The Long Game (film)

The Long Game is a 2023 American historical sports drama film adaptation of Humberto G. Garcia's 2010 book Mustang Miracle. The film is directed by Julio Quintana and stars Jay Hernandez, Julian Works, Jaina Lee Ortiz, Brett Cullen, Oscar Nuñez, Paulina Chávez, Gregory Diaz IV, José Julián, Cheech Marin, and Dennis Quaid. The film was released theatrically in the United States by Mucho Mas Media on April 12, 2024.

The Long Game
Release poster
Directed by	Julio Quintana
Screenplay by	Paco Farias Jennifer C. Stetson Julio Quintana
Based on	Mustang Miracle by Humberto G. Garcia
Produced by	Ben Howard Dennis Quaid Laura Quaid Marla Quintana Javier Chapa
Starring	Jay Hernandez Julian Works Jaina Lee Ortiz Brett Cullen Oscar Nuñez Paulina Chávez Gregory Diaz IV José Julián Cheech Marin Dennis Quaid
Cinematography	Alex Quintana
Edited by	James K. Crouch
Music by	Hanan Townshend
Production companies	HarbourView Fifth Season Mucho Mas Media Bonniedale Jaguar Bite
Distributed by	Mucho Mas Releasing
Release dates	March 12, 2023 (2023-03-12) (SXSW) April 12, 2024 (2024-04-12) (United States)
Running time	112 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$3.1 million[1][2]

Premise

The film tells the true story of the San Felipe Mustangs, a group of Mexican-American youths located in Del Rio, Texas. In the 1950s, the group set out to play golf at a white country club in town in order to have a high school team. Despite prejudice and obstacles, the Mustangs succeeded in becoming the 1957 Texas state champions.^[3][4]

Cast

• Jay Hernandez as JB Peña
• Dennis Quaid as Frank Mitchell
• Cheech Marin as Pollo
• Julian Works as Joe Treviño
• Jaina Lee Ortiz as Lucy Peña
• Brett Cullen as Judge Milton Cox
• Oscar Nuñez as Principal Guerra
• Paulina Chávez as Daniela Torres
• Gregory Diaz IV as Gene Vasquez
• Miguel Angel Garcia as Felipe Romero
• Christian Gallegos as Mario Lomas
• José Julián as Lupe Felan
• Gillian Vigman as Gayle Baker
• Richard Robichaux as Don Glenn
• Jimmy Gonzalez as Adelio Treviño
• Michael Southworth as Tim Cox
• Mykle McCoslin as Margaret Cox
• Heather Kafka as Alice Glenn

Production

In June 2022, it was announced that Jay Hernandez, Jaina Lee Ortiz, Dennis Quaid, and Julian Works would star in the film. Jay Hernandez is one of the executive producers along with Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez.^[4]

Release

The Long Game premiered at the 2023 South by Southwest Film & TV Festival on March 12, 2023. It was theatrically released by Mucho Mas Media on April 12, 2024.^[5][6] The movie made its streaming debut on Netflix in the United States on July 12, 2024.^[7]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 81% of 31 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The website's consensus reads: "An appealing underdog story based on an uplifting true story, The Long Game represents a triumph of sheer heart over well-worn narrative formula."^[8] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 65 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.^[9]

Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com gave the film a positive review and wrote that it "transcends its clichés by being true to its characters and artistic in its approach."^[10] Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter also gave the film a positive review and wrote, "Could have used more topspin, but a winning round nonetheless."^[11] Therese Lacson of Collider graded the film a C and wrote, "The Long Game isn't awful, it's perfectly serviceable as a sports flick about an inspiring all-American team, but that's all that it is: it's fine. There's little to write home about and it feels like a case of unfulfilled potential."^[12]