Review by John P. Harvey.
The notoriously awful American Samoa national soccer team is about to lose its only chance at competing in the 2014 FIFA World Cup when it faces the Tongan national team in the 2011 qualifying rounds. But meanwhile, in a galaxy… er… a country not far away, a soccer coach, Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender), has a chance at a new job — if he’ll coach the national team of an empire… sorry, a territory… that in its illustrious career has never, ever lost a game by less than something to nothing. Rongen has just three weeks in which to turn the team from the very worst into… well, at least not the very worst.
Though this setup may remind you of that of Champions (most recently remade in 2023 in American English and starring Woody Harrelson as the hapless coach), writer–director Taika Waititi’s Next Goal Wins makes no pretence of aspirations to championship. Rather, it is the very true* tale of aspiring champions whose picky hunger for victory underwhelms everything in their lives that truly matters — making it prime fuel for Taika Waititi’s unique sense for conveying the comically absurd.
Playing the American Samoa team’s new coach, Michael Fassbender provides a great foil for the many quirks he faces in the highly individual team members and even its president, Tavita (played by Oscar Kightley, who also appeared in Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople). Of course, it’s those quirks that provide the bulk of the fun. Waititi excels in the ability to have his actors make their characters’ weaknesses or least defensible facets their most endearing and memorable. In this, Next Goal Wins is no exception.
Fans of Waititi’s previous films will need no convincing to catch this one. And if you haven’t seen any of his other films, this one makes a great introduction to a premier writer–director.
* Okay, true enough. Maybe not quite as true as the 2014 documentary of the same events by the same title. In real life, the team had previously kicked a goal and won a game. Once.
P.S. Don’t miss the closing scene, after the credits!