5/10

The latest in Disney’s “Zero to hero” line, stars Kevin Costner as a high school football coach fired from his job after some violent circumstances leave his legacy tarnished. He and his family move to Mcfarland, a poor, mexican demographic community with a prison and a high school…..next door to each other. Costner is hired as the first ever cross country coach with no experience to boot. As time goes on, he finds that there is a lot more to these kids that meets the eye. Disney has attempted this road with many different films before. Sadly, there isn’t really anything that makes “Mcfarland” different, or even memorable. The film’s two hour and four minute run time disects many characters that we are introduced to over that time, but never really feel like we truly know. The problem with having so many characters and not dedicating any time to them, is that when the time comes for them to do something truly miraculous to the plot, we’re never fully invested into that character’s triumphs. There is a lot of lag time to the structure of a pretty thin and tired plot to begin with. The movie really starts to feel it’s time around the one hour mark, and it’s in this second act that i wish the film would’ve given us that background depositional time for each character. When the end credits flashed, it hit me that i know nothing about these kids schooling, or how intelligent they are outside of picking fruits and vegetables in the field. We are shown Costner sitting in a classroom a couple of times, but for the life of me i can’t figure out why. Make no mistake about it, this is a SPORTS FILM ONLY. There are some shots of the landscape of Mcfarland, and how dangerous and out of touch the city is with any of it’s California counterparts. But the scenes with trouble or violence are so few and far in between that they feel like they literally come out of nowhere when our characters ride an emotional high. There is a lot i did enjoy about the film. The Disney underdog story is certainly not a new one, but they always knew how to write good situations for their characters to overcome. They have also always been great at casting the lead for these roles. Costner has been having his best two years since the prime of his acting career. He has managed to take more roles in 2014 and 2015 than any other single year in his career, and “Mcfarland” shows the heart of such a crafty veteran. There are many throw away lines or reactions in the film that Costner turns to gold. He comes from an old generation of actors where one look tells you so much about the character you are trying to understand. He also has some great help with supporting actors, Maria Bello (His wife in the film), John Ortiz, and sadly, a wasted effort by long time film villain, Chris Ellis. The film also flirts heavily with it’s Disney friendly PG rating. It’s got a bloody shootout, gang activity, and more than one racially insensitive comment. The movie certainly toes the line for such a kid friendly production company. Overall, “Mcfarland USA” is going to have it’s fans, but it doesn’t offer anything new to an old pair of shoes. Director Niki Caro (North Country) has certainly shown a directoral depth when it comes to her young film career. There’s a lot she plays safe in this film, and i think it certainly deserved more chances. With big risks, comes big rewards. “Mcfarland USA” is an OK film, but it could’ve been great with that risk.