RSS 2.0 FeedOctober 28, 2009, Film
"More Than a Game" is a slam dunk
The title alone, "More Than a Game," says it all. This glorious, honest documentary is more than a film about basketball. It's more than the rise of LeBron James to superstar status in the NBA. Instead, it's a captivating glimpse into the formative years of five boys whose deep friendship, with the positive influence of their coaches, carries them through trials and tribulations and on into manhood.
The title alone, More Than a Game, says it all. This glorious, honest documentary is more than a film about basketball. It's more than the rise of LeBron James to superstar status in the NBA. Instead, it's a captivating glimpse into the formative years of five boys whose deep friendship, with the positive influence of their coaches, carries them through trials and tribulations and on into manhood.
LeBron James. Dru Joyce III. Romeo Travis. Sian Cotton. Willie McGee. They are the "Fab Five" of the St. Vincent-St. Mary High School basketball team and its 20 minutes until the start of the 2003 national high school basketball championship game. Coach Dru Joyce is giving the last pre-game speech they will ever hear together. Hearts are pounding. Looks of determination abound.
Suddenly, we are transported back to the 1990s where James, Joyce, Cotton and McGee (Travis didn't join them until high school) play for an AAU team in Akron, Ohio. They practice in a Salvation Army gym. They sell duct tape and baked goods to pay for uniforms and trips. And they each have a heartbreaking story to tell that is unfortunately all too common in urban America.
Yes, we learn (perhaps for the first time for non-basketball fans) that a fatherless James and his mother moved from place to place and ultimately ended up in the projects. It reminds of how low the media can be sometimes when news outlets built up James as the greatest thing since sliced bread, but were more than eager to tear him down when they got bored of praising him.
However, a strength of More Than a Game is that it doesn't focus exclusively on James. For instance, through their soul-bearing interviews, we learn that Joyce III was ridden so hard by his father/coach, who is clearly guilt-ridden by it, that their personal relationship then was almost nonexistent. We also see the pressures Cotton had to deal with because of the long shadow his father created when he was a star athlete in Akron.
On the court, More Than a Game is not all about glory. It's warts and all. Squabbles. Egos. Fear of failure. Determination. Friendship. Loyalty. And ultimately, triumph. The Fab Five do win the 2003 basketball title but you realize that it's a coming-of-age event for the players. Coach Joyce and their life experiences, on and off the court, have prepared them to be men with good character. And no matter what, they will always have each other. Because of that, being a former high school basketball coach myself, every coach and his team should watch this film together.
On a letter grade scale from A being excellent to F for failing, More Than a Game receives an A-.
More Than a Game is rated PG and has a running time of 91 minutes.
Now showing through October 29 @
Tivoli Cinemas
Westport Manor Square, 4050 Pennsylvania, KCMO
Visit www.tivolikc.com or call 913-383-7756 for showtimes.
Indie Film Editor
Michael D. Smith earned a Bachelor of Arts in history at College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri followed by a Master of Arts in history at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Inspired by such critics as Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, Michael started reviewing films in 1992 for College of the Ozarks's student-run newspaper. After returning to the Kansas City area in 1994, he continued film reviewing by writing for the Cass County Democrat Missourian in Harrisonville.
In 2000 Michael joined Sun Publications in Overland Park, Kansas where he served as its film critic and Arts and Entertainment Editor. During his tenure there, he was also the film critic for the "Fine Arts Radio Hour" and "Celebrity Scoop" radio shows on KXTR. After leaving the Sun in late 2002, he became the A&E writer for the Olathe News in Olathe, Kansas. He also worked as a freelance writer for The Squire in Leawood, Showcase Publishing in Lake Ozark, Missouri and the Kansas City Star.
Michael is currently a member of the Kansas City Film Critics Circle, a professional film critic organization established in 1966 by the late Dr. James Loutzenhiser.
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