Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

A lot of fun.

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

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.

Rounding off my look back at Kevin Costner's career, I come to McFarland USA from 2015Plot In A Paragraph: Jim White (Costner) a struggling coach and teacher takes a job in one of the poorest cities in America: McFarland, California. There he discovers buried potential in several high school boys, and slowly turns them into a track team and brings them closer than even he could ever imagine.Hands down my favourite movie of 2015. No matter how many times I watch it, I still get chills at the end. It's funny how many reviews read something like this "predictable, routine, generic" etc however whilst it's true that Disney's sports movie formula is pretty well-worn. You can apply this plot to a lot of movies "Fish out of water comes and turns a team of losers into champions while learning valuable life lessons along the way." Yes It happens every time. However McFarland USA is a true story. Kevin Costner is playing a real man in Jim White, and no they didn't change his name to make it for better. I can't speak highly enough about this movie. It's in my Top 10 Kevin Costner movies."That's not Danny Diaz....... THATS NOT DANNY DIAZ!!!"

You think; "cross country?" ~smirk~ But, eventually you get around to watching this great movie because, it has Costner in it...Wow what a great movie! It makes me chuckle a bit to think I would EVER say that about anything to do with cross country running...Of course, these types of movies are formulaic, in that normal pathway of "feel good movies"...But, the formula works. No matter how jaded I am after a half century of life. You can't but help to feel good about those who rise above their station and persevere through hardships and challenge the paradigm...This story embodies all that makes this country great. It shows that hard work most often pays off...It also shows that no matter what you come up against, dig in, grit your teeth and maybe you'll get a little stronger...Watch the movie if you haven't already, you'll have a big grin when it's over and you'll be inspired and educated just a bit more...Those are always good attributes of any endeavor...Respect to all and one love!

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.