"McFarland, USA" stars Kevin Costner as Jim White, a man who has been relocated to a Hispanic community following his unsuccessful tenure as a football coach at his previous school. White, or "Blanco" as he is called in this new community, finds talent among the young students in the form of cross-country running.
Though White has never coached cross-country, he is able to find the funding through a small loophole in the budget and motivate these kids to succeed in this sport which is foreign to them. These Disney sports films all follow a very generic formula, which makes the film quite predictable, similar to how I felt about last year's "Million Dollar Arm." This film is better than the previous, due to the serious undertones of racism and class-ism that make it more than a superficial entertainment movie.
The division between the whites and the Hispanics is what helps to propel the narrative in this film. The fun thing about these type of movies is that it is "based on a true story." On the Blu-ray/DVD extras, there is an interview segment with the real individuals and their coach. Unfortunately, these movies have little re-watch value, but this one is definitely worth a rental.
Film: 3.5 Yaps Extras: 4.5 Yaps