I found this movie surprisingly satisfying and would recommend it over most family films with much higher budgets. It deals with important developmental issues but has an engaging plot to carry it along.
My 8-year old daughter saw both "The Longshots" and "Wall-E" on the same weekend and said she enjoyed "Longshots" more! I am always encouraged when small-budget movies hold their own against the big, hyped Hollywood movies.
Ice-Cube did a good job with the central role and the other supporting actors were fine as well. Keke Palmer's limited acting range holds back the film a little bit but she is still a compelling character.
The film's plot is fairly predictable but there is a couple of non-standard turns that add some complexity to a story line that has been told before.
Yes, all the central characters are African-American but the issues are not unique to that community. Most children of any ethnicity should relate to the interpersonal issues.
Best I can tell, the PG-13 comes from a frank portrayal of alcohol use and a couple of anatomical jokes. The jokes would be pretty standard fair on network TV.
Unless you are very sensitive to this sort of thing, I think the move would be appropriate for a child about 8 or 9 and above. Below that, most children might miss the social and developmental issues which make the movie most worthwhile, anyway.
I used this movie as an opportunity to discuss with my child about some of the issues involved and it went really well.
In summary, this won't be the most fantastic movie you've ever seen, but I think a lot of families will go away saying, "That was better than I expected!"
