They go to the fields, to school, and then back to the fields....
Jim White (Kevin Costner) is a high school football coach relocating his family after being fired for a misleading abuse case. The family arrives in a small, southern California town called McFarland, with Jim getting a multi-tasking job at the local high school. Seeing his group of track runners run, Jim comes up with the idea of coaching a cross-country team after not faring well with the football team. Does he know a thing about it? Nope. Do the runners want to do it? They have mixed feelings. Will it end up happy? Perhaps.
The script is earnest and authentic, with some well-placed dramatic elements without ever becoming overdone. It also puts in some much-needed (very good) humor also. The cinematography and production design are terrifically appropriate with authentic lighting and costumes. A few scenes of mountains and countryside are nice to look at.
Costner was certainly a major grab for Disney here, as sports dramas have been one of his most common genres (he also was in Field of Dreams, For the Love of the Game and last year's Draft Day). But his performance here is both heartfelt and incredibly engaging. His charm, sincerity and the right amount of subtlety work as the multi-faceted character of Coach White.
The other actors do well here too, and don't falter in Costner's shadow. The Hispanic actors shine the brightest, however, as they are given, perhaps, as much screentime as the leading guy. Carlos Pratts, Johnny Ortiz, Hector Duran and many others bring their characters to life with effervescence and a strong sense of realism. Maria Bello, though not given a lot of time on screen, is fairly decent as Mrs. White. Morgan Saylor is good in the few scenes she's in as Julie. Elsie Fisher. most famous for being the voice of Agnes from the Despicable Me movies, is fun to watch, but isn't given enough to work with to steal any scenes like her previous character.
The music score, by Antonio Pinto, is not incredibly noticeable, though it does bring a few lovely Hispanic tones (including a nice, guitar-infused instrumental of the National Anthem). There are strong messages here on the value of hard work, as well as family, unconditional love and appropriately shows the moral wrong of ethnic mistreatment, condemnation and bullying. Before the end credits, like other true story-based flicks, there's a very cool segment featuring the real Coach White and his team.
The only minor problem I found in the movie was that for a little bit, between the second and third acts, that the film dragged a little bit. Between qualifying for state and a couple of other major scenes, it became a little confusing and made me even wonder for a couple of minutes when the final race would come. In this area, a little more editing or a few extra lines talking about the road to the state championships would have helped the overall pace remain smooth sailing. The overall story, is, obviously, predictable, but not without a few intriguing diversions along the way.
In the midst of all the superheroes, fairy tales, animation, and soon-to-be Jedi's, its very nice to see that Disney still has a knack to create traditional, live-action family films that are not only entertaining, but share some very poignant and even inspirational, real-to-life messages as well. And it's only an added semi-educational bonus that the film is true story-based.
And in McFarland, USA, they, once again, have made a great movie for kids and adults of most ages (older kids and up). Costner's fantastic lead performance aside, there's a strong sense of authenticity and heart, as well as inspirational themes, that is rarely seen in today's modern-day entertainment. These strong production values, as well as a much more wholesome story, make this several notches better than fellow Mouse House sports flick Million Dollar Arm.
Is it a little long? Yes. Predictable? Of course. But, in a rare case, McFarland USA takes the familiar, heartfelt aspects of a sports drama and delivers it with surprising freshness and style.
Score: 9.2/10
Content Problems Families Should Be Aware Of:
Language: At the beginning of the film, a disrespectful student hurls (while sneezing) what might be an s-word (its very difficult to tell, as the student claims he didn't say anything, but Coach White's reaction assumes otherwise). As for clearly-heard language, there are single uses each of "h---", "a--", "d---", and "oh g--" (the latter is also seen in subtitles once also). "Crappy" is used once.
Adult Content: Guys stare at girls a few times. A few outfits are immodest. A painting on a car shows a female's bare shoulders. Someone is said to have gotten pregnant out of wedlock.
Violence: A brief fight erupts between a runner and his father. One runner sits on a bridge over a highway and ponders jumping off. A bottle is smashed against a wall. A major fight occurs offscreen, but we do see the after-effects. (someone scrapes their knees and another person is being loaded into an ambulance with a bloody spot on his tank top). Someone is hurt badly on the football field.
Drugs/Alcohol: One runner's father is shown drinking alcohol a couple of times.
Other: A racist comment or two. A runner throws up out of nerves. A dog is shown urinating.
