Shooting Stars, 2023.
Directed by Chris Johnson.
Starring Mookie Cook, Caleb McLaughlin, Algee Smith, Dermot Mulroney, Wood Harris, Natalie Paul, Katlyn Nichol, Avery Serell Wills Jr., Scoot Henderson, Khalil Everage, Bryant Carroll, Diane Howard, Jon Solomon, Mark McNeil II, Rohn Thomas, Jim Cirner, and LeBron James.
SYNOPSIS:
The inspiring origin story of a basketball superhero, revealing how LeBron James and his childhood friends become the #1 high school team in the country, launching James’s breathtaking career as a four-time NBA Champion, two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, and the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
Before LeBron James played for the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, and Los Angeles Lakers (his current team), he was a high school basketball phenomenon hooping alongside childhood friends Lil Dru, Sian, and Willie he met in fifth grade, balling for the Northeast Ohio Shooting Stars. However, Shooting Stars is not strictly about the basketball origins of one of the greatest players in the history of the game but is committed to the bond between four young boys and how it deepened and subsequently cracked by their senior year due to LeBron James’ meteor rise in popularity and coverage in sports magazines, creating an ego in desperate need of humbling.
Some might say LeBron James still needs to learn lessons in humility, but giving credit where it’s due, this film easily could have been something indulging that ego but instead remains an ensemble piece throughout, occasionally focusing on the friends. And while director Chris Johnson’s Shooting Stars has a made-for-TV feel to it (there’s nothing noteworthy about the craft and not much suspense or excitement to the basketball games themselves aside from a first-time matchup against a heated personal rivalry), it is endearing in the sense that LeBron loves his childhood friends and wants the world to know the part they played in the rise of a legend. Still, there are some strange, amateurish choices here, such as a shot emphasizing the name of a sports journalist during his introduction, only to disappear.
The screenplay from Frank E. Flowers, Tony Rettenmaier, and Juel Taylor (based on the book by LeBron James and Buzz Bissinger) isn’t always the best at handling and balancing the victories and struggles of these characters or even fleshing them all out, but it does effectively hit major beats for everyone. Lil Dru (Caleb McLaughlin) is the shortest of the “Fab Four, told that he would only be good enough for junior varsity, news that causes the group to enroll at Catholic St. Vincent–St. Mary High School, ensuring that they would be able to play together.
Then there is Willie (Avery Serell Wills Jr.), who worries that his skills are falling behind the rest of his friends, and the husky Sian (Khalil Everage), who is less of a character and more present for comedic relief. Of course, the tallest among the friends is LeBron James (Mookie Cook, filling in some extremely big shoes competently), who has been dunking the basketball since freshman year and seemingly always growing. Every second of their lives revolves around basketball in some way; if they are inside playing video games, it’s a basketball one.
Part of their basketball obsession comes from somewhat unhappy home lives, whether it be tragic backstories about parents involving crime or, in the case of Gloria James (Natalie Paul), working so much to provide for LeBron that she gets it always have time to be there for him, although she comes out to as many basketball games as possible. The boys (especially the fatherless ones) find a role model and father figure in their former NCAA coach Keith Dambrot (Dermot Mulroney), who is initially skeptical about playing freshmen right out of the gate, but unable to deny their talent, also perceiving them to be his ticket back to college ball.
Shooting Stars adopts a chapter structure, spending roughly 30 minutes across each high school year, elaborating on how the boys grow and drift apart. As LeBron James begins receiving national media attention, the narrative focus does snap to him, offering a sanitized and family-friendly look at how difficult fame can be to handle at such a young age. He becomes caught up in believing the hype surrounding his future in the NBA, and he slowly starts alienating his friends, including his new girlfriend, Savannah (Katlyn Nichol).
This is also where Shooting Stars stumbles, falling into a ciché rise and fall tale when the camaraderie among friends and spreading the story among them while touching on how their actions influence and shape LeBron James is more compelling. The longer it goes on, the more familiar it becomes, as one hopes it will end soon. However, it is admirable to make a childhood biopic, paying respects to the ones that helped along the way. The narrative builds to a celebration of friendship rather than your typical all-important grand finale game. It’s not necessarily dramatically successful, but LeBron James is sincere about honoring his friends, and that tight-knit brotherhood between them is felt.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
