Next Goal Wins

Waititi’s willed clunkiness grows ever harder to distinguish from a genuine lack of craft. The ad hoc compositions couldn’t be further from the precision of Wes Anderson, who he’s mimicked in the past.

Next Goal Wins presents ineptitude almost as an exalted state, but its own mediocrity remains decidedly earthbound. This is comedy played on a very soggy pitch.

It is impossible not to think of high Paddywhackery such as Wild Mountain Thyme. And it took four years to get this thing into cinemas? Faith and begorrah (or the Southern Pacific equivalent)!

Here was an open goal for a likeable, low-stakes romp – and whoops, there it goes, spooning off into the neighbours’ bushes.

Waititi has inexplicably gutted the source material of all its sympathetic power, as well as its depiction of local poverty, island hardships (including the region’s 2009 earthquake and tsunami) and the compensations of religion.

Waititi’s shtick runs thin, and there are badly misguided moments, but this is still a warm, heart-mostly-in-the-right-place portrait of a momentously poor sports team.

While the film may stick rigidly to the genre playbook, that doesn’t mean Waititi isn’t having some fun with it. He’s playing by the rules, but has still found room to be creative.

…The show stealer is Oscar Kightley aka Tavita, who lits up the screens with his wit and bang-on comic timing along with some emotional scenes. The rest of the cast perfectly fits the bill.

Completely fails to charm.

With such steadfast faith in audiences, it’s a wonder the film didn’t include a laugh track.