There’s something about failure in competitive sports that’s fascinating to behold. As exhilarating as it is to see Lionel Messi wrestle past his bewildered opposition and score each time he performs his signature double touch, it was just as exciting to watch Neymar Júnior’s antics during the 2018 FIFA World Cup, in which he spent more time rolling on the ground than some players did on the pitch. Exaggerated physical activity is, after all, the most universal form of comedy—and no matter how much more humor continues to evolve, people falling over either by accident or on purpose will never not be funny. Such is the case with Next Goal Wins, the newest feature film from New Zealand actor-filmmaker Taika Waititi, which tells the true story of American Samoa’s national soccer team and the Dutch-American coach who helped them score their first-ever competitive win during the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Twelve years after suffering a devastating 31-0 loss against Australia (which remains the worst defeat in international soccer history), American Samoa has their eyes on the prize once more. Meanwhile, the coach of the U.S. national men’s team, Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender), has been fired after his team fails to qualify. With no other options, he makes his way to the archipelago, accepting an offer from the American Samoa Football Federation to whip the group into shape before the Oceanian qualifiers begin.
Next Goal Wins comes with a lot of baggage, packaging itself as a return to form for Waititi. Previous to his foray into the Marvel Cinematic Universe and his Oscar-winning Jojo Rabbit, the multi-hyphenate was known for the quirky, down-to-earth comedies he produced in his native N.Z. While not based in his home country, Next Goal Wins certainly appears to have been a personal project for the Maori filmmaker, who told Time that, “I just want [audiences] to experience a little bit of a different culture that they probably never think about…That there are funny parts to us, that we laugh at ourselves. And that we are also ridiculous—as well as stunning and beautiful.”
Unfortunately, it’s hard to tell this passion from the project alone, as Next Goal Wins feels generic and impersonal compared to the likes of Waititi’s Boy (2010) and Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016). As an ensemble comedy, it suffers from a lack of characterization for most of its cast, and misses the wit and verve of his older work. Aside from the movie’s opening—which uses archival footage of the 31-0 match that culminates with goalkeeper Nicky Salapu (played in the film by Uli Latukefu) resigning himself to the artificial turf—Next Goal Wins never takes full advantage of an amusing premise that’s rife with opportunities for slapstick humor. Training montages are much more focused on Thomas than the team, highlighting his anger issues more than anyone else’s incompetence. If it wasn’t for the dialogue constantly reminding us that the players suck, we wouldn’t know it.
The same tell-don’t-show approach affects the film’s characters, with the Samoan players, for the most part, never feeling like individuals outside of the collective that they form. The obvious exception is Jaiyah Saelua (talented newcomer Kaimana), the secondary protagonist who acts as a gentle foil to Thomas’ tough outer shell—even if, headstrong as they both are, the two butt heads early on. Jaiyah is fa’afafine, a third gender present in Samoan society, and the film’s introduction of this character is one of its greatest moments. Time slows when Thomas first lays eyes on her, looking almost ethereal in a long, flowing dress as she makes her way to the field on which the men practice. Thomas doesn’t understand her, but as she’s embraced by her male teammates—who, much to his annoyance, have stopped the game to receive their friend with open arms—it’s one of many instances where Waititi makes clear that Thomas could learn a thing or two from the people he imposes himself upon.
“You guys are cool with this?” he asks team manager Kiva (Oscar Kightley). “How can I put this?” the latter replies. “It’s like…imagine a world without flowers. Well, fa’afafine are our flowers. It’d be a pretty dull world without them—they’re beautiful.”
And yet, the relationship between Jaiyah and Thomas is handled gracelessly. Thomas repeatedly misgenders Jaiyah before she finally lashes out at her coach, pinning him to the ground—and it’s only after they both say they’re sorry that a friendship blossoms. That Jaiyah should feel the need to apologize at all after such blatant disrespect is a head-scratching decision made by Waititi and co-writer Iain Morris. This is further complicated by the conflict’s fictitious origin: The real-life Thomas and Jaiyah seemed not to have had any such quarrels.
Still, the paternal bond which forms afterwards is one of the only palpable relationships in a film with many actors and few tangible characters. Even Next Goal Wins’ protagonist is difficult to place, drunkenly shouting the lyrics to Sia’s “Chandelier” in his car with reckless abandon in one scene, then acting completely rigid and stone-faced during practice in the next. Waititi is undecided on what he wants Thomas to be, and Fassbender struggles tries but with the material. One twist which attempts to humanize him in the final half-hour serves an interesting duality, strengthening the bond between the two co-leads while also making the underwrittenness of all other subplots pertaining to him appear more painfully obvious.
In some ways then, Next Goal Wins mirrors the characters at its center: Well-intentioned but flawed, and ultimately not so successful. Unlike the film’s underdogs however, its creator has more than a few hits under his belt, which makes this failed endeavor that much more frustrating. There’s an inspiring story at the center of Next Goal Wins, but that story deserves better.
Director: Taika Waititi
Writer: Taika Waititi, Iain Morris
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Oscar Kightley, Kaimana, David Fane, Rachel House, Beulah Koale, Uli Latukefu, Semu Filipo, Lehi Falepapalangi, Will Arnett, Elisabeth Moss
Release Date: November 17, 2023
Ursula Muñoz S. is a critic, journalist and MFA candidate at Boston University who has previously written for news and entertainment outlets in Canada and the United States. Her work has appeared at Xtra, Cineaste, Bright Wall/Dark Room and more. For further reading, feel free to follow her on Substack and X, where she muses about Taylor Swift and Pedro Almodóvar (among other things).