1966年世界杯 Sixty Six(2006)英文影评

Director Paul Weiland's ("Made of Honor") "Sixty Six," released in England nearly two years ago, isn't a particularly challenging or original movie, but its quick pace and smoothly told story are enough to make it appealing. The film's title derives from the year of its setting, 1966, which is largely remembered in the UK for the English soccer team's remarkable World Cup performance. Perhaps the only person in the country rooting against the national squad is 12-year-old Bernie (Gregg Sulkin), who has the misfortune of having his Bar Mitzvah scheduled for the same day as the World Cup final match. If England advances to the final, his big day will be nothing more than an afterthought.

Bernie, the type of kid usually picked last in gym class, appears to be following in the footsteps of his nebbish father, Manny (Eddie Marsan), an obsessive compulsive man on the brink of financial woe. The market Manny runs with his vastly more charming, personable brother, Jimmy (Peter Serafinowicz), is given the squeeze when a giant supermarket opens in the neighborhood. Bernie dreams of having a more lavish Bar Mitzvah than his bullying brother, Alvie (Ben Newton), but his family's budget for the event is quickly dwindling. Add to the mix a mother (Helena Bonham Carter) who always seems to have her hands full and the potential scheduling conflict, and Bernie braces for what might be a day remembered for all the wrong reasons.

The film is content to settle for easy laughs and mild drama, but the main characters are pleasing and just genuine enough to earn viewer support. Bernie's voiceover ensures that little is left to the viewer's imagination and there's no deviation from the formula. If you have knowledge of the 1966 World Cup, then any tension the film could create is eliminated, but that's fairly beside the point. Weiland marks the film early on as a sweet, simple coming-of-age movie and, within those confines, he executes the story well--at least until the final act.

Writers Peter Straughan and Bridget O'Connor stuff the movie's last 20 minutes with a litany of comically calamitous events. Unfortunately, Weiland allows the pacing to get away from him, and once the snowball begins rolling downhill, it turns into an avalanche. That the film's conclusion is entirely predictable isn't problematic, but the chaotic way it reaches its climax is tough to digest. Thankfully, the host of likeable performances (young Gregg Sulkin makes a strong impression) compensate for most of the flaws, even if the cast's two biggest names, Helena Bonham Carter and especially Stephen Rea, are severely underutilized.

There's little in "Sixty Six" you don't see coming from a mile away, but even at its most routine, the film still plays with plenty of enthusiasm. Though far from edgy, the atmosphere never becomes too slight or precious, which makes one's sympathy for Bernie feel earned rather than manipulated. As an unapologetically feel-good movie, "Sixty Six" has its share of limitations...and enough charm and spirit to overcome most of them.

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