Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that if kids are old enough to love basketball and idolize LeBron James, you couldn't ask for a better documentary than More Than a Game. There's a strong emphasis on teamwork, family, and friendship -- the implication being that James wouldn't have been nearly as successful without his mother, teammates, and coaches. The movie is definitely tween-friendly from a content perspective; language includes a couple of "hell"s and a barely audible use of the "N" word, and there are some references to drugs, but always as a negative force. Though there are some hip-hop songs on the soundtrack, they're generally edited for content. In addition to James, the movie includes many other inspirational stories and characters to take home and remember -- and, as a bonus, you'll get plenty of gripping basketball footage worth cheering over.
Sexual
Content
The players occasionally mention the existence of adoring female fans and that you could play basketball to "get girls." It's implied that there could have been some hanky-panky, but nothing is shown or explicitly verbalized.
Violence
Nothing more than the usual fouls and jostles on the basketball court.
Language
Mostly clean, but there are at least two uses of the word "hell" during interviews, and the "N" word is barely audible in the background during a noisy team home video. A man in a restaurant calls the newly famous James a "jerk" as a way to illustrate how difficult James' celebrity was.
Social
Behavior
Though the movie spends a lot of time on NBA superstar LeBron James, it focuses more on the concept of teamwork than on a one-man show -- each of his teammates gets equal time on camera. The movie is also filled with messages about the importance of family, and the central four players/best friends are shown bonding and trusting one another -- the movie celebrates how their trust and friendship translate to the court. The destructive power of arrogance is also illustrated, and there's a general tone that while basketball was the key for most of these kids, it's also not the end-all, be-all of life.
Consumerism
The players speak jealously of an early rival team being sponsored by Nike -- but later on, when their own stars rise, they're happy about having been sponsored by Adidas. One player jokingly recommends that all athletes eat Wheaties. Gatorade is mentioned.
Drugs / Tobacco /
Alcohol
Drugs are referred to as a reality of life for some of the players who came from the projects, but the movie doesn't indicate that any of the players ever tried drugs; it presents the players as being clean and healthy, and drugs are constantly labeled as something negative, a temptation and a bad influence to be overcome and beaten. In this light, there are images of teenagers smoking pot in a housing project.
