''LFG'' is a 2021 American
documentary film, directed and produced by
Andrea Nix Fine
Andrea Nix Fine is an American documentary film director whose film '' Inocente'' won the Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject) in 2013. She directs her films with her husband, Sean Fine. The Fines were also nominated for the Acade ...
and
Sean Fine
Sean Fine is an American cinematographer, producer and film director whose film '' Inocente'' won the 2013 Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject). He directs his films with his wife, Andrea Nix Fine. The Fines' first feature-length ...
, with Andrea Nix Fine also serving as a writer. It follows
Megan Rapinoe
Megan Anna Rapinoe (; born July 5, 1985) is an American professional Association football, soccer player who plays as a Midfielder#Winger, winger and captains OL Reign of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), as well as the United States ...
,
Jessica McDonald
Jessica Marie McDonald (born February 28, 1988) is an American professional soccer player for Racing Louisville FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the highest division of women's professional soccer in the United States, and the ...
,
Becky Sauerbrunn
Rebecca Elizabeth Sauerbrunn (born June 6, 1985) is an American professional soccer player for Portland Thorns FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the highest division of women's professional soccer in the United States. Since 2021 ...
,
Kelley O'Hara
Kelley Maureen O'Hara (born August 4, 1988) is an American soccer player, two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion, and Olympic gold medalist. She currently plays as a defender for the Gotham FC in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) ...
,
Christen Press
Christen Annemarie Press (born December 29, 1988) is an American soccer player for Angel City FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States national team. She first appeared for the United States national team during an ...
,
Sam Mewis
Samantha June Mewis (born October 9, 1992) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Kansas City Current of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), as well as the United States national team. She played college ...
and
Julie Foudy
Julie Maurine Foudy ( ; born January 23, 1971) is an American retired soccer midfielder, two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist. She played for the United States women's national soccer team from 1988 to 2004 ...
, as they sue the
United States Soccer Federation
The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...
for
pay discrimination. U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner in Los Angeles has scheduled a trial for September 15 on the players’ remaining claim of discriminatory work conditions which the U.S. woman's national team were successful in the claim for discriminatory work conditions, which included issues such as hotels, etc. In May 2020, Klausner summarily dismissed the unequal pay portion of the lawsuit.
It had its world premiere at the
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was f ...
on June 17, 2021. It was released on June 24, 2021, by
HBO Max
HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...
.
Title
The acronym LFG stands for the phrase, "Let's fucking go!" which is a rallying call for the team.
Synopsis
It follows
Megan Rapinoe
Megan Anna Rapinoe (; born July 5, 1985) is an American professional Association football, soccer player who plays as a Midfielder#Winger, winger and captains OL Reign of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), as well as the United States ...
,
Jessica McDonald
Jessica Marie McDonald (born February 28, 1988) is an American professional soccer player for Racing Louisville FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the highest division of women's professional soccer in the United States, and the ...
,
Becky Sauerbrunn
Rebecca Elizabeth Sauerbrunn (born June 6, 1985) is an American professional soccer player for Portland Thorns FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the highest division of women's professional soccer in the United States. Since 2021 ...
,
Kelley O'Hara
Kelley Maureen O'Hara (born August 4, 1988) is an American soccer player, two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion, and Olympic gold medalist. She currently plays as a defender for the Gotham FC in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) ...
,
Christen Press
Christen Annemarie Press (born December 29, 1988) is an American soccer player for Angel City FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States national team. She first appeared for the United States national team during an ...
,
Sam Mewis
Samantha June Mewis (born October 9, 1992) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Kansas City Current of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), as well as the United States national team. She played college ...
and
Julie Foudy
Julie Maurine Foudy ( ; born January 23, 1971) is an American retired soccer midfielder, two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist. She played for the United States women's national soccer team from 1988 to 2004 ...
, as they sue the
United States Soccer Federation
The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...
for
pay discrimination.
Production
In March 2021, it was announced
Andrea Nix Fine
Andrea Nix Fine is an American documentary film director whose film '' Inocente'' won the Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject) in 2013. She directs her films with her husband, Sean Fine. The Fines were also nominated for the Acade ...
and
Sean Fine
Sean Fine is an American cinematographer, producer and film director whose film '' Inocente'' won the 2013 Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject). He directs his films with his wife, Andrea Nix Fine. The Fines' first feature-length ...
would direct a documentary film revolving around the
U.S. women's national soccer team pay discrimination claim
Starting in 2016, members of the United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) have engaged in a series of legal actions against the United States Soccer Federation, accusing the organization of unequal treatment and compensation. The fight f ...
. The film is produced by Everywoman Studios and
CNN Films
CNN Films is a motion picture division of CNN under Warner Bros. Pictures. originally launched in 2012. Its first film, ''Girl Rising'' premiered in spring 2013 in the United States.
History
On October 8, 2012, CNN announced the creation of CNN ...
, and distributed by
HBO Max
HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...
.
Release
The film had its world premiere at the
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was f ...
on June 17, 2021. It also screened at
AFI Docs
The AFI Docs (formerly Silverdocs) documentary film festival is an American international film festival created by the American Film Institute and the Discovery Channel. It is held every year in Silver Spring, Maryland and Washington, D.C. Starte ...
on June 23, 2021. It was released on June 24, 2021, by
HBO Max
HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...
.
Reception
''LFG'' received positive reviews from film critics. It holds an 88% approval rating on
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, based on 8 reviews, with a
weighted average
The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...
of 9.40/10.
The film has also received negative feedback from some lawyers as the film pays little attention to the legal proceeding regarding the case, and fails to explore the specifics of the court's decision to throw out the case. Journalist Emily Reigart stated that "If you are looking to better understand the legal argument for the athletes’ case, this is not the film for you", whilst the Washington Post said "The film itself is just as one-sided"
References
External links
*
{{CNN Films
2021 films
2021 documentary films
Documentary films about women
Documentary films about women's sports
Documentary films about misogyny
CNN Films films
HBO Max films
Films directed by Sean Fine and Andrea Nix
2020s English-language films
2020s American films