This isn't movie-making designed for a lot of scrutiny.
Comment
07/03/02
Like Mike (2002)
56
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:96
Fresh:54
Rotten:42
Average Rating:5.5/10
Consensus: A pleasant and innocuous diversion for kids, but adults may have trouble sitting through the movie's predictable plotlines and schmaltz.
Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: Fourteen-year-old Calvin Cambridge (Lil' Bow Wow) spends his days at the orphanage waiting to be adopted and shooting hoops with his best friend, Murph (Jonathan Lipnicki). When he starts to wear a... [More]
Starring: Lil Bow Wow, Morris Chestnut, Jonathan Lipnicki, Brenda Song
Director: John Schultz
Reviews for Like Mike
Both the slapstick and the schmaltz are workmanlike enough to keep the little ones' eyes wide and bright. Grown-ups should be prepared to have their nerves milked dry.
07/03/02
Essentially an unoriginal 'poor-lil'-orphan' story jazzed up with some crowd-pleasing hoops action and a string of cameo appearances by NBA stars such as Allen Iverson, Jason Kidd and Chris Webber.
07/03/02
Armed with a game supporting cast, from the pitch-perfect Forster to the always hilarious Meara and Levy, Like Mike shoots and scores, doing its namesake proud.
07/03/02
Like Mike is a winner for kids, and no doubt a winner for Lil Bow Wow, who can now add movies to the list of things he does well.
07/03/02
Like Mike is what feel-good family movies are meant to be. It aims its humour and pathos at children without excluding adults.
07/03/02
It's a little cheesy and totally predictable (natch), so it's no three-point dagger. But you can't deny that Like Mike's got game.
07/03/02
Top CriticA ho-hum effort populated by a far more engaging cast than it deserves.
07/03/02
A movie that can't help but trip over its own wholesomeness.
07/03/02
An incredibly slight comedy that earns points because it's clean and has a good message. It's just not terribly funny.
07/03/02
Bow's best moments are when he's getting busy on the basketball court because that's when he really scores.
07/03/02
The movie overcomes its lack or originality in the setup by making good use of its central idea, that a pair of sneakers could make a kid into an NBA star.
07/03/02
Top CriticIn the long, dishonorable history of quickie teen-pop exploitation, Like Mike stands out for its only partly synthetic decency.
07/03/02
Hollywood's answer to an air ball.
07/03/02
While the plot follows a predictable connect-the-dots course... director John Schultz colors the picture in some evocative shades.
07/03/02
The pain of watching notable actors Robert Forster and Eugene Levy suffer the ridiculousness of starring opposite a teen rap sensation in an innocuous summer kiddie movie is at times unbearable and downright ugly.
07/03/02
What we really want to see is Like Mike 2, in which the shoes make Calvin get caught up in a gambling scandal, then ill-advisedly quit the NBA to become a mediocre pro baseball player.
07/03/02
Bow (Mr. Wow?) has enough boyish charm and charisma to create what could be a promising acting career...
07/03/02
Like Mike doesn't win any points for originality. It does succeed by following a feel-good formula with a winning style, and by offering its target audience of urban kids some welcome role models and optimism.
07/02/02
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