“McFarland, USA” could so easily have been yet another mushy, feel-good, by-the-numbers sports underdog movie. And in beginning, it seems like it’s heading there.
But soon, thanks to the genuine heart in its (true) story and a pitch-perfect, beautifully lived-in performance by Kevin Costner, it will likely win you over. So go ahead, surrender. Cry a little. This is one feel-good movie that won’t make you feel bad about feeling good.
The story begins in August 1987 in Boise, Idaho, when a high school football coach named Jim White – that name will end up being very convenient to the story – gets fired from his job after throwing a shoe in the direction of a snotty kid who’s talking back to him, accidentally bloodying him. Jim, who has a history of anger issues, packs up the family and moves to McFarland, California, for a job at the only school that will hire him.
Arriving in McFarland, a farming town where the population is predominantly Mexican-American, White’s daughter looks nervously out the car window and asks: “Are we in Mexico?” At a taqueria, White tries to order a burger, but can’t get one. When the family encounters a group of young men cruising in their cars, he immediately thinks they’re dangerous.
These moments lay it on a little thick, but soon, director Niki Caro (“Whale Rider”) hits a more comfortable stride depicting a prickly entry for the White family (the always lovely Maria Bello plays the sadly underdeveloped character of Jim’s wife) into McFarland life. At the new school, White is made assistant coach of the football team, working for an ornery boss who can’t win a game and sees nothing of sending a kid with a concussion back onto the field. Soon they argue, and White’s off the team.