Review of Green Street Hooligans (2005) by P.a. S — 19 Dec 2009

Shit happens even to good people. In this case, Matt Buckner is kicked out of Harvard just because his family is not influential enough. He sails to London to re-unite with her sister â?? frankly, he has no idea what else to do with life.

Then he meets Pete Dunham, who is a ring leader of this firm called Green Street Elite. To the eyes of many, they are neâ??er-do-well football hooligans who root, ruthlessly and violently at that, for West Ham United. Their home team.

The initial problem with Matt is that he has to always prove heâ??s fits to be GSE. Which is bloody hard for somebody who is a Yank and who calls the game â??soccerâ??. Once heâ??s done with that, Matt discovers his new gang is passionate of only two things: football and violence. And he has to live with it.

This is not quite your feel-good movie which makes it cool for me. This adds to the perspective that you donâ??t have to understand people for what they do. They exist and thatâ??s it. Letâ??s hear from Matt what he says about all the violence: â??I gotta be honest - it grew on me. Once you've taken a few punches and realize you're not made of glass, you don't feel alive unless you're pushing yourself as far as you can go.â??

But despite all the shit, this flick gives you idea that you could find the â??driveâ?? to stand ground for what you believe in various ways. For Matt, he finds it in GSE.

You gotta love the riot. The Brit twang and swagger. And the soundtrack and chant:

I'm forever blowing bubbles / Pretty bubbles in the air / They fly so high / They reach the sky / And like my dreams they fade and die / Fortune's always hiding, I've looked everywhere / I'm forever blowing bubbles, pretty bubbles in the air. / United! United!