Breakaway

There are some real cruel reviews of this movie, interestingly many coming from the ethnic audience that it's supposed to have in its pocket. I don't think this movie deserves such harsh criticism. It's actually a very sweet movie with likable characters, including Russell Peters in a great supporting role. We get to enjoy a bit of the hockey thrill and watch the beautiful Camilla Belle. This movie was never supposed to be an Oscar contender. Even though you know how the story will end in the first couple of minutes into the movie, the uniquely Canadian atmosphere and the few side stories that support the plot make your time worth watching it.

Back in his salad Brat Pack days Rob Lowe played in Youngblood where he played a young hockey star with the name of the title on that film. Almost 30 years later and looking good for his age Lowe is the coach of an amateur hockey team.

It's composed of young Sikh immigrants seeking acceptance in Canada and they play their national sport quite well. One of them is Vinay Virmani who has really rebelled against the Sikh tradition by getting rid of the turban and shaving off the beard.

This is a theme going back to Golden Boy in film, the son who wants to please his parents but also sees the need to adjust to the new surroundings that immigrant kids face.

A lot of Indian/Sikh players got some work in this Canadian production. It's a nice film and I highly recommend it especially to young people to learn about a different culture.

This team composed of Sikhs are classic film heroes in the best tradition.

This is a great little movie. Easy and fun to watch. It is cliché and predictable at times, especially towards the end but that does not take away from the heart warming story that is at the core of this movie. The music is great and the few Bollywood type scenes add to the fun and festivity of the movie. Vinay Virmani gives a great performance as does Camilla Belle and Rob Lowe. The best performance of the show however is "the dad" Anupam Kher. His stern yet tender performance is believable from the very start of the movie. Russell Peters seemed a bit stiff and not nearly as funny as his stand up but that does not slow down this movie. A great popcorn movie.

Stumbled upon the movie a bit late but I am glad I did - I just loved the movie. For a low budget movie, it was slickly done. Yes, it is similar to Patiala House and Bend It Like Beckham but being shot it Toronto made it interesting. BTW, I liked it better than the other two. Acting was decent and there were quite a few funny moments. It didn't seem that Vinay Virmani was a debutante. Camilla Belle did a good job and looked extremely pretty in Indian clothes. Russell Peters was a bit disappointing to me but that is probably because his was a slightly negative role. Comedians are not supposed to be mean. Cameos of Drake and Akshay Kumar were great. I loved the song Sheran Di Fauj Punjabi. For expatriates this was a great light movie - not worthy of an Oscar but very relaxing.

We liked Breakaway - sure it's pretty much lightweight sports comedy but its heart is the right place and it was fun.

I guarantee this movie will be make it big, even if it's being treated with some disdain in Canada.

Here's why:

1. There's a reason why Russell Peters is currently the number one selling comedian in the world. The global diaspora of Indian populations in the UK, the US, South Africa, Dubai, not to mention India itself will buy this.

2. No other country on earth has as many cinemas and cinema goers (and not downloaders, but real paying cinemas with seats and people) as India and they love movies that celebrate their culture abroad.

3. The UK has a huge following for Peters and this: Peters sold out Wembley Stadium for three nights twice, and Indian TV is huge this is going to run and run on subscription TV channels forever.

4. It's a fun, innocent, sport movie - and people like that worldwide......

I agree it may not be Canada's number one movie, but I think this is marketing savvy and I bet you the receipts when added up in twelve months time make it the number one earner globally of any Canadian movie of the year.......

All in all if you like sports comedies like Men with Brooms and / or what an insight into Sikh culture in Toronto, while enjoying a competent sports movie you could do much worse (now you can vote me down).....