Old page wikitext, before the edit (old_wikitext) | '{{cleanup|grammar|date=June 2011}}
{{Infobox film
| name=Like Mike
| image=
| caption=
| director=[[John Schultz (director)|John Schultz]]
| writer=Michael Elliot<br>Jordan Moffet
| starring =[[Bow Wow (rapper)|Lil' Bow Wow]]<br />[[Morris Chestnut]]<br />[[Jonathan Lipnicki]]<br />[[Brenda Song]]<br />[[Robert Forster]]<br />[[Crispin Glover]]<br />[[Eugene Levy]]
| producer =[[Barry Josephson]]
| music = [[Richard Gibbs]]
| cinematography = [[Shawn Maurer (cinematographer)|Shawn Maurer]]
| editing = [[Peter E. Berger|Peter Berger]]<br />[[John Pace]]
| studio =[[NBA Entertainment]]
| distributor =[[20th Century Fox]]
| released = {{Film date|2002|7|3}}
| runtime =100 minutes
| language =English
| budget =$30 million
| gross = $62,274,780
}}
'''''Like Mike''''' is a 2002 film, [[film director|directed]] by John Schultz and starring [[Bow Wow (rapper)|Lil' Bow Wow]], [[Morris Chestnut]], [[Jonathan Lipnicki]] and [[Brenda Song]]. It was produced in association with [[NBA Entertainment]] and features many cameo appearances by NBA stars. The plot is largely similar to ''[[Slam Dunk Ernest]]''.
== Plot ==
{{plot|date=October 2011}}
''Like Mike'' is about Calvin Cambridge, a teenage orphan who dreams about getting adopted, and his two best friends named Murph and Reg Stevens selling chocolate for this greedy orphanage director, Stan Bittleman, (played by [[Crispin Glover]]) after each home game of the [[Los Angeles]] Knights (a fictional NBA franchise team loosely based on the [[Los Angeles Clippers]]).
One night after a game, Calvin meets the team's coach, who is impressed by Calvin's knowledge of basketball and honesty about the chocolates he sells, and offers Calvin tickets for the next game. The next day, Calvin obtains a pair of old sneakers (blue and white Nike Blazers) 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, so naturally, Calvin thinks they used to belong to [[Michael Jordan]].
Calvin's sneakers are taken by an orphanage bully named Ox who throws them onto an overhead power line. Calvin tries to retrieve them that night in a rainstorm so he can get them while Ox is not around and gets shocked by a lightning bolt, retrieving the sneakers.
Calvin and his friends then attend the basketball game between the Knights and the [[Minnesota Timberwolves]] that they had tickets for. The Knights are one of the worst teams in the league. After the second quarter ends, the team's best player, Tracy Reynolds, prepares for a half time contest. Calvin's ticket number is called and he goes one on one with Tracy. Before the contest begins, a man in the crowd notices that one of Calvin's sneakers is untied. Calvin leans down to tie it and he whispers to himself "Make me like Mike". The contest begins and Calvin starts noticing that he has NBA superstar talent; he ends the contest with a dunk after bouncing the ball off the backboard, and leaving the crowd speechless and Calvin is signed to a one-day contract by the Knights. Calvin prepares for his first game with the Knights, but he realizes that he is not there to play. When the Knights play against the [[San Antonio Spurs]] they start losing badly and Coach Wagner decides to let Calvin play in the fourth quarter. However, Calvin remembers that he can't play without his sneakers and calls a time out to get them while lying that he needs a bathroom break. He comes back out and leads a comeback against the Spurs in which he dunks on Spurs Hall of Fame center [[David Robinson (basketball)|David Robinson]] and scores 27 points including a buzzer-beating three. That gives the Knights an unexpected win, which leads to him getting a season contract with Reynolds as his mentor through the NBA's mentoring program, since he is a minor. Calvin brought teamwork to the struggling Knights and made them one of the best teams in the league.
Calvin's life then follows a path of experiencing luxury for the first time while on the road and going back to his orphanage home when the team isn't traveling. He gets to see hotels and places he never imagined could exist, and he is assigned to be the roommate to Reynolds while on the road. Calvin then starts taking all the headlines and becoming the talk all around the sports media and the NBA. Calvin also won the Slam Dunk Contest.
While all of this is happening, Calvin begins to figure out that all he wants is really a father, and he starts looking at Reynolds in a fatherly way. They slowly begin to develop a father and son relationship, although their relationship is sometimes challenged by the daily situations that a fourteen-year-old boy without a father and a single man with no kids might have to face and Reynolds' attitude toward the young player. Tracy gradually started to respect Calvin and it showed in a win over the [[Seattle SuperSonics]]; the Sonics star point guard [[Gary Payton]], while guarding Cambridge, tackled Calvin and said to him "Now you know what it feels like to be in the Glove's hands", and Calvin responded to him by saying it feels more like a mitten and Tracy was protecting Calvin.
Meanwhile, back home, Bittleman signs a contract with the team that says that all of Calvin's money will go to him instead until he's eighteen, or adopted. When the second option is about to become true, Bittleman decides to steal Calvin's shoes and bet [[US$]]100,000 against the Knights.
After negotiating with Ox the bully and his friends about how selfish Bittleman is while Bittleman is tied to a chair, Calvin is able to subdue the orphanage director and retrieves his shoes when Ox takes them out of Bittleman's safe for him. However Bittleman escapes and manages to send several goons after Calvin in a failed attempt to steal the shoes. Calvin makes it to the arena with the shoes after the 3rd quarter ends with [[Vince Carter]] and the [[Toronto Raptors]] routing the Knights 80–59.
Calvin is reluctantly put into the game by the coach and the Knights start to make a comeback after Tracy convinces the coach not to bench Calvin for tardiness because the team would not be in position to make the playoffs without him. After a pile-on towards the end of the game, Calvin's shoes are ruined with the Knights down by one point. During the following timeout, Calvin tells the team that he will retire after this game, without revealing the reason of his skills' cause being destroyed. On the last play, Calvin is not as skillful without the shoes, and goes through a bit of struggle, but he still manages to pump fake to get Vince Carter to jump and Cavlin was able to get the ball to Tracy after going under Carter who was in mid-air, and Tracy makes the game-winning shot at the buzzer to clinch the Knights their first ever playoff berth.
After going back to his orphanage, Calvin and Murph get adopted by Tracy, and Reg by a different family but they still keep in touch despite being away from each other. 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.
== Cast ==
* [[Lil' Bow Wow]] - Calvin Cambridge
* [[Morris Chestnut]] - Tracy Reynolds
* [[Jonathan Lipnicki]] - Murph
* [[Brenda Song]] - Reg Stevens
* [[Jesse Plemons]] - Ox
* [[Robert Forster]] - Coach Wagner
* [[Julius Ritter]] - Marlon
* [[Crispin Glover]] - Stan Bittleman
* [[Anne Meara]] - Sister Theresa
* [[Eugene Levy]] - Frank Bernard
* [[Fred Armisen]] - New Age Dad
* [[Jimmy Kimmel]] - Client in Commercial (''uncredited'')
* [[Kyla Pratt]] - Keisha (''uncredited'')
== Soundtrack ==
{{Main|Like Mike (soundtrack)}}
A soundtrack containing hip hop and R&B music was released on July 2, 2002 by [[So So Def Recordings]]. It peaked at 18 on the [[Billboard 200]] and 10 on the [[Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums]].
== Sequel ==
A sequel, titled ''[[Like Mike 2: Streetball]]'', was released [[direct to DVD]] in 2006. The original characters do not make an appearance, but keeps a similar plot.
== NBA stars ==
* [[Vince Carter]]
* [[Michael Finley]]
* [[Steve Francis]]
* [[Allen Iverson]] (credited as "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 Robinson (basketball)|David Robinson]] (credited as "David M. Robinson")
* [[Reggie Theus]] (''broadcaster'')
* [[Gerald Wallace]]
* [[Rasheed Wallace]]
* [[Chris Webber]]
* [[Pat Croce]] (''NBA Owner'')
* [[Tom Tolbert]]
* [[John Thompson]] (''uncredited'')
* [[Peter Cornell]] (''uncredited'')
== Box office performance ==
The film opened at #5 with a 3-day gross of $12,179,420 from 2,410 theaters for an average of $5,054 per venue, and a $19,018,444 gross since its Wednesday launch. It closed on November 19, 2002 with a final domestic gross of $51,432,760. The film did not do nearly as well overseas making $10,842,020, but with a total worldwide gross of $62,274,780, it was still a financial success, as the film cost only $30 million to make.
== References ==
{{reflist}
== External links ==
* {{IMDb title|0308506}}
* {{Amg movie|262739}}
{{Michael Jordan}}
{{John Schultz}}
{{NBA on NBC}}
[[Category:2002 films]]
[[Category:Basketball films]]
[[Category:Fantasy-comedy films]]
[[Category:American sports comedy films]]
[[Category:National Basketball Association films]]
[[Category:Michael Jordan]]
[[Category:Children's films]]
[[de:Like Mike]]
[[fr:Magic baskets]]
[[it:Il sogno di Calvin]]
[[he:שחק אותה כמו מייקל]]
[[lv:Spēlē kā Maikls]]
[[pl:Magiczne buty]]
[[pt:Like Mike]]
[[ru:Как Майк]]
[[fi:Taikatossut]]' |
New page wikitext, after the edit (new_wikitext) | '{{cleanup|grammar|date=June 2011}}
{{Infobox film
| name=Like Mike
| image=
| caption=
| director=[[John Schultz (director)|John Schultz]]
| writer=Michael Elliot<br>Jordan Moffet
| starring =[[Bow Wow (rapper)|Lil' Bow Wow]]<br />[[Morris Chestnut]]<br />[[Jonathan Lipnicki]]<br />[[Brenda Song]]<br />[[Robert Forster]]<br />[[Crispin Glover]]<br />[[Eugene Levy]]
| producer =[[Barry Josephson]]
| music = [[Richard Gibbs]]
| cinematography = [[Shawn Maurer (cinematographer)|Shawn Maurer]]
| editing = [[Peter E. Berger|Peter Berger]]<br />[[John Pace]]
| studio =[[NBA Entertainment]]
| distributor =[[20th Century Fox]]
| released = {{Film date|2002|7|3}}
| runtime =100 minutes
| language =English
| budget =$30 million
| gross = $62,274,780
}}
'''''Like Mike''''' is a 2002 film, [[film director|directed]] by John Schultz and starring [[Bow Wow (rapper)|Lil' Bow Wow]], [[Morris Chestnut]], [[Jonathan Lipnicki]] and [[Brenda Song]]. It was produced in association with [[NBA Entertainment]] and features many cameo appearances by NBA stars. The plot is largely similar to ''[[Slam Dunk Ernest]]''.
== Plot ==
{{plot|date=October 2011}}
''Like Mike'' is about Calvin Cambridge, a teenage orphan who dreams about getting adopted, and his two best friends named Murph and Reg Stevens selling chocolate for this greedy orphanage director, Stan Bittleman, (played by [[Crispin Glover]]) after each home game of the [[Los Angeles]] Knights (a fictional NBA franchise team loosely based on the [[Los Angeles Clippers]]).
One night after a game, Calvin meets the team's coach, who is impressed by Calvin's knowledge of basketball and honesty about the chocolates he sells, and offers Calvin tickets for the next game. The next day, Calvin obtains a pair of old sneakers (blue and white Nike Blazers) 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, so naturally, Calvin thinks they used to belong to [[Michael Jordan]].
Calvin's sneakers are taken by an orphanage bully named Ox who throws them onto an overhead power line. Calvin tries to retrieve them that night in a rainstorm so he can get them while Ox is not around and gets shocked by a lightning bolt, retrieving the sneakers.
Calvin and his friends then attend the basketball game between the Knights and the [[Minnesota Timberwolves]] that they had tickets for. The Knights are one of the worst teams in the league. After the second quarter ends, the team's best player, Tracy Reynolds, prepares for a half time contest. Calvin's ticket number is called and he goes one on one with Tracy. Before the contest begins, a man in the crowd notices that one of Calvin's sneakers is untied. Calvin leans down to tie it and he whispers to himself "Make me like Mike". The contest begins and Calvin starts noticing that he has NBA superstar talent; he ends the contest with a dunk after bouncing the ball off the backboard, and leaving the crowd speechless and Calvin is signed to a one-day contract by the Knights. Calvin prepares for his first game with the Knights, but he realizes that he is not there to play. When the Knights play against the [[San Antonio Spurs]] they start losing badly and Coach Wagner decides to let Calvin play in the fourth quarter. However, Calvin remembers that he can't play without his sneakers and calls a time out to get them while lying that he needs a bathroom break. He comes back out and leads a comeback against the Spurs in which he dunks on Spurs Hall of Fame center [[David Robinson (basketball)|David Robinson]] and scores 27 points including a buzzer-beating three. That gives the Knights an unexpected win, which leads to him getting a season contract with Reynolds as his mentor through the NBA's mentoring program, since he is a minor. Calvin brought teamwork to the struggling Knights and made them one of the best teams in the league.
Calvin's life then follows a path of experiencing luxury for the first time while on the road and going back to his orphanage home when the team isn't traveling. He gets to see hotels and places he never imagined could exist, and he is assigned to be the roommate to Reynolds while on the road. Calvin then starts taking all the headlines and becoming the talk all around the sports media and the NBA. Calvin also won the Slam Dunk Contest.
While all of this is happening, Calvin begins to figure out that all he wants is really a father, and he starts looking at Reynolds in a fatherly way. They slowly begin to develop a father and son relationship, although their relationship is sometimes challenged by the daily situations that a fourteen-year-old boy without a father and a single man with no kids might have to face and Reynolds' attitude toward the young player. Tracy gradually started to respect Calvin and it showed in a win over the [[Seattle SuperSonics]]; the Sonics star point guard [[Gary Payton]], while guarding Cambridge, tackled Calvin and said to him "Now you know what it feels like to be in the Glove's hands", and Calvin responded to him by saying it feels more like a mitten and Tracy was protecting Calvin.
Meanwhile, back home, Bittleman signs a contract with the team that says that all of Calvin's money will go to him instead until he's eighteen, or adopted. When the second option is about to become true, Bittleman decides to steal Calvin's shoes and bet [[US$]]100,000 against the Knights.
After negotiating with Ox the bully and his friends about how selfish Bittleman is while Bittleman is tied to a chair, Calvin is able to subdue the orphanage director and retrieves his shoes when Ox takes them out of Bittleman's safe for him. However Bittleman escapes and manages to send several goons after Calvin in a failed attempt to steal the shoes. Calvin makes it to the arena with the shoes after the 3rd quarter ends with [[Vince Carter]] and the [[Toronto Raptors]] routing the Knights 80–59.
Calvin is reluctantly put into the game by the coach and the Knights start to make a comeback after Tracy convinces the coach not to bench Calvin for tardiness because the team would not be in position to make the playoffs without him. After a pile-on towards the end of the game, Calvin's shoes are ruined with the Knights down by one point. During the following timeout, Calvin tells the team that he will retire after this game, without revealing the reason of his skills' cause being destroyed. On the last play, Calvin is not as skillful without the shoes, and goes through a bit of struggle, but he still manages to pump fake to get Vince Carter to jump and Cavlin was able to get the ball to Tracy after going under Carter who was in mid-air, and Tracy makes the game-winning shot at the buzzer to clinch the Knights their first ever playoff berth.
After going back to his orphanage, Calvin and Murph get adopted by Tracy, and Reg by a different family but they still keep in touch despite being away from each other. 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.
== Cast ==
* [[Lil' Bow Wow]] - Calvin Cambridge
* [[Morris Chestnut]] - Tracy Reynolds
* [[Jonathan Lipnicki]] - Murph
* [[Brenda Song]] - Reg Stevens
* [[Jesse Plemons]] - Ox
* [[Robert Forster]] - Coach Wagner
* [[Julius Ritter]] - Marlon
* [[Crispin Glover]] - Stan Bittleman
* [[Anne Meara]] - Sister Theresa
* [[Eugene Levy]] - Frank Bernard
* [[Fred Armisen]] - New Age Dad
* [[Jimmy Kimmel]] - Client in Commercial (''uncredited'')
* [[Kyla Pratt]] - Keisha (''uncredited'')
== Soundtrack ==
{{Main|Like Mike (soundtrack)}}
A soundtrack containing hip hop and R&B music was released on July 2, 2002 by [[So So Def Recordings]]. It peaked at 18 on the [[Billboard 200]] and 10 on the [[Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums]].
== Sequel ==
A sequel, titled ''[[Like Mike 2: Streetball]]'', was released [[direct to DVD]] in 2006. The original characters do not make an appearance, but keeps a similar plot. And it was really fucking [[gay]], but not in a [[homosexual]] way. In other words, it [[sucked dick]].
== NBA stars ==
* [[Vince Carter]]
* [[Michael Finley]]
* [[Steve Francis]]
* [[Allen Iverson]] (credited as "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 Robinson (basketball)|David Robinson]] (credited as "David M. Robinson")
* [[Reggie Theus]] (''broadcaster'')
* [[Gerald Wallace]]
* [[Rasheed Wallace]]
* [[Chris Webber]]
* [[Pat Croce]] (''NBA Owner'')
* [[Tom Tolbert]]
* [[John Thompson]] (''uncredited'')
* [[Peter Cornell]] (''uncredited'')
== Box office performance ==
The film opened at #5 with a 3-day gross of $12,179,420 from 2,410 theaters for an average of $5,054 per venue, and a $19,018,444 gross since its Wednesday launch. It closed on November 19, 2002 with a final domestic gross of $51,432,760. The film did not do nearly as well overseas making $10,842,020, but with a total worldwide gross of $62,274,780, it was still a financial success, as the film cost only $30 million to make.
== References ==
{{reflist}
== External links ==
* {{IMDb title|0308506}}
* {{Amg movie|262739}}
{{Michael Jordan}}
{{John Schultz}}
{{NBA on NBC}}
[[Category:2002 films]]
[[Category:Basketball films]]
[[Category:Fantasy-comedy films]]
[[Category:American sports comedy films]]
[[Category:National Basketball Association films]]
[[Category:Michael Jordan]]
[[Category:Children's films]]
[[de:Like Mike]]
[[fr:Magic baskets]]
[[it:Il sogno di Calvin]]
[[he:שחק אותה כמו מייקל]]
[[lv:Spēlē kā Maikls]]
[[pl:Magiczne buty]]
[[pt:Like Mike]]
[[ru:Как Майк]]
[[fi:Taikatossut]]' |
