McFarland Review

Tuesday February 17th I was able to see a sneak preview of the movie McFarland. The Steel City Road Runners Club gave out tickets on their Saturday run that I took part in. I was really pumped to see this movie. Ever since I saw the preview I wanted to check it out. It was nice because the theatre was not crowded at all, and I got to see some of my other running friends. I thought I would give you all my review of the movie, in hopes to give you a better idea of what the movie is about and if it worth your time to go check it out.

THE PLOT: Based on the true story, Kevin Costner plays Jim White a former Football coached who is forced to take a job in the small, mainly Hispanic community of McFarland, California. While teaching Phys. Ed. Class White notices that some of his students are particularly fast. After some convincing he is able to get 7 of them to commit to starting a cross country team. Besides dealing with no experience of running White also has to deal with the students working in the fields to help their families survive. White is able to turn the group of talented young men into champions, and leaves behind a legacy that is still holding true today.

NOTES ABOUT MOVIE: The movie was partially filmed in the town of McFarland.

Three of the main actors were actually guys from the town of McFarland, and this was their first film.

In the movie it never says any of the rival schools runner’s names, but apparently there was a few runners that went on to have really good running careers.


MY REVIEW: First I will say I think Disney always does a great job with any sport movie they make and this one was no different. From start to finish I was interested in the movie, and never found my mind starting to drift away from the film. The movie had just the right amount of humor to add to the drama. The film may have been predictable to some degree, but at no point was I upset about the outcome. Like any movie there is a few unpredictable parts that make it great. Besides the running aspect the film teaches some valuable lessons, never judge a book by its cover, believe in yourself and the people around you, and sometimes you can find happiness in the least expected place. On a scale of 1-10, I am going to give this movie an 8. I highly recommend you go check it out, and as I found out from taking Amanda with me, you don’t need to be a runner to enjoy this film.