A bit political, but a feel-good movie.

Rating: 5/10 (29 June 2015)

This was a pretty decent movie. It had sports, humor, good acting, and a good story behind the action.
The subtle political digs the movie got in were a bit annoying and in most cases, pretty unrealistic. I'll list the most unbelievable things in the film.
1.) When Mr. White or Blanco (Costner) goes to the Diaz bros. house to try and convince their parents to let them run, he and the rest of the family gorge on what seems like hundreds of flautas and enchiladas, there are even left overs. Outside, The Diaz father says something along the lines of "my boys running means less help in the fields which means I can't put food on the table..." Well sure, when you eat a freaking 10 course meal, it's going to be hard to keep food on the table..That made me laugh out loud at how unbelievable it was.
2.) After the Whites' daughter is attacked in an apparent gang retaliation, the mom seems more concerned about what the locals think and not coming off as "prejudiced," than her daughter's safety. I don't know about you, but if my daughter got stabbed in the leg, I'd be a whole lot less concerned with what the locals thought of me than getting the hell out of dodge.
3.) Javi or Thomas Velez' cousin claims that he is not a gangsta after Coach White apologizes for stereotyping him, but then is attacked in a gang retaliation...Hmmmm. Yeah...not a gang member at all..
4.) The female teacher/administrator, whatever she is... (besides an atrocious actress lol) seem to serve only to lay out the plot and make fun of Mr. White. It is a lame plot device that serves no purpose other than exposition.
As for political statements...We get it...White people can't work in the fields and "immigrants," do jobs that we could never do.
Except no...Ever read "Grapes of Wrath," or been back to the Midwest or Northeast? Plenty of white people and families work their own farms and have for hundreds of years so PLEASE, Enough with this crap. Many Mexican illegal immigrants work hard, but they also undercut wages and take jobs of citizens who used to work in those professions (hospitality, agriculture, fast food industry, etc). I'm not buying that broad statement from politicians, popular opinion, OR in this case...film makers.
I want to leave this review on a positive note. I loved the message of getting an education and misguided youth striving for greatness. I could have done without the overt illegal immigration messages, but overall McFarland was an entertaining, feel good movie with likable characters. I won't watch it again, but I enjoyed watching it with my family. There are better sports movies, and there are far worse ones.