# The Long Game (film)
**The Long Game** is a 2024 American sports drama film directed by Julio Quintana, based on the book *Mustang Miracle* by Humberto G. Garcia. It dramatizes the true story of five Mexican American teenage caddies in 1950s [Del Rio, Texas](https://www.edgepedia.org/del-rio-texas), who, barred from playing at the country club where they worked, formed their own high school golf team, built a makeshift course in the fields, and won the 1957 Texas State High School Golf Championship.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_long_game/cast-and-crew) • [2](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/the-long-game) • [3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Long-Game-The-%282024%29)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / writers | Julio Quintana, director and screenwriter; screenplay by Paco Farias, Jennifer C. Stetson, and Quintana, from Garcia's book[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_long_game/cast-and-crew) |
| Source | *Mustang Miracle*, a book by Humberto G. Garcia, a Del Rio native[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_long_game/cast-and-crew) • [4](https://www.axios.com/local/san-antonio/2024/04/12/long-game-movie-times-san-antonio) |
| Historical subject | Five young Mexican American caddies who won the 1957 Texas State High School Golf Championship[2](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/the-long-game) |
| Principal cast | Jay Hernandez (JB Peña), Dennis Quaid (Frank Mitchell), Cheech Marin (Pollo), Julian Works (Joe Treviño), Jaina Lee Ortiz (Lucy Peña)[5](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/the-long-game/umc.cmc.56f1xd0zp46idnka5cven2lh4) |
| Release | Premiered at SXSW in March 2023; wide U.S. theatrical release April 12, 2024 by Mucho Mas Media[6](https://movie.guru/the-long-game-movie-review) • [3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Long-Game-The-%282024%29) |
| Box office | $3,060,040 domestic, on an opening weekend of $1,300,398 in 1,030 theaters[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Long-Game-The-%282024%29) |
| Reception | Metascore 65 on Metacritic; 82% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 33 reviews[7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-long-game/critic-reviews/) • [5](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/the-long-game/umc.cmc.56f1xd0zp46idnka5cven2lh4) |
## Spoilers
### Story and historical background
The film is set in 1956, when JB Peña ([Jay Hernandez](https://www.edgepedia.org/jay-hernandez)) moves with his wife Lucy ([Jaina Lee Ortiz](https://www.edgepedia.org/jaina-lee-ortiz)) to Del Rio, Texas, partly for a job as school superintendent and partly to pursue his dream of joining the all-white Del Rio Country Club. Rejected on the basis of his skin color, he encounters a group of young Latino caddies at the club who have taught themselves golf on a handmade course they built in the country. With little experience and few resources, JB convinces the boys to form their own high school golf team.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_long_game/cast-and-crew)
The real team behind the story won the 1957 Texas State High School Golf Championship.[2](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/the-long-game) The San Felipe High School team did not exist until the 1954-55 school year, and one of the real players, Lupe Felan, missed the film's 2023 world premiere in Austin but saw it at a festival in San Diego.[8](https://sports.yahoo.com/long-game-tells-yucca-valley-161859305.html) Common Sense Media notes that the film offers a glimpse into the mid-20th-century segregation of Latinos in the United States, and that its content, rated PG, includes racial slurs and mild violence.[2](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/the-long-game)
## Cast and production
[Dennis Quaid](https://www.edgepedia.org/dennis-quaid) plays Frank Mitchell, JB's mentor, and also served as a producer alongside Javier Chapa, Ben Howard, Laura Quaid, and Marla Quintana; Jay Hernandez was an executive producer.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_long_game/cast-and-crew) The young team is played by [Julian Works](https://www.edgepedia.org/julian-works) (Joe Treviño), Gregory Diaz IV (Gene Vasquez), Miguel Ángel García (Felipe Romero), Christian Gallegos (Mario Lomas), and José Julián (Lupe Felan), with [Cheech Marin](https://www.edgepedia.org/cheech-marin), Brett Cullen, Oscar Nunez, and Paulina Chávez in supporting roles.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_long_game/cast-and-crew) • [5](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/the-long-game/umc.cmc.56f1xd0zp46idnka5cven2lh4)
Production and postproduction were partly carried out in Colombia, with Jaguar Bite providing audiovisual services and Mucho Mas Media as the beneficiary production house; the film's regions of origin are listed as the United States and Colombia.[9](https://comisionfilmicacolombia.com/peliculas/the-long-game/) • [5](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/the-long-game/umc.cmc.56f1xd0zp46idnka5cven2lh4) Alex Quintana was the cinematographer, Hanan Townshend composed the original music, and James K. Crouch edited.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_long_game/cast-and-crew)
## Release and reception
The film premiered at SXSW in March 2023 and reached U.S. theaters about 13 months later, on April 12, 2024.[6](https://movie.guru/the-long-game-movie-review) It opened at $1,300,398 from 1,030 theaters, 42.5% of its eventual $3,060,040 domestic total, and a home video release followed on April 30, 2024 from Universal Home Entertainment.[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Long-Game-The-%282024%29) The Associated Press reported a $1.4 million gross for its opening weekend.[10](https://apnews.com/article/0933dabd6d399e3c10c2cd49378a102d)
Critics received it as a well-made but conventional underdog sports drama. The Austin Chronicle scored it 78 and called it well shot with potential as a "first generation American anthem"; RogerEbert.com gave it 75, writing that the story is ultimately about dedication, resilience, and doing better than one's dreams; Screen Rant gave it 70; and IndieWire, at 58, argued that the film's struggle to balance feel-good sports tropes with the deeper concerns of the story holds it back.[7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-long-game/critic-reviews/) The aggregated Metascore is 65, with four positive reviews and one mixed out of five sampled.[7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-long-game/critic-reviews/) Mediaversity Reviews praised the film's Mexican American heroes and behind-the-scenes Latino creatives while criticizing its use of white-savior conventions and respectability politics.[11](https://www.mediaversityreviews.com/film-reviews/2023/3/14/the-long-game) The film later streamed on Netflix in the United States.[12](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-long-game)
## Other film of the same name
A separate, unrelated feature also titled *The Long Game* is a neo-noir directed by Jace Anderson, written with Adam Gierasch from Janet Fitch's short story "The Method," starring [Kathleen Turner](https://www.edgepedia.org/kathleen-turner), Jackie Earle Haley, and Sekai Abenì. Vertical acquired its North American rights in October 2024 for a 2025 theatrical and on-demand release.[13](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/vertical-acquires-indie-neo-noir-170000918.html)
## References
1. [The Long Game: Cast and Crew, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_long_game/cast-and-crew)
2. [The Long Game: Parents' Guide and Movie Review, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/the-long-game)
3. [The Long Game (2024), Box Office and Financial Information, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Long-Game-The-%282024%29)
4. ["The Long Game" has San Antonio connections, Axios San Antonio](https://www.axios.com/local/san-antonio/2024/04/12/long-game-movie-times-san-antonio)
5. [The Long Game, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/the-long-game/umc.cmc.56f1xd0zp46idnka5cven2lh4)
6. [The Long Game (2023), movie.guru](https://movie.guru/the-long-game-movie-review)
7. [The Long Game critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-long-game/critic-reviews/)
8. ['The Long Game' tells Yucca Valley man's story of high school golf, discrimination, Yahoo Sports](https://sports.yahoo.com/long-game-tells-yucca-valley-161859305.html)
9. [The Long Game, Comisión Fílmica Colombia](https://comisionfilmicacolombia.com/peliculas/the-long-game/)
10. ['Civil War' declares victory at the box office, Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/0933dabd6d399e3c10c2cd49378a102d)
11. [The Long Game, Mediaversity Reviews](https://www.mediaversityreviews.com/film-reviews/2023/3/14/the-long-game)
12. [The Long Game streaming: where to watch online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-long-game)
13. [Vertical Acquires Indie Neo-Noir 'The Long Game' Starring Kathleen Turner and Jackie Earle Haley, Yahoo Entertainment](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/vertical-acquires-indie-neo-noir-170000918.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Films by genre, form, and subject › Documentary and biographical films › Individual biographical and docudrama films › Sports figures*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license