''Rivals'' ( es, Rivales, links=no) is a 2008 Spanish

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

sport film A sports film is a film genre in which any particular sport plays a prominent role in the film's plot or acts as its central theme. It is a production in which a sport, sporting event, athlete (and their sport), or follower of sport (and the spo ...

directed by

Fernando Colomo Fernando Colomo Gómez (born 2 February 1946) is a Spanish film producer, screenwriter and film director. He has also acted in small roles in his own and other's films. He is regarded as the father of the so-called '' comedia madrileña''. Fil ...

and written by

Joaquín Oristrell Joaquín Oristrell Ventura (born 15 September 1953) is a Spanish film director and screenwriter. Biography Born in Barcelona on 15 September 1953, he is the cousin of actress Yolanda Ventura and nephew of trumpeter . He has written scripts ...

and Inés París. The plot follows an Under-12 Spanish football tournament.

Plot

When two youth football teams from

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

and

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

with a longstanding rivalry reach the finals of the Youth Spanish Cup, the tension explodes on and off the field. The players from both teams share a bus and hotel with each other and with their coaches (who are in love but hide it), parents, a crazy grandmother, reporters and even pets. Guillermo (played by Ernesto Altiero) and his son Xavier find their relationship tested as Guillermo remembers his own failure to make the championship in his youth, while Xavier chooses his girlfriend over football. In director

's own words, this is a "road trip movie about human relationships."

Cast

Reception

Jonathan Holland of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' deemed ''Rivals'' to be a "disappointing" comedy for Colomo.

References

External links

* 2008 films Spanish sports comedy films Spanish LGBT-related films Spanish association football films 2000s sports comedy films 2008 comedy films 2000s Spanish films 2000s Spanish-language films Films directed by Fernando Colomo {{sport-film-stub

Plot

Cast

Reception

See also

References

External links