Review of McFarland, USA (2015) by Maksim B — 26 Jun 2015

When it comes to inspirational sports dramas based on true stories, there is no doubt that Disney's is the studio which knows how to make a fine family friendly movie. McFarland, USA, does not differ from the formula which has brought a worldwide success to its studio and exploits to the full extend the crowd-pleasing power of the genre. Heart-warming, touching and a bit too sweetened, this movie would probably inspire you to give it a try and run 5 km cross-country. Unfortunately, it would also seem to you painfully predictable, generic and lacking the necessary climax (sports and dramatic one) to make you bite your finger nails or shed a tear.

The story is about a cross-country team from a high-school in an economically challenged community of Latinos in California. Jim White (Kevin Costner) is a former sportsman who takes on new assignment for a PE teacher in the town of McFarland, California. In a town populated by hard-working, low-educated Mexican immigrants, Jim and his family have re-discover their lives and to become part of the local community while Jim build-up from scratch a cross-country team. A blend of a sports and a social drama, Niki Caro's delivery not only depicts sports in its pure version, but also makes a social commentary on race inequality, educational chances and destroying stereotypes. As it could be expected, McFarland USA's story construction is skillfully made in order to be a perfect crowd-pleaser. Unfortunately, even with this, the story misses to stand out due to the fact that the climax (both in terms of sports and social drama) fails to thrill, to captivate the audience.

In the end, the final credits are shown; the feel-good moments pass and one would feel satisfied but unimpressed with what he or she has just seen. A very solid delivery for a laidback evening at home with the family, McFarland, USA is another example that Disney's are the masters of inspirational (or not that inspirational) sports dramas.