One of the better clichéd sports films out there.

Rating: 8/10 (2 April 2015)

I think I'm not the only one who's getting a little tired of the sports movie genre that we are seeing over and over again. While McFarland USA is definitely a clichéd sports movie, it's probably one of the better ones that I've seen in recent memories. The movie's about Jim White (Kevin Costner) who became the head coach of a cross country team in small high school in a small town filled with Mexican immigrants. I think what makes this movie stand apart from the other films is that the main characters, mainly the runners, are some of the most likable people. They have a very charismatic energy to them and they're really fun to see them interact with each other and their coach. It also helps that each one has a good amount of depth to them as well as we can see some of their personal dramas that they go through without being too heavy handed. This is well-shot film as they were able to make California a very good looking place and the music has a really cool Mexican vibe to it. Unfortunately, because it's a sports movie some of the plot points of the films were 100% predictable, especially at the last third of the movie, especially when some of the drama scenes felt forced at times. But overall, I think this is a really good film that I believe anyone can enjoy. Of course there are better sports movies out there but as is, it's worth checking out.