Guys & Balls

Review By: J.P. Mangalindan
JPMangalindan@TheCinemaSource.com

Can gay men play soccer? Judging from Guys & Balls, a sweet romantic comedy and coming of age tale, they only can, but they kick ass while doing it. Sherry Horman’s endearing film comes across a virtual Gay Pride parade, a German bastion of homosexual tolerance that fuses Bend It Like Beckham with gay characters and subtitles.

Our sweet-natured young protagonist, Ecki (Maximillian Brückner) works in a bakery and plays soccer on his local team. But when his homophobic team members stumble across his true sexual orientation, Ecki’s life changes: he’s kicked off the team and his father can’t reconcile himself with the idea a gay son. He moves in with his sister, who helps him form and train a gay soccer team, The Bangers, to take on his old team in a fitting rematch. Along the way, Ecki finds happiness, love and victory.

Guys & Balls has its heart in the right place and it’s hard to fault director Sherry Horman for that. Brückner’s understated performance makes Ecki believable and empathetic, holding the film together. And as contrived as Balls feels (a newbie soccer team beating a semi-professional team with four weeks of training? People, please.), the film captures an indomitable sense of spirit. Ultimately, Balls is a feel-good movie through and through.

Which makes it easier for the viewer to overlook some obvious lower points. Balls has a distinctly been-there, done-that touch to it. As a jaded American viewer, Horman’s film is unoriginal, which may partly be due to the fact it released in 2004 and since then, we’ve seen a myriad of domestic and international gay films that have broken new ground.

Balls makes me wonder: Is this what gay society is like in Germany, a veritable cornucopia of stereotypes — flaming queens and uber-butch, cross-dressing lesbians — and abrasive gay jokes? Whether it’s the polygamous, if amorous, leather daddy trio sleeping side-by-side or the old man peppering scenes with phobic one-liners, Balls certainly portrays gays as clichés — cookie-cutter, albeit likeable, characters likely ripped from well-meaning some heterosexual’s imagination.

In fact, the only non-archetypal homosexuals around are Ecki and his boyfriend Sven, whom it must be said, can’t be gay to outsiders because he wants to be a gynecologist.

And male gynecologists can’t be gay, right? Right?

Surprisingly, Ecki and Sven’s budding relationship, which carries momentum during the first half of the film, takes a backseat to the athletic proceedings in the second half. Sure, the two reunite at the end (and their future looks bright), but it would have been nice to see them develop