Manny's Orphans

Usually films about Soccer don't work - Escape to Victory is a perfect example, but nothing is as bad as Manny's Orphans (which I think was relased in the UK as "Kick!") Most films about soccer are mostly British. Now America is not a soccer palyinmg nation, so when they come to make a film on soccer, it fails!

This is about a soccer coach who leaves his job coaching at a private school, he then becomes coach at an orphanage! Eventually his new team play his old school in the final.

The orphanage is ran ban a priest, the actor that plays the priest has the worst put on Irish accent that I have ever heard in my life!

I have just found out that this film is called Manny's Orphans. I have only known it as Kick! which is impossible to find. I will have to wait for a re-run to watch this as an adult, but I was 9 when I watched it and it has stuck with me for over 20 years so far. I guess that other reviewers were watching with jaded adult eyes. All I can remember is that Pepe/Rosa was my hero/heroine! A girl dressing as a boy to play soccer! Wow! This was such a wonderful exciting thing for a girl to do. (I was born and raised in Southern Africa where girls were girls and heaven help you if you were interested in soccer or boys games!) When she was exposed as being a girl, she still went on to play and won! I know that this story has been done to death, but as this was my first sports film where the underdogs triumph, it stuck with me. Fingers cross that British television do a repeat on one of the old channels on satelite!