Pint-size rap music star Lil Bow Wow shows that he can play ball as well as he raps in this youth-oriented comedy about a young boy whose dream comes true in an unexpected way. Calvin Cambridge (Lil Bow Wow) is a 14-year-old boy, who, since the death of his parents, has been living in an orphanage run by the unpleasantly eccentric Stan Bittleman (Crispin Glover). While the tough but caring Sister Theresa (Anne Meara) tries to encourage the kids, Calvin knows that he and most of the other kids his age are poor prospects for adoption. Calvin loves basketball and idolizes Michael Jordan, but he's too short to be much of a challenge to the older kids when shooting hoop at the playground. One day, Calvin discovers a pair of old basketball sneakers with the initials "MJ" written on the inside. Calvin is convinced they once belonged to Michael Jordan, but he can hardly believe what happens when he puts them on -- suddenly he's able to make superhuman jump shots and dunks just like a miniature version of Air Jordan himself. Calvin's newly developed talent on the court comes to the attention of Frank Bernard (Eugene Levy), the manager of the Los Angeles Knights, an NBA team having a humiliating season. Bernard brings Calvin to the team as a novelty item, but with the help of Coach Wagner (Robert Forster) and the new kid's can-do attitude, the Knights start to climb out of the cellar and look like possible season champs. However, Tracey Reynolds (Morris Chestnut), who used to be the team's star player, isn't happy to have his thunder stolen by a 14-year-old boy -- especially when he's made Calvin's roommate and de-facto guardian on the road. Like Mike also features cameo appearances by a number of pro basketball stars, including Allen Iverson, Chris Webber, and Jason Kidd. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Review
This fantasy gives the Nike catch phrase "It's gotta be the shoes" a whole new meaning. Transposing Rookie of the Year's pipsqueak-in-the-pros formula to basketball, Like Mike rides an astonishingly natural performance from rapper Lil Bow Wow all the way to easy grins and harmless escapism. The idea of a 14-year-old in the NBA also has an ironic timeliness, as the feature was released in an era in which the sport was coming under fire for enticing teenage athletes to skip college. As a socially responsible children's movie, however, Like Mike makes sure to include footage of Calvin Cambridge continuing to do his homework, even as he's on the road with the team, trailed by a media circus. (Less commendable is the copycat-prone scene in which Calvin gets zapped while fishing the sneakers in question from an electrical wire). Though it contains more establishing shots of its primary product tie-in (L.A.'s Staples Center) than actual jump shots, Like Mike does mostly have its priorities in order. With real player Spud Webb having demonstrated that height is not an absolute prerequisite for NBA success, the concept isn't even that far-fetched, though its execution is hardly seamless, with the dunking Calvin looking jerkily airlifted toward the basket. Lil Bow Wow holds the shakier moments together with a grounded performance, his doe eyes expressing volumes of excitement and disappointment. He also buries his instinctual rapper machismo, embracing the film's kiddie focus. Notable supporting performances include Crispin Glover, whose oddball tics are a pleasure in such a mainstream movie, and Jonathan Lipnicki, who still seems barely to have aged in the six years since Jerry Maguire. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi
Eugene Levy; Brenda Song - Reg; Jesse Plemons - Ox; Julius Charles Ritter - Marlon; Anne Meara; Pat Croce; Michael Finley; Lethon Flowers III; Steve Francis; Jason Kidd - Himself; Tracy McGrady; Alonzo Mourning; Steve Nash; Dirk Nowitzki; Gary Payton; Jason Richardson; David Robinson; Takeo Spikes; Reggie Theus; John Robert Thompson; Rasheed Wallace; Gerald Wallis; Chris Webber; Vanessa A. Williams - Pharmacist; Kevin Garnett - Himself
Credit
John R. Zachary - Art Director, Risa Bramon Garcia - Casting, Anne Fletcher - Choreography, Reggie Theus - Consultant/advisor, Garrett Grant - Co-producer, Jermaine Dupri - Co-producer, Teresa Caldwell - Co-producer, Michael Mauldin - Co-producer, Mary Jane Fort - Costume Designer, Gary Marcus - First Assistant Director, John Schultz - Director, Peter E. Berger - Editor, John Pace - Editor, Adam Silver - Executive Producer, Gregg Winik - Executive Producer, Richard Gibbs - Composer (Music Score), Billy Gottlieb - Musical Direction/Supervision, Arlan Jay Vetter - Production Designer, Shawn Maurer - Cinematographer, Barry Josephson - Producer, Peter Heller - Producer, Kristen Davis - Set Designer, Colin de Rouin - Set Designer, Suzette Sheets - Set Designer, David MacMillan - Sound/Sound Designer, Pete Antico - Stunts, Kelsee L. King-Devoreaux - Stunts, Michael Elliot - Screen Story, Jordan Moffet - Screenwriter, Michael Elliot - Screenwriter, Jack Perez - Additional Cinematography, Raymond McIntyre Jr. - Visual Effects Supervisor, Jermaine Dupri - Executive Music Producer, Michael Mauldin - Executive Music Producer, Paul Lombardi - Special Effects Coordinator, John A. Larsen - Supervising Sound Editor, Pixel Magic - Visual Effects
Calvin Cambridge, Reg Stevens and Murph are teenage orphans who are best friends. At night, they sell chocolates for the greedy orphanage director, Stan Bittleman, (Crispin Glover) at each home game of the Los Angeles Knights (a fictional NBA franchise team loosely based on the Los Angeles Clippers).
One night after a game, Calvin meets the team's coach, who is impressed by Calvin's knowledge of basketball and honesty about the chocolates he sells and offers to Calvin, tickets for the next Knights game. The next day, Calvin obtains a pair of old sneakers (blue and white Nike Blazers) from a Salvation ArmyThrift Store that had reportedly been used by a great basketball player, when he was a boy. The shoes have the initials MJ written on them, Calvin thinks they used to belong to Michael Jordan.
Calvin's new sneakers are taken by a bully called Ox, who throws them onto an overhead power line. Calvin tries to retrieve them the same night in a rainstorm, so as to get it when, Ox is not around and when retrieving the sneakers gets hit by a lightning bolt.
Next Day, Calvin and his friends go to the basketball game between the Knights and the Minnesota Timberwolves with the free tickets. The Knights are, at present, one of the worst teams in the league. After the second quarter ends, the team's best player, Tracy Reynolds, prepares for a half time contest, to play one-on-one with a randomly picked ticket from the audience, Calvin's ticket is picked to play. Before the contest begins, a man in the crowd notices that one of Calvin's shoe lace is untied and as, Calvin leans down to tie it, whispers to his sneakers - "Make me like Mike". As the contest begins, Calvin notices that he has NBA superstar talent; he wins the contest with a dunk after bouncing the ball off the backboard, leaving the crowd speechless and Calvin is signed to a one-day contract by the Knights. Calvin prepares for his first game with the Knights against the San Antonio Spurs, but is benched for the game. As the game plays, the Knights start losing badly and Coach Wagner decides to let Calvin play in the fourth quarter. However, Calvin remembers that he can't play without his sneakers and calls a time out to get them, by lying that he needs a bathroom break. He comes back out and leads a comeback against the Spurs which results in an unexpected win, and leads him getting a season contract with the Knights. Reynolds becomes his mentor through the NBA's mentoring program, as Calvin is a minor. Calvin brings teamwork to the struggling Knights and makes them one of the best teams in the league.
Calvin's life experiences luxury for the first time while on the road with the team. He gets to visit hotels and places, he never imagined existed, and has Reynolds for roommate on the road. Calvin starts taking the headlines and becomes the talk, all around sports media and the NBA. Calvin also wins the Slam Dunk Contest, which makes Tracy gradually respect Calvin.
Meanwhile, back home, Bittleman signs a contract with the team, to cash in all of Calvin's money until he's eighteen, or adopted. When the latter is about to become true, Bittleman steals Calvin's shoes and bets US$100,000 against the Knights losing the next game.
After negotiating with Ox and his friends, to tie selfish Bittleman to a chair, Calvin subdues the orphanage director and becomes friends with Ox. Ox helps Calvin retrieve his shoes out of Bittleman's safe and they head to the arena on electric scooters with Calvin's sneakers to get away from Bittleman. However, Bittleman escapes and manages to send several goons after Calvin in a failed attempt to steal the shoes. Calvin makes it to the arena with the shoes after the 3rd quarter ends with Vince Carter and the Toronto Raptors routing the Knights 80–59.
Calvin is reluctantly put into the game, after Tracy convinces the Coach not to bench Calvin as the team will not be in a position to play in the playoffs without him and the Knights start to make a comeback. After a pile-on towards the end of the game, Calvin's shoes are ruined with the Knights down by one point. During the following timeout, Calvin tells the team that he will retire after this game, without revealing the reason the cause for his skills being destroyed. On the last play, Calvin is not as skillful as before without his shoes, and goes through a bit of struggle, but still manages to pump fake to get Vince Carter to jump and Calvin passes the ball to Tracy after going under Carter who is in mid-air and Tracy makes the game-winning shot at the buzzer, to clinch the Knights their first ever playoff victory.
After going back to his Orphanage, Calvin and Murph get adopted by Tracy and Reg by a different family but they still keep in touch. It is also revealed that Bittleman is missing because he doesn't have enough money to pay the bet and the Orphanage is now sponsored by the Knights.
A sequel, titled Like Mike 2: Streetball, was released direct to DVD in 2006. The original characters do not make an appearance, but keeps a similar plot.
Box office performance
The film opened at #5 with a 3-day gross of $12,179,420 from 2,410 theaters for an average of $5,054 per venue, and a $19,018,444 gross since its Wednesday launch. It closed on November 19, 2002 with a final domestic gross of $51,432,760. The film did not do nearly as well overseas making $10,842,020, but with a total worldwide gross of $62,274,780, it was still a financial success, as the film cost only $30 million to make.
Wikipedia on Answers.com. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Like Mike. Read more
