City of McFarland

Okay, Kevin Costner can do this character in his sleep. His "Coach/Manager/Player who has seen it all" character is standard stuff for him. It's basically "Bull Durham", "Draft Day", "For Love of the Game" all rolled into the same guy. That's not a bad thing. I like him in those roles. It's just nothing new. What's surprising is the plethora of fabulous performances by the kids and townspeople in this terrific little TRUE story. They ROCK this picture. Special recognition to the set designers who created a beautiful location for all the running sequences. It was a rich assortment of landscapes that mesmerized the visual senses on BluRay.

Basic plot: Costner (Jim White) is a football coach at a reasonably successful high school program. Because of a mistake in the opening sequence, the coach is fired and lands in a dead-end town in Nowhere'sville, USA - aka McFarland, CA. The fish-out-of-water family has a few brushes with the local Mexican population where they think being the only (seemingly) white family in the area is a bad idea and are intending on moving immediately. Then Costner sees a kid running a sub-5-minute mile on his way to work in the produce fields with the rest of the population of minority workers in the area. What follows is fairly standard Disney stuff of our innocent but willing racially-inferior minnows who fight to get better against the racist, elitist killer whales (rich kids) of the other schools. What makes this watchable is how true the story is. Don't get me wrong. There are some formulaic sequences here. But how they pull it off is worth the cinematic journey. For Disney, I'm proud of them for taking a racial theme and turning it into a positive story for all involved.

I have to say the reason I'm giving this a "7" is because of the EXCELLENT behind-the-scenes stories where the filmmakers interview the runners from the team, along with the real coach, Jim White, and Kevin Costner all at the same sitting. Hearing them reminiscing (the movie is set in 1989), talking about the movie, and showing genuine care and respect for their beloved coach and each other... It's what a coach could only hope for in the children who grow up to be fine adults. Mr. White created a dynasty of runners that forged an ironclad identity with hope for the future in this nothing town when nobody was giving them a chance. One man can still make a difference on a global scale if you work hard enough. It's inspiring stuff.

The highest praise I can give this movie: My two teenage athlete children (soccer and baseball/softball) who have watched literally hundreds and hundreds of movies were against it. It was Disney for crying out loud. And a movie about CROSS COUNTRY no less. They would rather watch "Mission Impossible 15" or anything else. These are seasoned moviephiles. But Dad just wouldn't be denied. ;-) Within the first 15 minutes, they were hooked and enjoyed every minute of the rest of the movie. They even sat through the behind-the-scenes interviews. It was a family experience I won't forget. Well done, Disney.

As a coach myself, this is the kind of stuff that inspires me to work with kids who don't have a future in their current situation. And if you're already a coach, it may open your eyes to kids who have natural talents that may be wasted on something other than where their true skills lie. Much recommended. :-)

In making this movie Kevin Costner stuck to the formula, the one that most feel good sports movies use, and made it work beautifully. There are no unexpected fancy twists in this one. The acting is straight up and solid. The ethnic background of the movie adds to the movie in good way. I enjoy a few of the scenes that involve the interactions between the coach or his family and the locals. They demonstrate how cultural interaction and familiarity can eliminate fear and breakdown the walls that divide us. Don't get me wrong, the movie is not trying to give you a social/cultural lecture, this stuff comes naturally mixed with the main story line.

If you like the genre, you'll enjoy this movie.

I would take a bullet for danny diaz, no hesitation.

Greetings from Lithuania.

It's hard imagine anyone who would not cheer a bit after watching "McFarland, USA" (2015). This is a true story, and the movie is truly good and sometimes moving. It's inspirational story like you have seen many times actually, but it is made so well that at running time 2 h 5 min this movie never drags and is involving from start till finish.

Overall, "McFarland, USA" is sometimes routine and familiar, yet very entertaining movie. Kevin Costner is good in here, and although no Oscars will shine with this movie, it's nevertheless a very well made picture. Directing was solid - pacing of this movie is great. Music was nice, as well as cinematography. It's not very original picture, but a very fine one.

I had read the story of Jim White and the McFarland cross country team long before the movie came out. I was glad to see it made into a feature film, but Disney's heavy hands keep it from being fully satisfying.

Most of the actors playing larger roles acquit themselves well. Yes, Kevin Costner is his overly familiar world-weary self, but there's always a certain charm in seeing him inhabit that role. Many of the young men portraying McFarland's runners are both charming and believable, and some of the quirky townspeople (such as the mother of three runners and the owner of the local variety store) add nice depth to the story.

In addition, the scenery is interesting, from the running trails to the fields where the McFarland runners pick crops.

One real turnoff was when, repeatedly, opposing runners were shown talking smack before the start of races, and opposing coaches made snarky comments about the McFarland team. I've coached youth sports for many years and am accustomed to seeing much better sportsmanship than that. The movie makers apparently needed to set up cartoonish villains so that the audience would root even harder for the good guys.

Another clunker came at the first race, the "Palo Alto Invitational." The race director was surprised when McFarland showed up - but if it was an "invitational," then either they'd been invited (so he shouldn't have been surprised) or they hadn't been (in which case they had no business going to the race).

This was a generally pleasant two hours, and it was good to know that the basic heartwarming events took place in real life. Could have been better (or at least less bad in some parts), but it was OK. I recommend you find the story "Running for Their Lives" by Gary Smith, the captivating real-life tale of Jim White and McFarland (told as only the brilliant Smith could).