would prefer to keep his team’s poofterness quiet. His out’n’proud players, though, have other ideas and are determined to be as faggot flamboyant as possible. To make matters worse, Archer’s well-meaning but clueless boyfriend Joey (Kyle Treslove) has designed a neon pink team strip making staying in the closet something of a tough ask.

If that wasn’t enough, for their first match they’re up against the notorious Bethnal Reapers, the hardest team in East London. Their captain Adam (Jason Maza) is experiencing his own problems. He’s got a twitchy goalie on the run from the rozzers, a defender in the grip of roid rage, a cokehead brother playing midfield and a Beckham wannabe pretty-boy striker with a ball-busting girlfriend who wants to be his Victoria. As both teams take to the pitch, not only do they all have to confront events on it but personal issues off it also come to an explosive head.

Verdict
If I wanted to practise lazy journalese it would be easy to characterise KickOff as a queer version of Bend it Like Beckham, but that would be doing the film a massive disservice because it isn’t some derivative piece of conveyer-belt filmmaking. Despite its unmistakeable Brit flickiness, it’s a unique film that definitely ploughs its own path. 

Add to that the fact the footie players spend 99% of the screen time solely in skimpy shorts and the DVD extras aren’t just lame after-thoughts but a genuinely interesting part of the whole package and you’ve got yourself an all-round premiership pro-class winner. A fantastically feelgood dramedy that, to use footballing parlance, really hits the back of the net. Sorry, couldn’t resist.

Director: Rikki Beadle-Blair
Cast: Ian Sharp, Kyle Treslove, Ludvig Bonin, Craig Storrod, Stephen Hoo, Nathan Clough, Rikki Beadle-Blair, Jay Brown, Jason Maza, Jack Shalloo, Samantha Lyden, Michael Lindall, Sasha Frost, Jai Rajani
DVD Extras: ‘Making Of’ featurette, ‘Crossbar Challenge’ – watch the cast as they try to see who can score the most goals, ‘Getting Physical’ – follow the cast as they buff themselves up for an Attitude photo shoot, music video, trailer
Released: 11 April 2011

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Read Our Interview With Craig Storrod »
Click to read the buff actor talk about starring in KickOff and the tight fuscia shorts he was required to wear.

Gallery

Trailer