There’s no bigger underdog story than the tragic tale of the American Samoa national football (or soccer, depending on your colloquial tendencies) team, who in 2001 conceded the worst lost in international football (or… the ‘s’ word) history against Australia at 31-0. The saying, “the only way from the bottom is up” became a reality for this team when they enlisted the help of Thomas Rongen, a renowned coach, who’s task was to help American Samoa win a World Cup qualifying game.
It was during this time that documentarians Mike Brett and Steve Jamison began filming this journey, documenting Rongen’s attempt to turn this team of loveable underdogs into a finely oiled winning machine, but also following the lives of the players themselves, leading to a beautiful depiction of the loving community and culture of Pacific Islander people. One person in particular who made a large impact on the documentary was the first transgender player to compete in a FIFA World Cup qualifier – Jaiyah Saelua, who in Samoan culture is known as fa’afafine, which Is a person who identify themselves as a third gender or non-binary and is a commonly accepted gender identity in Samoa.
Only a handful of years had passed by when Academy Award losing (as per the film’s) filmmaker Taika Waititi (The Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Jojo Rabbit), who while in the middle of his MCU tenure and with a desire to tell more Pasifika stories, came on board to adapt the documentary Next Goal Wins into a feature film alongside The Inbetweeners creator and writer Iain Morris, with some admitted dramatizations and embellishments along the way. And despite filming being completed in early 2020, a pandemic, a strike, and the replacement of a problematic cameo role delayed the release of this film until 2023. So now, with a true, heartwarming, underdog story at the foundation, and the comedic workings of Waititi at the helm, was Next Goal Wins worth the three years wait?
Well, the one thing that is truly apparent in this film is that the beauty of American Samoa is front and centre throughout Next Goal Wins. The jaw-dropping scenery of this beautiful part of the world colourfully invites the audience to be fully immersed into this island paradise. And the island itself is only as wonderful as the people who inhabit it. The heart of the American Samoan people is worn on the sleeve of each character within the football team, and the community the shows unwavering support for their team. There is such an abundance of love and care that is felt through every character in this film, with the character of Jaiyah (Kaimana) centred at the heart of the story. Jaiyah embodies the soul of the American Samoa spirit by being the vessel for Thomas Rongen’s understanding that, sure, winning is great, but community is everything.
The conflict of the film lies in the court of Rongen (Michael Fassbender), who isn’t just looking at making a semi-feasible team out of this ragtag group, but is also fighting for his own career, of which the latter is definitely at the forefront of his intentions. His hard-ass approach in training this team immediately disrupts one of the core foundations of the American Samoa team – that they’re playing because they love football. When the idea of solely winning becomes the objective, it’s that community spirit butting heads with Rongen’s stubborn sentiments which doesn’t just lead to the film’s main conflict, but also a lot of the hearty humour. However, there are moments where it’s hard not to side with Rongen’s desire to win because you as an audience want to see the team win too! Next Goal Wins’ heart is absolutely in the right place. But its execution leaves a lot to be desired.
Despite the interesting difference in dynamics between the team and Rongen, Michael Fassbender comes across as wildly miscast in the role. There’s no doubt that Fassbender seems like he is enjoying his time being arguably one of the more enigmatic characters, but there is a dramatic stiffness to his portrayal of Rongen that doesn’t seem to work comedically or dramatically, of which the role requires elements of both. Not all of the lack of humour from Fassbender’s performance lies in his delivery of the comedy, because the largest noticeable issue is that Taika Waititi’s staple brand of absurd, awkward and often lingering punchline style comedy becomes quite exhausting.
The issue is that every single character sounds like Taika Waititi, and the best way to know that is true is by firstly, watching any of his previous work, and secondly, noticing that his self-fulfilling role of a priest on the island in this film (who also opens the film with a narration that weirdly doesn’t continue throughout) says jokes with the exact comedic delivery and timing as literally every other character. Not only does the one-note style of comedy lose it’s steam quickly, but it takes away a unique identity for specific characters to grow, rather just making everyone, Fassbender included, talk with the same diction.
Next Goal Wins has its heart in the right place, especially with its loving portrayal of the beautiful American Samoa community and the core of the story surrounding its most loving character in Jaiyah. However, the signature styling of Taika Waititi’s comedy becomes overbearingly monotonous and takes away any unique feeling for the characters of this story, specifically the miscast Michael Fassbender.
Next Goal Wins is in Australian cinemas New Years Day, thanks to 20th Century Studios.
