Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

That was an excellent one.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

The synopsis of this movie will probably make you think it's a cheesy Disney movie about a washed up teacher who makes a difference to his bad-boy students. It's not that movie. It's a fantastic, moving, inspiring tale that you'll want to buy and add to your collection.Kevin Costner plays a fired high school football coach with nowhere else to go but McFarland, USA, the poorest town in America in 1987. The kids there have no hope and no motivation, because before and after school they're out in tomato or lettuce fields helping their parents pick produce. They're not going to college; they'll become pickers when they graduate.Costner sees his kids running after school and comes up with the idea of creating a cross country team. With no funding, no support, and no clue what he's doing, he starts training the kids.The cross country portions of the film are exciting and fun to watch, but there's a lot more to this movie than the plot I just outlined. Costner and his family learn to make their new house their home, and this half of the film is interesting, tension-filled, and heartwarming. It's terribly sad to see the state of the town and how the poor residents survive, when the rest of America is thriving. Costner's character is unaware of their struggle when he first arrives, as most of the viewers will be, but as he gets to know his neighbors and bonds with the community, he (and we) are exposed to their cultural traditions.If you're not drawn to the movie because of the sports, or the inspirational story, or because you like true stories, or you like Kevin Costner, I'll give you one more reason to watch it: Maria Bello's costumes. I've never seen her look so pretty, and she wears the most darling outfits! But seriously, watch McFarland, USA. It's incredibly moving to watch how one teacher impacted a community and inspired a group of boys to look higher up than an agricultural field.

Hollywood has been good in one area a couple decades into the 21st century. It has turned out some very good sports films based on true stories. "McFarland, USA" is one. The movie was made by Disney in 2015, from a screenplay that was being developed since 2004. It's based on a true story of a high school teacher, Jim White, who made championship cross-country teams in the mid-1980s at a small California high school. The town of McFarland is in the farm area of central California, north of Bakersfield. The high school is largely Hispanic.Kevin Costner heads the cast as White, and all turn in fine performances. This is a very good drama, historical and biographical film. It is peppered with small doses of humor. The production qualities are superb. As with most such films, this one has been changed from fact to fiction in places. But, it tells a good story about a coach, a town and a high school team. Some of the fictional changes including White having been fired from different teaching jobs before going to McFarland. In reality, he began there in 1964 after he graduated from Pepperdine University. White taught different classes and grades until 1980 when he began coaching. When he noticed the speed of some of the kids, he decided to start cross-country running which the school had dropped the previous year. The film is just about the boys' team, but he started both boys and girls teams, and took both of them to the Cayucos beach during the 1985 season. White had three daughters, not two as in the movie. And they were older in real life. At the time of the cross-country championships, the girls were in college. The move was a hit and apparently led to increased interest in cross- country running in schools around the country. This is a good film that should be of special interest to young teens. Here are a couple of favorite lines from the film. Cheryl White, "Fourth place? That's not too shabby. Jim, "Four out of four – also known as last."Jim White, "Tell your father I said it was an honor to be invited into his home." David Diaz, "Dad, he said it was an honor to be invited into your home." Senor Diaz, "Tell him I said 'Thanks!'"

After a million years as an IMDb member I'm finally inspired to write a review. This movie is guileless and sweet in the most beautiful way. Not heavy-handed, no huge buildup over the races (in all aspects of the word), but rather huge focus on interpersonal relationships and the judgments every human makes about one another. There's also huge pride in the small working towns I've personally driven through on my way to somewhere else, and the seemingly small people whose backs we live off of. There is so much heart here. I'm surprised this is a Disney movie.Anyway, I believe love drives us. And this is such an affirmation of the different types of love and relationships that can push us in the best ways and help us achieve greatness. I'm so deeply pleased to have seen this film. Every one of us has a moment or period when we are down for the count. We don't always handle it with grace. That doesn't mean we are without grace.

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).