Dru is a high school basketball player with a lot of confidence, a lot of talent, and a big dream.
He wants to win a state championship. He wants to play college basketball. He also wants to play in the NBA.
Dru, though, has a problem: He's a rising freshman for a coach who doesn't play underclassmen.
But Dru has a plan. He and his teammates – the so-called "Fab 5" – will transfer to a different school, St. Vincent-St. Mary, where they'll play for a well-known coach who has experience in the college ranks.
And if all goes well, Dru and his teammates will rise to stardom.
Will the plan work?
The new Peacock movie Shooting Stars tells the true story of Dru and his teammates, including the best-known one: current NBA star LeBron James. (The others: Sian Cotton, Romeo Travis and Willie McGee.) It follows their first-year battle for playing time and then their sophomore, junior and senior years when they competed for state and national championships.
Here are three things you should know about the film:
Photo courtesy: ©Universal Pictures, used with permission.
1. It's a Sports Superhero Backstory
As most basketball fans know, LeBron James was one of the most decorated high school players of all time and skipped college in order to become the No. 1 pick in the 2003 NBA draft. Lesser known is the behind-the-scenes story of his high school years when he and his teammates overcame jealousy, strife and trials to become a tight-knit group of lifelong friends.
The film opens in 1996 in Akron, Ohio, when James and his friends are around 10 years old but soon fast forwards to the months prior to their freshman season when they transfer to a private Catholic school. They quickly get the attention of their coach when they beat the seniors in a pick-up game, earning starting jobs in the lineup.
"That kid's a freshman? I've never seen anything like that," one of the seniors quips.
Although they win the state title as freshmen, they find that future titles don't come as easy.
The film is based on the book of the same name by James and Buzz Bissinger.
Photo courtesy: ©Universal Pictures, used with permission.
2. It's a Movie about Growing through Trials
It's a good thing to have a star player on your team. But as Shooting Stars reveals, it's not easy.
James drives a nice car. (His mom took out a loan.) James gets invited to parties. (They don't.) James also signs autographs wherever he goes. (To be fair, they get attention, too, but it's often an afterthought within the national media.)
For the most part, he handles it well, showering compliments on his teammates in interviews. Sometimes, though, it goes to his head, such as when he tells his girlfriend she "won the lottery" by dating him. (They later marry.)
The Fab 4 don't win four state championships – something the film blames on the group losing their focus due to distractions.
James isn't the only player who occasionally struggles with his ego. We watch as a second player – Dru – refuses to follow the coach's orders to leave the game and then refuses to run the right play.
Photo courtesy: ©Universal Pictures, used with permission.
3. It's a Movie about Friendship
Basketball is only part of the story. The most inspiring part of the plot involves their friendship.
Midway through the movie, James asks his mom if she still stays in contact with her former high school classmates.
"No," she says. "That's just how life is sometimes." She adds: You enter the real world, and you grow apart.
"That's not really what I wanted to hear," James responds.
James knows he's on the verge of stardom. He's graced the cover of Sports Illustrated ("The Chosen One," the cover says.) James, though, wants what money and fame cannot purchase: Life-long friendship. As Proverbs 18:24 says, "A real friend sticks closer than a brother."
As we learn, James and his teammates reached many of their goals. Three played college basketball. Another one became an athletic director.
More importantly, they remained friends.
"This is an authentic true story, and LeBron James and his friends are still friends to this day," director Chris Robinson told Crosswalk. "... The championship was the least important part of it all."
Shooting Stars isn't kid-friendly, mostly due to an abundance of coarse, strong language (see below) and a party scene of underage drinking.
Still, the film has a good theme. Shooting Stars encourages us to keep in touch with friends from the past. It urges us to build deep relationships that are forged by trial, forgiveness, reconciliation and love. Those are the film's best lessons.
Shooting Stars is rated. Language details: A-- (20), b--ch (3), n-word (1), h-ll (9), GD (2), d--n (2), f-word (1), s--t (24), b----rd (2), We hear a joke about porn. We also hear women called "h--s."
Entertainment rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
Family-friendly rating: 2 out of 5 stars.
Photo courtesy: ©Universal, used with permission.
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.