(Chicks with Kicks and Pens and Typerwriters…)
CAST: Zoe Nathenson, Cathy Murphy, Sara Sugarman, Liz Campion, Amelia Dipple, Stephan Chase.
DIRECTOR: Phillip Saville
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and one seriously determined female sports-writer-in-training straight ahead.
IT’S LIKE THIS: Julie Welch was one of England’s first female sportswriters, and the first female sportswriter to work on Fleet Street, the former cradle of British journalism. THOSE GLORY GLORY DAYS is based on her experiences growing up as an adolescent in 1960-1961. Why that specific time frame? Easy: that was the time her favorite team, the Tottenham Hotspurs, scored an unprecedented “double” when they won both the English League and FA Cups for that season. For a rabid football fan (is there any other?) like Julie, this is pretty much the sporting equivalent of Lionel Messi and Fabio Cannavaro showing up on my doorstep wearing nothing but their jockstraps and carrying a bottle of Tequila. Par-tay!!!
THE DUDE (OR DUDETTE) MOST LIKELY TO SAVE THE DAY: Julie (Zoe Nathenson), as well as her three fellow closet-football fan friends, Tub, Jailbird, and Toni (Cathy Murphy, Liz Campion, Sara Sugarman).
EYE CANDY MOST LIKELY TO FIRE UP A WOODY: Nada. These Brits aren’t the hot and sexy ones like David Beckham or Keira Knightley.
MOST INTENTIONALLY EXCITING SCENE: Julie and her posse trying to break into the climactic match at Wembley stadium with stolen tickets.
MOST UNINTENTIONALLY EXCITING SCENE: Julie sneaking into a married couple’s bedroom while they sleep to steal the husband’s match tickets out of his wallet. Hey, look, I’ve done worse to get my hands on prized match tickets, alright?
HOTTEST SCENE: Well… none. Like I said, these folks aren’t exactly supermodels…
INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW: Will Julie and her posse manage to catch the much-anticipated battle between the Tottenham Hotspurs and their rivals? Or will they be found out and escorted from Wembley Stadium? Will Julie grow up to be a successful sportswriter? Or will she follow her mum’s advice and bake strawberry cream pies for the rest of her life instead? Three guesses, folks. First two don’t count…
WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH “THOSE GLORY GLORY DAYS”: If you love soccer, soccer movies, and real-life stories of women who face the odds and succeed.
WHY YOU MAY NOT ENJOY “THOSE GLORY GLORY DAYS”: If you want your soccer movies and real-life stories of women who face the odds and succeed to be more than just slightly above average in its presentation.
FINAL ANALYSIS: THOSE GLORY GLORY DAYS is a cute, sometimes clumsy, but ultimately rewarding account of some of the hurdles Julie Welch faced growing up while trying to pursue her love of football (soccer). Some of us, by choice, keep our love of soccer to ourselves and our closest friends because it is our business. Other people, on the other hand, have no choice but to keep it to themselves for fear of not being accepted by society. Such is the case with Julie and her friends. During her childhood, girls were expected to learn how to be homemakers - not be passionate about a group of men kicking a ball around a field. They are expected to think inside the box and not show any appreciation for the beautiful game.
But, as those of us who have always followed soccer, whether privately or openly, have always known, soccer is more than just a bunch of people kicking a ball around a field. It is poetry in motion, and has the capacity to unite entire nations of people of different backgrounds. In short, it is nothing less than an exciting gift to humanity - and it’s this quality that draws Julie, Tub, Toni, and Jailbird.
Julie Welch still continues to write about football (soccer) to this day. Just like our last review, DARE TO DREAM, this flick celebrates the fact that soccer fans come from all walks of life and cannot be placed in a single box. Passion often comes from the most surprising and unexpected place. THOSE GLORY GLORY DAYS is cinematic proof of that..
