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Once in a Lifetime
Miramax Films


6.2

based on 18 reviews
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based on 4 votes
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MPAA RATING: PG-13 for language and some nudity

Starring Matt Dillon (narrator), Pelé, Franz Beckenbauer, Rodney Marsh, Carlos Alberto, and Steve Ross

It was 1977 and one of New York’s most tumultuous and decadent summers. Then, in the midst of blackouts, riots, the Son of Sam serial killer scare and the dawn of Studio 54, came an entirely unexpected moment of inspiration: the rise of the New York Cosmos, America’s first great soccer team, and its larger-than-life superstar, Pelé. Suddenly embraced by a city obsessed with celebrity and flamboyance, the Cosmos kicked off America’s first passionate love affair with the world’s most popular sport & found themselves swept up in a careening path of glory, glamour, debauchery and controversy. (Miramax Films)

GENRE(S):	Documentary
WRITTEN BY:	John Dower (story) Mark Monroe (story)
DIRECTED BY:	Paul Crowder John Dower
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: October 3, 2006 Theatrical: July 7, 2006
RUNNING TIME:	97 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

Also known as "Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos"

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

It's a stylish scramble of evocative footage, groovy music, and crazy-candid reminiscences from key players still proud to score.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

Funky, scrappy, dishy, screwy story of that star-studded, gilded squad.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Crowder and Dower's film is a refreshing reminder that without Ross and the Erteguns, pundits would have had to coin an entirely different term to describe "soccer moms," since without the Cosmos' brief and shining moment in the sun, suburban soccer leagues would be as rare as collegiate boccie tournaments.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Once in a Lifetime, which is being released at the peak of World Cup fever, is the sort of sports documentary that will appeal even to nonfans. It's a quintessential only-in-New York story.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

Once in a Lifetime performs a belated autopsy on the Cosmos and the North American Soccer League and basically concludes that they died of impatience.

Chicago Tribune Kevin Williams

You don't need to be a soccer fan to, like Cosmos fans, fall for this captivating tale, told in "Rashomon"-like style.

San Francisco Chronicle G. Allen Johnson

What fun this documentary is.

The New York Times Jeannette Catsoulis

This is a movie so unabashedly in love with its subject that even audiences who don't know Giorgio Chinaglia from Georgie Best will leave the theater grinning.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Crust

An exuberant look at a heady moment in America's soccer past that is well worth remembering.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Informative and entertaining.

The Hollywood Reporter Frank Scheck

This tale of the team that for a brief period in the 1970s promised to popularize soccer in the U.S. has it all: heroes, villains, sex and, oh yes, some sports as well.

Variety Leslie Felperin

While soccer fans will rep the core aud, even non-fans can enjoy.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

Once In A Lifetime is less a proper documentary than an extended VH1 Behind The Music episode, but there's only a little bit wrong with that.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

Once in a Lifetime's only major failing is the fact that the iconic Pelé is seen only in period footage.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

The movie is only so-so, borrowing a little from the VH-1 school of popumentary but lacking the snazzy production values.

Village Voice Bill Gallo

This intermittently fascinating documentary chronicles the rise and fall of the Cosmos --which is also the rise and fall of U.S. soccer.

LA Weekly Joe Donnelly

Though the movie promises a Behind the Music–type look at the meteoric rise and tragic fall of the Cosmos -- a team (if the press notes are to be believed) overwhelmed by wealth, groupies, rivalry and power struggles -- it all adds up to a tempest in a tea pot.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

Despite the title, this is less a soccer documentary than a corporate hagiography along the lines of "The Last Mogul" or "The Kid Stays in the Picture"; its real hero isn't Cosmos star Pele (who wisely declined to be interviewed), but Steve Ross, CEO of Warner Communications, which owned the team.

The average user rating for this movie is 6.2 (out of 10) based on 4 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

James gave it a9:
Tells the story with humour and verve, and it’s hard not to be a little bit nostalgic for the days when 70,000 people would crowd into Giants stadium to watch “the other football.”

Robert F. gave it an8:
Both entertaining and informative. You'll learn a lot about the birth of mainstream interest in soccer in America.

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Once in a Lifetime Miramax Films

Once in a Lifetime
Miramax Films