[Originally posted by Aaron Christensen on Examiner.com]McFarland, USA (2015)
Starring: Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, Ramiro Rodriguez, Carlos Pratts, Hector Duran
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When a troubled high school gym coach moves his family to a small, Hispanic town in California, he never would have guessed how much his life would change. It wasn't the ideal career move for Coach Jim White (Costner), but it had to be done. He was run from his last job in Idaho after an unfortunate encounter with one of his football players and McFarland, California, seemed like one of his last available options. His family wasn't thrilled about it, either. But it would only be a temporary thing, they assumed. Get Jim some tenure at a high school to smooth out his rocky resume and then they'd be outta there faster than you could say "hasta luego." But when he discovers that several of his P.E. students are naturally gifted long-distance runners, Coach White comes up with a hair-brained idea to start up the school's first-ever cross country team. With a little bit of coaching and the right amount of motivation, these underdog Mexican kids from McFarland might actually make something of themselves, after all!
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The Salt Lake DVD Examiner is going to do things a little differently this time around. He's going to write in first-person. It's never been done before, in all of his 130 reviews, but, by the looks of it, not many people read his posts, anyway, so what could it hurt, right? Here goes nothing.
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I believe that "McFarland, USA" is one of the most culturally important movies that has been released in years - probably since "42" or "Remember the Titans." I served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 2006-2008 in Raleigh, North Carolina, and was assigned to work with Hispanics. I learned their language and spent the better part of 22 months living among them and working alongside them. Based on that qualification, I can proudly say that I know the Hispanic community. With that being said, "McFarland, USA" hit pretty close to home for me, personally. Perhaps I'm biased, but I can truthfully say that the portrayal of the Mexian-American community in this film is spot-on. Surely, I understood, connected with and laughed at parts of this movie that may not be relevant to a Caucasian living in the heart of the Salt Lake Valley who has had little-to-no contact with small towns like McFarland, but those with open minds should certainly find this movie enlightening, to say the least.
I love "McFarland, USA." The way that it tackles tough, sensitive topics like racism, prejudice and inaccurate judment, gang violence, teen pregnancy, domestic violence and suicide prevention - especially in today's politically correct, hyper-sensitive American society - is touching and beautiful. Early on in the film, the White family moves, reluctantly, to a society filled with Hispanics. Jim and his family exhibit outward concern about their new community that mirror very closely the attitude of many people I have come in contact with in my own life. To be perfectly honest, I'm sure that I even harbored some of those same unfair judgments in the past, as well. Stereotypes are a dangerous thing. While they accurately portray a small minority of certain groups (jocks, nerds, Blacks, Mexicans or what have you), they inaccurately describe the majority of those same groups. "A few bad apples spoil the bunch." But as the movie goes on, the Whites begin to realize that their new neighbors are not the gang bangers they believed them to be. They are, in fact, genuine, caring, generous, hard-working, religious, family-oriented and surprisingly patriotic.
Again, the portrayal of Hispanic culture in "McFarland, USA" is, in my opinion, incredibly accurate. I cannot begin to count the number of times that practical strangers invited me into their homes for food, even when I was not hungry. The generosity of the Mexican families that I worked with in North Carolina still astounds me, to this day all these years later. I was also impressed with those families' positive attitudes, humility, faith and hard-working nature. In spite of the ridiculously false stereotype that Hispanics are lazy and have come to America to mooch off of the government, they are some of the hardest-working people I have ever met. This characteristic is on full display in the film, as Coach White spends time getting to know his students on a very personal level. Hispanics are extremely hard workers and I, for one, deeply admire them for the long hours of manual labor that many of them put into their jobs. Watching "McFarland, USA" reminded me of all of the amazing (and widely unnoticed) attributes of Mexican-American families.
As I got to know Hispanics from many countries - not just Mexico - I came to love them as friends, just as the Whites learn to do in "McFarland, USA." As they let down their walls and decided to embrace their new community and get to know these people like they would any other human being, the Whites came to love that little town and all of the people in it. There aren't many movies that can give me what the kids these days call "the feels," but Costner and company just about got me to cry both times I watched this show, gosh dang it! Watching people from different races, cultures and backgrounds come together is incredible. I'm thankful that I was able to be a part of a similar process back in 2006, and being able to see it represented on film made me happy. Not the kind of "happy" that I get when I see the Avengers take down Ultron and not the kind of "happy" I get when it's Five Dollar Tuesday at Cinemark theaters, but the kind of happy when I know that this is real life. Stuff like this actually happens. All we have to do is break down those foolish stereotypes that we think in our brains and reach out to touch those around us.
My absolute favorite part of "McFarland, USA" is the National Anthem scene, where cross country teams from around the state, along with their families, friends and supporters, take a moment to pay respect to the United States of America. A large group of McFarland residents make the trip out to watch their boys race and they, along with all the Caucasians in attendance, start to sing along to the Star-Spangled Banner. While the juxtaposition of seeing a group of Mexicans sing America's national anthem may seem a little strange, I think it is absolutely wonderful. Half-way through, the singing fades out and makes way for a gorgeous acoustic rendition of the song, strummed by some unknown artist (I tried to look it up), and a brief montage of the young athletes' training is shown. As the anthem draws to a close, the shot cuts back to the Hispanics as they applaud and wave Mexican flags. It's a bit of an odd scene, but I think it is tremendously powerful. This is America, dang it! And America is awesome. In these past few years, we've gotten really tied up in a bunch of stupid things that make America (and the world, in general) seem like a pretty rotten place to live, but what I love about "McFarland, USA" is that it reminds viewers that America is the land of opportunity. Who are we to say or think that any group of people is not worthy to be here? Who are we to pass judgment on others? I love this movie because it shows that Mexican-Americans are awesome people who work unthinkably hard and love both of their countries. What's wrong with that?
On top of all the sentimental, personal connections I have with this film, there is also the simple fact that these seven runners and their dedicated coach turned around a quiet California town, creating a tradition of excellence unparalleled by anything those folks had seen before. This movie is a touching tribute to the efforts of those eight people who had a vision and put it into action. The final two minutes of the film and the eye-opening bonus features (featuring the guys who lived the story) are an testament to that inspired vision.
I believe that "McFarland, USA" is one of the most culturally important movies that has been released in years. I believe that "McFarland, USA" is a movie that everyone should see. It is the epitome of a feel-good movie and it will inspire you to be better. I cannot stress enough how much I really, really love this movie. It's not just a great story about a group of athletic Spanish-speakers. It's a powerful movie about an amazing culture that receives far too little credit for their contributions to our country. If you haven't seen this movie yet, please do yourself a favor and pick it up. You can snag it at the store, which would definitely be worth your money, or you can pick it up at the nearest Redbox if you don't want to take my word for it. Whatever you do, take time to watch "McFarland, USA." You'll be glad you did.
Without any hesitation, whatsoever, I whole-heartedly give "McFarland, USA" my highest recommendation.
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Similar movies: "Chariots of Fire" (1981), "Remember the Titans" (2000), "42" (2013)
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Blu-ray bonus features:
- Audio in English, Spanish, Portuguese, English Descriptive Audio and a bunch of other languages
- Subtitles in English, Spanish, Portuguese and a bunch of other languages
- "McFarland Reflections": The real-life McFarland runners, Coach Jim White and Kevin Costner hold a round-table discussion about the incredible true story of the historic 1987 cross country team.
- "Juntos" music video by Juanes
- "Inspiring McFarland": A short featurette with director Niki Caro and a couple others, in which they speak of the resilience and endurance of the seven McFarland boys. It was probably used as promotional material as the film approached its theatrical release.
- Six deleted and extended scenes
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Directed by: Niki Caro
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures
Running time: 129 minutes
MPAA rating: PG for "thematic material, some violence and language." Nothing inherently offensive. Very little profanity and most of the violence occurs off-screen. Suitable for all ages.
Costars Johnny Ortiz, Rafael Martinez, Sergio Avelar, Michael Aguero, Morgan Saylor
Blu-ray release date: June 2, 2015
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Looking to find "McFarland, USA" on DVD or Blu-ray in the Salt Lake area? Check out these suggested links:
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Or get the digital download from Amazon.com!
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