Like Mike (2002)
Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins
Theatrical Release: Jul 3, 2002 Wide
Box Office: $51,362,626
Synopsis: Fourteen-year-old Calvin Cambridge (Lil' Bow Wow) spends his days at the orphanage waiting to be adopted and shooting hoops with his best friend, Murph (Jonathan Lipnicki). When he starts to wear a pair of sneakers that used to belong to a famous basketball player and bear the initials... Fourteen-year-old Calvin Cambridge (Lil' Bow Wow) spends his days at the orphanage waiting to be adopted and shooting hoops with his best friend, Murph (Jonathan Lipnicki). When he starts to wear a pair of sneakers that used to belong to a famous basketball player and bear the initials M.J.--ostensibly those of basketball legend Michael Jordan--Calvin's wildest dreams begin to come true. The 4'8" teenager is suddenly an unstoppable force on the basketball court and soon finds himself an indispensable member of the LA Knights, a floundering NBA team. As long as Calvin has his magic sneakers, he believes he can do anything and be "like Mike." Ultimately, despite his newfound fame and fortune, Calvin still yearns for a family to call his own. Morris Chestnut stars as Tracey Reynolds, Calvin's mentor on the Knights team, and Crispin Glover is sufficiently creepy as Bittleman, the greedy head of the orphanage. Basketball fans will love the game footage and multiple cameos from real NBA stars like Allen Iverson and Jason Kidd. Rap star Lil' Bow Wow is impressive in his film debut, and also contributes songs to the soundtrack. [More]
Genre: Comedies
Starring: Lil Bow Wow, Morris Chestnut, Jonathan Lipnicki, Brenda Song, Eugene Levy
Screenwriter: Michael Elliott, Jordan Moffet
Producer: Barry Josephson, Peter Heller
Composer: Richard Gibbs
DVD Info
Release:
Aug 14, 2007
DVD Features:
- Region 1
- Keep Case
- Dual Side - Dual Layer
Audio:
- Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
- Stereo Surround - French, Spanish
Additional Release Material:
- Audio Commentaries - John Schultz - Director, lil' Bow Wow - Star, Jonathan Lipnicki - Star
Additional Product:
- Bonus Safety Disc
- Disc 1/Side 1: LIKE MIKE - Widescreen Version
- Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85
- Featurete - "Off the Hook"
- Disc 1/Side 2: LIKE MIKE - Full Frame Version
- Full Frame - 1.33
Additional Release Material:
- Deleted Scenes (3 with Commentary)
- Behind the Scenes - "Making Of LIKE MIKE"
- Music Video - Lil' Bow Wow - "Basketball"
Buy It On DVD
Reviews
Director John Schultz's movie is as lame and predictable as you'd imagine, and it's chock full of orphanage cliches.
Bow Wow makes an impressive film debut; parents and children will love Calv's plucky can-do attitude; and the action sequences are given a little more oomph due to the presence of real life basketball pros.
There's no excuse to come within a hundred feet of a screen playing this monstrosity of a movie.
There's no joke about the wretchedness that is Like Mike--except the cruel one on anyone who gets suckered into watching this crap.
A fantasy fable that should keep everyone in the family entertained.
...Full of stereotypical characters, plot holes, and unconvincing dialogue delivered by a host of so-so actors...
Though it doesn’t exactly offer any great shakes in terms of plot or character development, the film’s entertaining enough to be watched by kids and adults alike.
This irritatingly feeble basketball movie for kids is co-produced by the NBA, for whom it is pretty candidly designed as a giant feature-length commercial.
Basically, this deeply unimaginative film is a feature-length advertisement for the NBA, sponsored by Nike.
A fantasy fable that should keep everyone in the family entertained.
Hey, any movie that has Crispin Glover running an orphanage is good for a laugh.
A cheery, crowd-pleasing sports fantasy built around a winning performance from a very young rap star.
If a movie has to be wholesome OR enjoyable, I'd rather it be enjoyable. But when one comes along that's both, I'm glad to recommend it.
Like Mike is hard to hate, but it's placid and uninspired, never delivering the goods
Related Forums
by: rita 7/16/02


Top Critic