User Reviews

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.

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).....

My rating and review is strictly based on dubbed Hindi version.

There are two kind of audience to this movie. One, who have seen Patiala House(PH); and second, who have not. Movie carries a lot from Akshay kumar's PH. Change the cast, remove cricket and add Ice hockey & insert a friendly uncle instead of cousins and you get Breakaway.

It also carries the same flaws that PH had. The plot has so much to deal with that its neither a full patriotic sports movie like Chak de, India! nor a family/love story like PH or Apne. Most of the comic situations are lost in translation. I hope that Russell peters' joke must have been good because I couldn't get a laugh in dubbed version. Most disappointing fact was that someone else(probably Raju kher) did the voice-over for Anupam kher.

All in all watch it ONLY if you have access to Breakway and steer clear of Dubbed version, Speedy Singhs.

The movie was enjoyable overall. The film was nearly identical to Bend it Like Beckham. Anupam Kheer played the same role. The film has a solid cast and many local Toronto celebs.

The film is worth watching for Camilla Belle alone. She is a beautiful women and she looks amazing in Indian clothes. She is not the best actress, but makes up for it in looks.

The film had it's funny moments, but could have been so much funnier with Russell Peters playing the future son-in-law role. If you are looking for a fun, entertaining, and light hearted film, this is a good movie.

Right from the day when the first look of the film was revealed, SPEEDY SINGHS failed to create any kind of excitement even in the northern Punjabi belt of the country due to its repeated, uninteresting and forced kind of content. There was nothing new in the storyline, no novel idea to offer in the name of sports and no freshness in its looks, concept or presentation.

So, without going into its story details, which is easily predictable, I would like to share that whenever a movie like SPEEDY SINGHS comes, it simply forces me to think that there has to be some other fishy reason to make and spend time on such worthless projects. Because otherwise, there is no way, someone can think of making it with any kind of cinematic vision at all. In short, it's a silly mixture of all seen before sequences which do not give you even a single moment to enjoy in the whole film.

Now, why Akshay Kumar associated himself with this and even produced it with his full spirits again sends me into the suspicious zone. Frankly I think Akshay is now overdoing and dangerously playing with his popular SINGH IS KINNG image in a very funny way. At times it becomes quite hilarious to see the desperation in his SIKH portrayal on the screen with that entire fake make up. And with SPEEDY SINGHS he is again going to experience failure, like his last unsuccessful venture PATAILA HOUSE based on an identical sports theme of Cricket. Hence its time he switches on to a different fresh mode at the earliest.

The film raises many valid interesting questions regarding its overused plot and execution. Obviously the makers were not focused on the Indian Market since they have chosen Ice Hockey in the script which is not a sport played in our part of the world. So, Indian market was just going to be a bonus for them in case the film was a HIT.

But, I seriously couldn't understand why Akshay and Anupam Kher said yes to the script, when they both had already done a similar movie in the past dealing with two different sports. Surprisingly Anupam Kher plays an exactly identical role to what he played in Gurinder Chaddha's BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM which revolved around Football. And Akshay himself played the lead in recent PATIALA HOUSE which talked about a Punjabi underdog player willing to play Cricket for England against the will of his father. Incidentally in that film too there was a sequence explaining Akshay's "Hair Cutting Act" as shown in SPEEDY SINGHS, which has been deliberately added only to satisfy the religious sentiments of a particular section of viewers.

Actually the film is called BREAKWAY in its original English title and is directed by Robert Lieberman, who amazingly uses all 'ages old' Indian ingredients for his foreign film. There is family drama, a love angle, a group of friends as a team, a deliberately added Punjabi comic character, and almost everything which we repeatedly see in all the Regional Punjabi films made nowadays. But the weakest part of SPEEDY SINGHS is that despite of being a Sports Film, it never offers a great crescendo kind of euphoria towards its end, featuring the obvious win of the SINGHS team. And the viewer keeps wondering, Is this really a film written around an exciting sport?

However, in case you loved its groovy track "Shera Di Kaum Punjabi", heavily promoted by Akshay himself, then I would like to comment that SPEEDY SINGHS has simply got nothing even close to a Sher (LION), Speed or Sport. So better play an indoor game at home with your entire family instead of watching this un-necessary film in the theater.

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.

....that is all....

But since I need to have 10 lines to get the succinct review contained in the title published, I guess I'll tell you how much I am looking forward to the 2020 movie "Turban Powered" in which a misunderstood Indian boy growing up in North Carolina has to prove himself to the good ol' boys on the NASCAR circuit and try to gain the understanding of his disapproving grandfather (played by Anupam Kher) the same weekend as his niece's wedding, which takes place the same day as the first Camping World Truck Series race the misunderstood Indian boy is set to drive in.... and the 2029 film "Hand Ball" in which a traditional Soccer-American couple living in Silicon Valley (played by Parminder Nagra and Jonathan Rhys Meyers) are forced to come to terms with their teenage daughter, who has chosen to accept a basketball scholarship to Stanford over a soccer scholarship to her mother's alma mater, Santa Clara. Anupam Kher appears as the kindly grandfather, Mr. Bhamra. Hilarious scenes at the traditional Irish wedding of Meyers' sister, which takes place on NCAA Letter of Intent signing day.

There isn't really anything new here in terms of story though; take 'Bend It Like Beckham' move it to Canada and replace soccer with hockey and you have the script but it was still more enjoyable than I expected. Produced with the support of the CBC it's a bit cornball with one cliché after another but it also has a few surprises including Rob Lowe as the Zamboni driving coach and a cameo from Drake.

The story follows indo-Canadian Rajveer Singh, who has the talent to be one of the nation's top hockey players, but finds his dreams in a face-off with his family's traditional beliefs and a father who forbids him to play. With the help of a former NHL coach Rajveer assembles an all Sikh team behind his father's back; however, when his team makes an unexpected run for the Cup, and with the entire Sikh community inspired, Rajveer has to choose between playing on, or respecting his father's wishes.

I did get several laughs along the way, not so much from Russell Peters who should really just stick to his stand up because the man can't act but the dressing room jocularity from team member's was entertaining. Ultimately I liked it especially the last hour which delved into family traditions, acceptance, diversity, relationships and religion. The ending was very good as the run for the cup/Hindi wedding hockey game becomes a true Bollywood mash up 12/27/15

I had high expectations from this movie and unfortunately watched it assuming Lily Singh was in the movie, but she was in Cab Driver. A good message about discrimination but very poorly executed. The slow delivery of dialogs made the actors look uncomfortable on screen. I had enough in 25 minutes and had to skip-watch the rest of it to find Lily Singh's scenes. I was clearly fooled when I didn't see her at all. Russell Peter's was probably the best one in this movie in my opinion. The main character looked too weak and looked more like a sidekick. I do not recommend this torture of a movie. Watch at your own risk.

Although playing hockey without helmets is very unrealistic, the movie shows a great Sikh cultural perspective that sets up the ending. The acting is not very good, but the actors fit the scenes and the plot well. This is a great story of a minority group in Canada becoming what Canada is known for.. hockey! The helmets at the end are a bit much.

I can not impress upon you how bad this film is. I love sports films, the cliché, the false emotion, all of it. This film though takes the worst of the sports films and says, 'can we make one worse?' And yes, they can, and did.

When the best acting in the film was Rob Lowe you are in serious trouble. Did they just pull random people off the street to act? And really the dialogue? Was the script written as a grade 6 project? Even Russell Peters (who is usually hilarious) was horribly unfunny.

The most interesting part of the film was learning about the reason for the turban. Unfortunately that should not be the best part.

In short unless you were in the film, or you know someone in it don't waste your time, just sit and stare at your hand for 90 minutes, you'll get more enjoyment.

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.

Just watched this movie, I really like it. That 'professional' critics didn't says more about the 'professional' critics than people realize. 'Professional' critics are for sale, and the biggest buyers are the American movie makers who don't want Canadian movies, any movies not done by them, to succeed. Never listen to the 'professional' critics, they sing whatever they're paid to sing for their suppers.

This is a good movie, just for the hockey story. But we are treated to a close look at the Sikh culture, including a traditional wedding with the music, dancing and colorful costumes. There is the usual conflict found in movies such as this between tradition and modern life.

Most of the leading actors do a good job. There are several actors I won't name who seem to be reading their lines about half the time, but both of them are good enough in other scenes and it's merely a distraction when they aren't.

There's plenty of humor here, particularly from people whose family came from India.

I really like Rajveer and Melissa together. They have the expected ups and downs but work really well as a couple.

Rob Lowe does a good job as the coach. At first he doesn't seem to stand out much, but as time goes on he really shows that he is one of the leading actors in the business.

Anupham Kher does an outstanding job as a father who goes from disappointed to proud to ... well, I won't say what happens. Just know he does an amazing job.

Mr. Patel is another standout character.

One of the best scenes involves an old man telling a young boy about the Sikh culture. This scene proves crucial to the success of the hockey team.

It's a worthy effort.

I liked the acid humor, the conflicting relationships with witty little patties are captivating, the games are tiring and boring, a regular movie ... When it became a musical it broke the mood a little, not necessarily in a positive way, a cute romance, sugar water, but from the middle to the end I dispense...

Dumbfounded. How this film ever got funding is beyond belief. Since the CBC was involved in the it's production, I guess I helped pay (with my tax dollars) for this film and for that I am truly sorry.

I enjoyed Bend It Like Beckham (a similar film), I like Russell Peters (saw him live when his tour came through Ontario) and I like Indian films (Delhi Belly is one I loved), but Breakaway has the cheesiest dialogue, very poor acting, weak plot and some of the worst hockey I have ever seen. The only laugh I had in the whole movie was a scene were the main character Rajveer is alone on the ice in a dimly lit arena skating laps through a slight fog. The scene cuts to a waste-up shot of Rajveer skating and I burst out laughing. It's so obvious that Vinay Virmani is not skating(it looks like he has never skated).

Don't believe the reviews that gave this film any praise. They obviously have a financial interest in the film.

This is the worst film to probably ever come out of production. The plot was awful, the acting was corny as hell. The lead actor was truly and utterly awful i don't know who thought that hiring him was a good idea. The storyline was so typical and boring, it was cringe worthy if I'm honest, i actually went to get a refund after watching the film as it was that bad, i still plan to sue the cinema for even putting the film up for public viewing, it is moronic to say the least. The songs were terrible in the film, i was expecting Rick Ross or possibly Tempa T but instead it was some lame Bollywood singers who really made it a chore to listen to.

Are you kidding me? What a blast this movie was to watch. A beautiful cast to gaze upon, even the medically enhanced Lowe. A remarkable musical journey through upbeat and disconnected tunes that don't fit together or have anything to do with the plot points they bracket. Super fun cameos that come out of nowhere really deliver the surprise element. A Bollywood initiation for those not familiar with the genre, as two lavish, colorful sequences materialize out of the ether and a handful of middle school night wet fantasies let us into the mind of Sikh youth. Also a crash course in the Sikh culture although not the religion itself, which in all honesty could go a long way in educating those not otherwise familiar with the Sikh. Pointedly addresses intolerance, and not just at the Sikh, but also women, as the true unsung heroine is the 20- Something law student who sets a land speed record in defeating social injustice while studying and dating full time. Watching the subtle transformation of Belle into Sikh light is the entire point of the movie as a metaphor for the ongoing march of multiculturalism. Sure the ending was saccharine, but if you're in a candy shop for 90 minutes do you really think you can leave without a sweet taste in your mouth? I didn't think so.

Speedy Singhs is a smart little surprise package. It's a cheerful film that makes you smile with its subtle humor, its repartee-filled screenplay, its deftness at handling the umpteen relationships and its finely-nuanced performances. Leading this pack of oddballs is Russell Peters who packs a punch as the offensive, scheming Punjabi groom who not only wants the suitable Punjabi girl as his bride but also her dad's business which might just be handed over to the hockey enthusiast nephew, Rajveer. Rajveer, on his part, is equally charming as the die-hard hockey player who smiles his way through all the lows and never loses focus, not even when his dad throws him out of the house.But more than the performances -- and the hockey matches -- it is the sundry relationships that form the core of the film. Rajveer's unflinching bond with his family, his tentative romance with law student Camille Bell, his highs and lows with coach Winters, his camaraderie with his team mates and his love-hate relationship with bro-in-law Russell Peters make for some compelling viewing. A little more spice and edge to the delineation of the game itself would have made the film an action-packed adventure too. Nevertheless, Speedy Singhs, with a guest appearance by Akshay Kumar (as himself), is an entertaining watch. Its nothing special about this movie but still...It keeps smiles on your faces while watching it....

Thumbs up for this entertainer..watch it!

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.

I don't think this film deserves suck bad reviews, it's a really funny film and I've been watching this film for years and still watch and and highly recommend it.

I caught this film on TV and didn't see the start. What pulled me in was a Bollywood dance number on ice with the Taj Mahal in the background. It was so campy, I had to keep watching and I was not disappointed. This is a Canadian film and I understand it not doing well in Bollywood because they likely don't understand the immigrant experience in Canada nor the Canadian obsession with hockey. The first generation/second generation tension was so classically Canadian too, even if it was a bit cliche. What I really loved were the dance numbers, celebrating the beautiful culture the immigrant Sikhs do not want to lose. It was so heart-warming and refreshing, a pleasant break from mindless heartless crop of actions movies I've seen lately.

It was nice to see Canada from the view of another culture.