| Like Mike | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | John Schultz |
| Written by |
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| Story by | Michael Elliot |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Shawn Maurer |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | Richard Gibbs |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date |
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Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $30 million[1] |
| Box office | $62.3 million[1] |
Like Mike is a 2002 Americansportscomedy film directed byJohn Schultz and written by Michael Elliot and Jordan Moffet. StarringLil' Bow Wow,Morris Chestnut,Jonathan Lipnicki,Brenda Song,Robert Forster,Crispin Glover, andEugene Levy, the film follows an orphan who gets basketball talents after finding an old pair of sneakers that once belonged toMichael Jordan.
It was produced by NBA Productions, and features cameo appearances by NBA players. The film was released on July 3, 2002, by20th Century Fox, three years after Jordan left theChicago Bulls, one year before Jordan retired for the third (and last) time from theNBA, and during his playing career with theWashington Wizards (Jordan's first retirement was 1993).
Like Mike received mixed reviews from critics. In later years, the film became a fan favorite among basketball fans.[2]
13-year-old Calvin Cambridge and his two best friends, Murph and Reg Stevens, live in anorphanage inLos Angeles. At night, they all have to sell chocolate for the troublesome orphanage director, Stan Bittleman, at theSTAPLES Center, after each home game of theNBA team, the Los Angeles Knights (a parody of theLos Angeles Clippers). Calvin meets the team's coach, who is impressed by Calvin's knowledge of basketball and honesty about the chocolates, and offers Calvin tickets for the next game. Inside athrift store donation box, Calvin finds a pair of old sneakers with the initials "MJ" written on them; once worn byMichael Jordan. A jealous bully named Ox steals the sneakers and throws them onto an overhead power line. When Calvin tries to retrieve them that night during a rainstorm, he is shocked by a lightning bolt.
The next day, Calvin and his friends attend the game between the Knights and theMinnesota Timberwolves. During a halftime contest, Calvin's ticket number is called and he goes one-on-one with the Knights' star player, Tracy Reynolds. He ends the contest with aslam dunk after bouncing the ball off the backboard. After a long moment of stunned silence, Calvin receives a standing ovation from his friends and the crowd, and gets signed to a one-day contract by the Knights and prepares for his first game with them, but discovers that he is not there to play. When the Knights play theSan Antonio Spurs they start losing badly and Coach Wagner decides to let Calvin play in the fourth quarter. Calvin leads a comeback against the Spurs and they win, leading to Calvin getting a season contract. Calvin brings teamwork to the Knights and makes them one of the best teams in the league.
As Calvin is still a minor, Coach Wagner appoints Tracy to be his roommate and mentor, much to Tracy's displeasure. Late one night, Tracy falls asleep behind the wheel after mistakenly taking sleeping medication, so Calvin is forced to drive the car back to the hotel to keep Tracy from being suspended for violating curfew. While Calvin gets benched for the incident as punishment for "joyriding", Tracy starts warming up to him and the two begin to form a bond.
Bittleman eventually signs a contract with the Knights stating that all of Calvin's money will go to him until Calvincomes of age, or is adopted. When the second option is about to become true, a desperate Bittleman steals Calvin's sneakers and bets $100,000 on theToronto Raptors to beat the Knights. After the kids convince Ox and his cohorts that Bittleman is selfish, Ox takes the shoes out of Bittleman's safe. The kids head to the arena with Calvin's sneakers. Bittleman escapes and sends goons after Calvin in a failed attempt to retrieve the shoes.
After the third quarter ends withVince Carter and the Raptors routing the Knights, 80–59, Calvin makes it back to the arena with the shoes. Calvin nearly gets benched for arriving late, but Tracy and the rest of the team convinces Coach Wagner to let Calvin play, 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 trailing the Raptors, 103–102. Without the shoes, and wanting to go back to being a normal kid again, Calvin tells the team that, regardless of whether or not the Knights make the playoffs, this will be his last game. In the final play, Calvin manages to pump fake to get Carter to jump and pass the ball to Tracy. Tracy makes the game-winning shot at the final buzzer, and the Knights defeat the Raptors, 104–103, clinching the Knights' first playoff appearance.
After going back to the orphanage, Calvin and Murph get adopted by Tracy, and Reg by a different family, though they stay in touch. Bittleman, not having the money to pay the bet he made, goes missing (likely to avoid getting killed by the loan sharks for failing to pay, or avoid imprisonment for his treatment towards Calvin and the other orphans), and the orphanage is now sponsored by the Knights.
Like Mike grossed $51.4 million in North America and $10.8 million overseas for a total worldwide gross of $62.3 million, against its budget of $30 million.[1] The film opened fifth at the box office with a three-day gross of $12.2 million from 2,410 theaters, and $19 million over its five-day opening.[3] The film was released in theUnited Kingdom on December 13, 2002, and opened on #4 with £246,169.[4]
OnRotten Tomatoes,Like Mike has an approval rating of 57% based on 97 reviews, and an average rating of 5.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "A pleasant and innocuous diversion for kids, but adults may have trouble sitting through its predictable plotlines and schmaltz."[5] OnMetacritic, it has a score of 47 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[6] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[7]
Ann Hornaday ofThe Washington Post wrote that the film depicted "frightening myths about adoption" that ultimately soured the comedy and acting chemistry between Bow Wow and Morris Chestnut.[8]
A direct to video stand-alone sequel titled,Like Mike 2: Streetball was released on June 6, 2006.
In September 2021, Bow Wow confirmed that a direct sequel toLike Mike was in the works with the film's original writer, Michael Elliot.[9][10]
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