Like Mike

 

Like Mike

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Like Mike
File:Like mike.jpg
Directed by	John Schultz
Produced by	Barry Josephson Peter Heller
Screenplay by	Michael Elliot Jordan Moffet
Story by	Michael Elliot
Starring	Lil' Bow Wow Morris Chestnut Jonathan Lipnicki Robert Forster Crispin Glover Eugene Levy
Music by	Richard Gibbs
Cinematography	Shawn Maurer
Editing by	Peter Berger John Pace
Studio	NBA Entertainment Heller Highwater Josephson Entertainment
Distributed by	Twentieth Century Fox
Release date(s)	July 3, 2002 (2002-07-03)
Running time	99 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$30 million
Box office	$62,274,780

Like Mike is a 2002 American fantasy sports comedy film, directed by John Schultz and starring Lil' Bow Wow in his film debut appearance. It was produced in association with NBA Entertainment and features cameo appearances by many NBA stars. A 14-year-old orphan becomes an NBA superstar after trying on a pair of sneakers with the faded initials "M.J." inside. The plot is largely similar to Slam Dunk Ernest.

 

Plot

Teenage orphan Calvin Cambridge (Lil' Bow Wow) manages to get tickets to a home game for the struggling Los Angeles Knights from the team's coach. The next day, Calvin obtains a pair of old Nike Blazers sneakers from a Salvation Army thrift 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 then 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.

The next day, Calvin and his friends go to the basketball game between the Knights and the Minnesota Timberwolves with the free tickets. Calvin gets randomly picked to go one-on-one with Knights star Tracy Reynolds in a halftime contest. The shoes apparently give Calvin superstar caliber talent as he wins the contest with a dunk and is signed to a one-day contract by the Knights. After coming off the bench and using his shoes to help the Knights to a late victory against the San Antonio Spurs, Calvin earns a place on the team. 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, traveling around the country and becoming a media star in the process. Calvin also wins the slam dunk contest, after which Tracy gradually respects Calvin.

Meanwhile, Stan Bittleman, the greedy (later cruel) head of the orphanage Calvin lives in 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 $100,000 against the Knights losing the next game. With the help of Ox and his friends, Calvin subdues the orphanage director and becomes friends with Ox. Ox helps Calvin retrieve his shoes out of Bittleman's safe and they escape from Bittleman and his goons. Calvin then helps the Knights rally back from a late deficit against the Toronto Raptors and even when the shoes are damaged and no longer work, his pass to Reynolds seals the win and earns the Knights their first playoff berth.

After going back to his orphanage, Calvin and his friend Murph get adopted by Tracy and his other friend 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.

[edit] Cast

• Lil' Bow Wow - Calvin Cambridge
• Morris Chestnut as Tracy Reynolds
• Jonathan Lipnicki - Murph
• Brenda Song as Reg Stevens
• Jesse Plemons as Ox
• Robert Forster as Coach Wagner
• Julius Ritter as Marlon
• Crispin Glover as Stan Bittleman
• Anne Meara as Sister Theresa
• Eugene Levy as Frank Bernard
• Fred Armisen as New Age Dad
• Julie Brown as New Age Mom
• Vanessa Williams as Pharmacist
• Jimmy Kimmel as Client in Commercial (uncredited)
• John Marshall Jones as NBA Player (uncredited)

[edit] NBA stars

• Vince Carter
• Michael Finley
• Steve Francis
• Allen E. Iverson
• Jason Kidd
• Dirk Nowitzki
• Desmond Mason
• Tracy McGrady
• Alonzo Mourning
• Steve Nash
• Gary Payton
• Ahmad Rashad (broadcaster)
• Jason Richardson
• Michael Doleac
• David M. Robinson
• Reggie Theus (broadcaster)
• Gerald Wallace
• Rasheed Wallace
• Chris Webber
• Pat Croce (NBA Owner)
• Tom Tolbert
• John Thompson (uncredited)
• Peter Cornell (uncredited)