Eleven Men Out (Stakarnir Okkat)

Director(s): Robert I. Douglas
Writer(s): Robert I. Douglas
Producer(s): Julius Kemp, Ingvar Poroarson
Starring: Bjorn Hlynur Haraldsson

Ottar is the David Beckham of Iceland's reigning championship-winning soccer team. Ottar comes out of the closet surprising not only his teammates and parents, but also his pre-teen son, Maggi, and Maggi's drunken mother, Guggu. When his teammates and the team owner decide to ban Ottar from the team for being gay, Ottar joins an amateur team that attracts other gay players to join as well. Pretty soon Ottar's team is the first all-gay soccer team in Iceland history. While sports may come easy for Ottar, it is the challenges of being a good father, son, and a new member of the gay community that Ottar must overcome. In the end, Ottar's team must face the very team that spurned him in the beginning. Of course, in some random twist of timing, the game occurs on Gay Pride Day!

Following in the trend of movies like "Iron Ladies" and "Guys and Balls", this film links the sweat and action of sports films with the common prejudices of being gay in the world today. In contrast, this film depicts little, if any, game scenes making the primary focus of the film about the relationships Ottar has and the development of a group of men struggling to be something more than just gay players. The film is a blatant look at homophobia in the sports world and lacks any sort of character development for the antagonist. In the end I found the primary plot of the film to be about Ottar and Guggu finally growing up from their former fame and becoming true parents to the a child that genuinely thinks they are neglecting him.

It was nice to take a break from the gay stereotypes often associated with gay sports films. Sure the film seems undeveloped and rather short. Coming it at 1 hour and 25 minutes, the film leaves a rather small amount of time for character arcs and plot development. However, the film does a great job in looking at the way gay players are viewed in societies world wide and briefly stirs the conversation about whether gay players are as good at their straight teammates. Don't ask me who wins. . . the movie ends before the big game starts.