Like Mike (2002)
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An orphan discovers a pair of old sneakers once worn by Michael Jordan and gains extraordinary basketball talents.
The story
13-year-old Calvin Cambridge and his two best friends live in an orphanage in Los Angeles. While selling chocolate at the STAPLES Center after NBA games, Calvin meets the coach of the Los Angeles Knights, who is impressed by his basketball knowledge. One night, Calvin finds a pair of old sneakers with the initials 'MJ' written on them in a thrift store donation box. After a jealous bully steals the sneakers and they are lost in a storm, Calvin is shocked by lightning. The next day, Calvin attends a game where he participates in a halftime contest and performs a spectacular slam dunk.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Calvin Cambridge, an orphan in Los Angeles, discovers old sneakers once worn by Michael Jordan. After being struck by lightning while trying to retrieve them from a power line, he gains basketball talents. He performs a slam dunk during a halftime contest for the Los Angeles Knights, earning a one-day contract. After leading the team to a comeback victory against the San Antonio Spurs, he receives a season contract. Coach Wagner appoints the team's star player, Tracy Reynolds, as Calvin's roommate and mentor. Despite initial friction, the two form a bond. However, the orphanage director, Stan Bittleman, signs a contract to take all of Calvin's money. Bittleman steals the sneakers and bets $100,000 on the Toronto Raptors to beat the Knights. The kids eventually retrieve the shoes, but they are ruined during a high-stakes game against the Raptors. Wanting to return to normalcy, Calvin plays his final game. He manages to set up Tracy for the game-winning shot at the final buzzer, clinching the Knights' first playoff appearance. Afterward, Calvin and Murph are adopted by Tracy, while Reg is adopted by another family. Bittleman goes missing, and the orphanage becomes sponsored by the Knights.
- First release year
- 2002
- Runtime (minutes)
- 99
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- John Schultz
- Writers
- Michael Elliot · writer; Jordan Moffet · writer
- Cast and characters
- Lil' Bow Wow · Calvin Cambridge; Morris Chestnut · Tracy Reynolds; Jonathan Lipnicki · Murph; Robert Forster · Coach Wagner; Crispin Glover · Stan Bittleman; Brenda Song · Reg Stevens; Jesse Plemons · Ox; Eugene Levy · Frank Bernard
- Genres
- sports comedy; children's comedy; fantasy comedy
- Themes
- teamwork; adoption; overcoming adversity
- Tone and mood
- pleasant; innocuous; predictable; schmaltzy
- Premise and plot tags
- sports; fantasy; comedy; orphanage
- Franchise connections
- Like Mike
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics but became a fan favorite among basketball fans in later years.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 57% · review count: 97; Metacritic · score: 47 · scale: 100 · review count: 27
- Production trivia
- The Los Angeles Knights are a parody of the Los Angeles Clippers.; A direct-to-video sequel was released in 2006.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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