Like Mike film review

certificate_PG

LIKE MIKE

It's every boy's dream to play basketball like Michael Jordan. For the 13 year-old Calvin Coolidge (Lil Bow Wow), that dream becomes a reality when he finds a pair of sneakers inscribed with the initials 'MJ'. For most kids his age, playing alongside their heroes in the NBA would be enough, but the young orphan Coolidge would happily trade his new life of wealth and fame for the one thing he doesn't have: a father. Rap star Lil Bow Wow (or Bow Wow as he now refers to himself) makes a strong debut in this cute and touching comedy that will no doubt prompt Nike to start producing a new line in fantasy footwear.

Like Mike's set up is perhaps burdened with one too many clichés. The creaky, run down orphanage governed by a mean principle (Crispin Glover) is in there alongside the obligatory bully and Calvin's conveniently PC buddies, the bespectacled geeky white kid Murph (Johnathan Lipnicki) and the Asian girl Reg (Brenda Song), but the boundless energy and charisma of its star more than compensates for its predictability.

Young Calvin is a tough, streetwise kid with a strong determination to rise above his misfortune. "All orphans have destiny", he declares. When he dons the magic sneakers and becomes possessed of superhuman basketball skills, his words begin to come true. While attending the Los Angeles Knights NBA game, he wins a chance to take on one of its stars, Tracey Reynolds (Morris Chestnut), in a halftime shootout. The 4' 8" Calvin embarrasses Reynolds with his ball skills before finally performing a Jordanesque leap through the air, slam dunking the ball to the stunned disbelief of the packed crowd, Reynolds and his teammates.

The Knights' owner (Eugene Levy), desperate for a means to boost attendances and the fortunes of his ailing team, forces a reluctant Coach Wagner (Robert Forster) to have Calvin on the team. For Reynolds, insult is added to injury when he is made mentor to the new player. The relationship between the two, with Reynolds more of a father figure than a teammate, becomes the film's central theme, with Chestnut providing some nice touches as the beleagured Reynolds whose once ordered life has been thrown into chaos by the arrival of Calvin.

Like Mike meanders at times and could certainly have done with the omission of a number of pointless and stupid scenes, but it possesses an endearing story, a refreshing innocence and a star whose film career looks likely to soar even without the aid of someone else's shoes.