Like Mike (2002)

User Rating:

4.4/10   

Director:

John Schultz

Writers (WGA):

Michael Elliot (story)
Michael Elliot (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

3 July 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Sport

Tagline:

Think like Mike, Achieve like Mike, Be Like Mike.

Plot:

A 14-year-old orphan becomes an NBA superstar after trying on a pair of sneakers with the faded initials "M.J." inside.

Plot Keywords:

Shoe | Lightning | Orphanage | Orphan | Basketball

Awards:

1 win & 6 nominations

Cast

Bow Wow	...	Calvin Cambridge
Morris Chestnut	...	Tracey Reynolds
Jonathan Lipnicki	...	Murph
Brenda Song	...	Reg Stevens
Jesse Plemons	...	Ox
Julius Ritter	...	Marlon (as Julius Charles Ritter)
Crispin Glover	...	Stan Bittleman
Anne Meara	...	Sister Theresa
Robert Forster	...	Coach Wagner
Eugene Levy	...	Frank Bernard
Roger W. Morrissey	...	Marvin Joad (as Roger Morrissey)
Timon Kyle	...	Henderson
Stephen Thompson	...	Smith
Alex Krilov	...	Krivov
David Brown	...	Jones

MPAA:

Rated PG for brief mild language.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | Brazil:Livre | Malaysia:U | USA:PG (certificate #39104) | Finland:K-3 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | France:U | Germany:6 | Netherlands:AL | Peru:PT | Philippines:G | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

First Union Center - 3601 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The footage of the game shown when Calvin and his friends tie up Mr. Bittleman is actually from the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk Contest which Vince Carter won.

Goofs:

Continuity: After the game there are balloons of various colors on the court, yet only red, white, and blue balloons were previously shown hanging in the rafters, ready to drop.

Quotes:

Coach Wagner: How could we lose to the BULLS?

Movie Connections:

Features Space Jam (1996)

Soundtrack:

Getcha Head In The Game

Not Bad For Its Type

An unusually strong supporting cast (including Crispin Glover, Robert Forster, Eugene Levy and Anne Meara) enlivens this simple family comedy built around the appealing young actor Lil' Bow Wow. He plays an orphan who, upon finding a magical pair of sneakers, becomes an NBA superstar and in the process befriends another player (Morris Chestnut) with his own family problems. Bow Wow will have an appeal to children of various ages because his own age seems indeterminate; he can act like a teenager (managing various relationships in the orphanage, rallying his teammates) or a pre-teen (gorging himself on so much food he gets sick, saying his prayers at bedtime); and his winning smile makes him non-threatening to adults. There's absolutely nothing that isn't predictable here and the film itself culls themes and sequences from other family films such as `Home Alone' and `E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial'. There's also nothing objectionable either: it's barely above the level of a Disney Channel movie so kids will gobble it up, which isn't a bad thing. The NBA had a hand in making the film in an obvious attempt to improve its bad boy image, and naturally most of the real players come off as kindly, caring and ready to perform good works. (Fortunately, there are exceptions: Allen Iverson doesn't play cute and Gary Payton treats Bow Wow as an equal on the court, making him pay.) Not bad for its genre--that supporting cast definitely helps, especially the always-welcome Glover and Levy--but hardly memorable.