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The Wild Soccer Bunch
By Brian Costello,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Not much soccer in coming-of-age translated dud.
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What you will—and won't—find in this movie.
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What's the Story?
In order to compete on the national stage, a ragtag group of soccer-crazed tweens called THE WILD SOCCER BUNCH needs to figure out a way to get the money to upgrade their soccer field. While they undertake various schemes to make that happen, they must contend with a group of older skateboarding bullies led by the dreadlocked Gonzo Gonzales. In spite of Gonzo's bad-boy behavior, Vanessa -- the only girl in the WSB, and their best player -- feels attracted to him, and goes so far as to quit her team in order to spend time with Gonzo. Without Vanessa, the WSB is destined to lose. It's up to Leon to come to grips with his feelings for Vanessa, and it's up to the team to figure out a way to get Vanessa out of Gonzo's possessive clutches, and, ultimately, they must learn that there is more to life than playing soccer and winning with your team.
Is It Any Good?
The biggest problem with The Wild Soccer Bunch is that there is next to no soccer until the 52-minute mark. The next biggest problem is the translation from German to English; while there are some attempts to "Americanize" the story by, for instance, having the team try to get into the NASL, those moments feel forced and unnecessary, and there's an overall impression of humor and cultural references that don't carryover well. With these two issues at play, the overall result is a letdown of a movie for parents and kids expecting lots of soccer action and, instead, getting a tweenaged love triangle of sorts.
It's a confusing movie filled with nonsensical characters -- like the lead bad teen bully who seems to dabble in the occult for no discernible reason, or the evil banker father to one of the boys in the Wild Soccer Bunch who's determined to stop them from having a decent playing field. Even if the translation had been better, this is still a soccer-themed movie that fails to live up to its potential.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about sports-themed coming-of-age movies. Is this a good combination?
As a movie made in Germany and translated into English, what were some parts of the movie that felt unique to German culture? What aspects felt universal?
Think of how bullying was addressed in this movie. How does this compare to the way bullying is addressed in favorite movies and TV shows, as well as in real life?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: January 1, 2011
- Cast: Jimi Blue Ochsenknecht , Raban Bieling , Sarah Kim Gries
- Director: Joachim Masannek
- Studio: Phase 4 Films
- Genre: Comedy
- Topics: Sports and Martial Arts
- Run time: 85 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Last updated: February 25, 2022
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