If you don’t know the LeBron James story by now, you’ve probably been actively avoiding the tale of King James all these years, given how he’s been sports-famous since he appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated alongside the headline “THE CHOSEN ONE” when he was just 17 years old and became world famous over the ensuing two decades. Millions of fans are well-versed in all things LeBron, dating back to his upbringing in Akron, Ohio, and the lifelong friendship he forged with four teammates and his coach, as chronicled in the 2009 documentary film “More Than a Game.”
Add to that the myriad of profile pieces done about James over the last two decades, and was there really an urgent need for a fictionalized re-telling of James’ origins story? Of course not, but thanks in large part to a quintet of engaging and talented young performers and the steady presence of some reliable veterans in supporting roles, the Peacock original movie “Shooting Stars” is an entertaining docudrama that rarely digs beneath the surface but serves as a bright and inspirational reminder of a time when basketball was the glue forging a bond among five young boys who started playing together when they were around 10 years old and remain close friends to this day.
Based on the book of the same name by James and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Buzz Bissinger (“Friday Night Lights,” “The Blind Side”), “Shooting Stars” is set in the Akron of the late 1990s and early 2000s, when LeBron (real-life high school basketball star Mookie Cook) and his best pals Lil Dru Joyce (Caleb McLaughlin), Willie McGee (Avery S. Willis) and Sian Cotton (Khalil Everage) make the group decision to eschew the local public-school powerhouse Buchtel in favor of the private Catholic school St. Vincent-St. Mary.
Dermot Mulroney plays the real-life STVM coach Keith Dambrot, a disgraced former college coach who is not above hurling basketballs at the squad as he puts them through the paces, while Wood Harris is a steady, avuncular presence as Dru Joyce (father of Lil Dru), who eventually takes over the reins when Dambrot gets another shot at college ball.
Director Chris Robinson has a keen eye for the basketball scenes and adds some nifty but not overwhelming visual flourishes; he also sprinkles in some surprising but effective needle drops, as when we see a montage of the squad kicking butt set to the sounds of “We’re an American Band” by Grand Funk Railroad.
The self-dubbed “Fab Four” eventually becomes the Fab Five, with each of LeBron’s teammates getting a storyline of his own. Lil Dru is a sharpshooter who isn’t taken seriously because he’s so short. Willie was considered the best player in the state in eighth grade, even better than LeBron, but he leveled out in high school. Sian was constantly battling a weight issue. Relative newcomer Romeo Travis (Sterling Henderson) is a former rival who has anger issues and a possibly checkered past.
We’re eventually introduced to LeBron’s future wife, Savannah (Katlyn Nichol), who is in the unique situation of being in a high school romance with a celebrity. (“Are you done being famous now?” she jibes after LeBron poses for photos and signs autographs outside the local drive-in.) “Shooting Stars” closes with Senior Night, followed by the obligatory epilogue telling us what happened to the real-life Shooting Stars and their coaches.
Spoiler Alert: LeBron made it to the pros.
