In 1956, JB Pena (Jay Hernandez) and his wife Lucy (Jaina Lee Ortiz) moved to the small town of Del Rio, Texas, partly for a job as a school superintendent, but mostly to fulfill JB's dream of joining the prestigious, all-white Del Rio Country Club, So when JB is rejected on the basis of his skin color, he is devastated. But his world soon collides with a group of young Latino golf caddies who work at the country club, and JB is inspired by the handmade course the boys built in the country to teach themselves golf. With little experience and even fewer resources, JB convinces the boys consisting of Joe Trevino (Julian Works), Felipe Romero (Miguel Angel Garcia), Gene Vasquez (Gregory Diaz IV), Mario Lomas (Christian Gallegos) and Lupe Felan (Jose Julian), to start their own high school golf team with his WWII buddy and golfer himself, Frank Mitchell (Denis Quaid) to assist him with the team. This all starts them all on a journey where they learn that it takes more than just golf skills to make history.
Others to round out the cast are Paulina Chavez as Daniella Torres, Jimmy Gonzales as Joe's father, Gillian Vigman as Gayle Baker, Cheech Marin as Pollo, Oscar Nunez as Principal Guerra, Richard Robichaux as Don Glenn, Heather Kafka as Alice Glenn, Michael Southworth as Tim Cox and Brett Cullen as Judge Milton.
This was brilliantly and honestly directed by Julio Quintana ("The Vessel" '16, "Blue Miracle" '21) plus shorts. The way this filmmaker was able to encourage his actors to exude the emotions of these different characters was stunning, not to mention the pacing and staging which was also exemplary. The writing was also executed with thoroughness and thoughtfulness by Julio Quintana ("The Vessel" '16, "Blue Miracle" '21) plus shorts, Jennifer Stetson ("Christmas with You" '22) plus a short and Paco Farias ("Christmas with You" '22) plus shorts, which is based on the novel "Mustang Miracle" by Humberto G. Garcia. The sequencing of the script was concise, and the cohesiveness was amazing. In fact, the only error that I noticed was a short 3 second scene that obtained a 1958 Chevy, which, this being set in 1956, this car wasn't designed yet. I happened to be a vintage car enthusiast so I know this is accurate. Chevy only designed this Chevy in 1958. But was this enough to 'ding' the film on? Absolutely not--just a bit of trivia. The cast of Jay Hernandez, Dennis Quaid and Julian Works was solid as was the rest of the cast as well. Even though these filmmakers don't have a plethora of experience, given more work, they will only get better with time.
If you like biopics or films about golf or sports in general, this will be the film for you. I must say, I'm not really a golf fan, and this truly held my attention given the writing, directing and even acting, not to mention that it was interesting going back in time in a different cultural element. It was a couple of hours well spent.
Out of 4 Stars: 4 Rated: PG 113mins.
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