© Disney
Rated: PG
When Jim White (Kevin Costner), a down-on-his-luck track coach, lands a relatively low-paying job as a central California P.E. teacher in the farming community of McFarland, Calif., he’s surprised to find that the school’s largely Hispanic population contains several gifted distance runners. Based on the 1987 true story of White’s efforts to form a winning cross-country track team from the children of migrant workers, Disney’s heart-warming tale notes the change in White’s attitude as he realizes that any kid can succeed given the right help and opportunities. Footage of White’s kids in training and competing is cinematically rewarding, as is seeing a bunch of entitled, upper-class kids learn they have underestimated White’s scrappy, determined team.
