Film / Like Mike

He's hanging with the big boys now!

Like Mike is a 2002 comedy-fantasy film, directed by John Schultz and written by Michael Elliot, that centers around a boy named Calvin Cambridge (Lil Bow Wow), who gets basketball talents after finding a pair of Michael Jordan's old shoes.

Calvin and his best friends, Murph (Jonathan Lipnicki) and Reg Stevens (Brenda Song) live in an orphanage. Being the youngest, Murph has the closest relationship with Calvin. By night, they sell chocolate for an awkward director, Stan Bittleman (Crispin Glover), after every home game of an NBA, the Los Angeles Knights.

On one night of chocolate sales, Calvin meets the Knights' Coach Wagner (Robert Forster), who is impressed with his knowledge about basketball and his honesty about the chocolate that he offers him tickets to the next game. Later, in a thrift shop donation box, Calvin finds a pair of sneakers with the initials "MJ" and decides they were once Michael Jordan's shoes.

At the Knights basketball game, the team's star player Tracy Reynolds (Morris Chestnut) prepares for a halftime contest. Calvin's ticket number is called and he goes one on one with Tracy. Calvin ends the contest with a dunk after bouncing the ball off the backboard and Calvin joins the team.

A standalone sequel, titled, Like Mike 2: Streetball was released in 2006.

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Tropes for Like Mike:

• Armor-Piercing Response: When Tracy finds out about Calvin getting benched for apparently “joyriding” the night before, he’s shocked and wonders why Calvin would do that. Cue Joad telling him:
  Joad: He did it to keep YOU from being suspended.
  Tracy: What?
  Joad: How do you think you got back last night?
• Be Careful What You Wish For: In the beginning of the film, Calvin states he’d like to be adopted by a big rich family similar to the Banks family from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. By the time this wish is about to come true, he’d already formed a close bond with Tracy. So he chooses to give this dream up and remain at the orphanage after the end of his NBA career.He and Murph are adopted by Tracy at the end of the film, so, in a way, he got his wish.
• Big Bad: Bittleman turns out to be one.
• Big Brother Instinct: Calvin plays an older sibling role to Murph(and the other young orphans).
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Stan Bittleman, who acts like a nice cool guy but is really a scheming egomaniac who will do anything he can to screw people and kids over.
• Bittersweet Ending: More sweet than bitter. The only bitter parts are that Calvin’s magic sneakers are ruined, forcing him to retire from the NBA, and the fact that Reg was adopted by a different family rather than by Tracy. But sweet in the sense that both Calvin and Murph are adopted by Tracy, their orphanage is now sponsored by the Knights, Ox has grown to respect Calvin, Bittleman is no longer a problem, and Calvin was able to live his dream to play in the NBA.
• Blatant Lies: While he(and the audience) doesn’t find out about it until later, Bittleman claims that Calvin’s NBA contract states he is to remain in the custody of the orphanage for the duration of his career, meaning he can’t get adopted. Calvin is understandably upset when he discovers the lie.
• Bookends: The Knight’s first and final on-screen games are against the Raptors, and in both, Tracy attempts to shoot a buzzer beater. He misses the first time, costing the Knights a win, but succeeds on the second attempt, earning the Knights their very first trip to the playoffs.
• Brand X: Despite the fact that NBA Entertainment co-produced Like Mike, several real-world NBA teams are depicted as opponents in the game scenes and the film is set in Los Angeles, instead of using the Lakers or Clippers, we get the in-universe Los Angeles Knights.
• Brick Joke: During a game against the 76ers, Calvin attempts to ask Allen Iverson for his autograph, but is carried away and told “players don’t ask other players for autographs”. However, later in the film, Dirk Nowitzki(along with teammates Steve Nash and Michael Finley) would ask Calvin for HIS autograph.
• Brought Down to Badass: A Downplayed example, as Calvin was already a somewhat good basketball player before finding the magic sneakers. After the shoes are ruined in the final seconds of the Raptors game, Calvin has to use his own skill and wits to help the Knights win. Afterwards, we see that Calvin’s skills have somewhat improved without the shoes, likely because he’s now more confident in his ability.
• The Bully: Ox (and his gang) is this and, later on, Bittleman's dragon. He comes around after Bittleman insults him one too many times.
• Chick Magnet: Tracy seems to be this, although we only see him interact with two females throughout the film.
  • Calvin claims to be this, as he tells Tracy that he must be cursed, because he can’t seem to understand why girls like him so much.
• Children Raise You: What becomes of Calvin and Murph getting adopted by Tracy.
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Neither Calvin nor any of the other characters of this film make an appearance in the sequel.
• Determinator: Probably one of the many words to best describe Calvin.
  • Examples include:
    • Not backing down against bullies like Ox.
    • Him still having hope that there’s a family out there for him.
    • Going out of his way to help Tracy(driving his car back to the hotel, helping him reconcile with his estranged father)
    • Retrieving his shoes when Bittleman steals them, even though he misses most of his final game.
  • In conclusion, regardless of the situation. Calvin Cambridge just WON’T BACK DOWN!
• Education Mama: Sister Theresa plays this role, with her emphasis that Calvin does his homework, even before his team plays an NBA game.
  Sister Theresa: No homework, no game.
• Every Man Has His Price: After Ox finds out Calvin somehow managed to get tickets to a Knights basketball game, he threatens to inform Bittleman, so Calvin invites him to watch the game with him to keep him quiet.
• Graceful Loser: Vince Carter develops respect towards Calvin after the Knights win the final game, giving him a nod of approval.
• Happily Adopted: Calvin and Murph by Tracy, and Reg by a different family.
• Heartwarming Orphan: Calvin is this mostly but the same would apply to Reg and Murph.
• Heel–Face Turn: Ox at the end, when Calvin manages to convince him that Bittleman doesn't really care about the orphans, which leads him to turn on Bittleman and help Calvin make it to the game. Afterward, it’s shown he's become a Bully Turned Buddy.
• History Repeats: In the beginning of the film, Calvin gets a shot blocked by Ox. Later, after losing his magic sneakers, this happens again, but this time by Vince Carter.
• Hypocrite: While Bittleman may have had a point when he warns Calvin that prospective families may only want to adopt him just to cash in on his NBA celebrity status rather than to give him a stable family, he later proves to not be any better.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: While Calvin enjoys his time as an NBA superstar, what he truly wants in life is a stable family that can give him a better life. He finally gets this in the form of Tracy, who adopts him(and Murph).
  • This is the reason Calvin gives when he breaks the news to the Knights that he’ll be retiring after the Raptors game, likely to hide the fact it was his shoes that made him play so well.
• Irony: Despite his name being in the title and being referenced multiple times, the aforementioned “Mike” never once makes an appearance in either film. Calvin doesn’t even wear his trademark number 23, instead opting for Allen Iverson’s number 3.
• Jerkass: Bittleman, he's rude, conniving, threatens to burn Murph's only photo of his mother, and brazenly insults the orphans, specifically Ox.
• Laser-Guided Karma: This is implied to be what happened to Bittleman, as he went "missing", when he couldn't pay back his debts.
  • A funnier example: At one point, the Knights play against the ‘76ers. Calvin meets Allen Iverson, his favorite player. He attempts to ask for his autograph, but Iverson thinks Calvin is “the mascot”, and is confused when he finds out Calvin is an actual player. How does Calvin respond? He crosses over Iverson(likely with his own move), and dunks the ball to secure a win for the Knights. All Iverson can mutter is: How’d he do that!?!?
  • A heartwarming example: Calvin, Murph, and Reg, are all adopted by wonderful families by the end of the film(Calvin and Murph by Tracy, and Reg by another family, though they all remain close.)
• Lightning Can Do Anything: MJ's sneakers become Magical Accessories after being struck by lightning.
• Like Brother and Sister: Calvin considers his best friends, Murph and Reg to be this towards him.
• Loophole Abuse: Not exactly abuse. As Calvin is still a minor, his contract states he cannot use any money he earns from the NBA on himself. However, there was nothing in the contract stating he couldn’t use the money to buy things for the kids at his orphanage.
• Lovable Jock: Calvin becomes this after joining the Knights, encouraging them to use teamwork and even buys motorized scooters for his friends(and Ox) at the orphanage.
• Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Michael Jordan's sneakers.
• Morality Pet: While Calvin was already genuinely good at heart before joining the NBA, it can be said that the main reason why Calvin didn’t become a bully like Ox, grow up to be as selfish and evil as Bittleman, or let his NBA celebrity status turn him into a Jerk Jock, is because he has people like Murph, Reg, and Sister Theresa in his corner to give him the love and support he needs.
  • Calvin himself becomes this to Tracy, as Calvin’s influence helped Tracy to not only become a better person both on and off the court, but also reconcile with his estranged father. Tracy then decides to adopt Calvin(and Murph) at the end of the film.
    • Before Calvin joined the team, Tracy’s teammates, Joad and Henderson, were this to him, as he’s shown to have a good friendship with the two.
  • Surprisingly enough, Calvin also becomes this to the rest of the team, as his basketball knowledge helped them improve their teamwork and win games.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Calvin saves Tracy from suspension by driving his car back to the hotel after Tracy falls asleep behind the wheel after mistakenly taking a prescribed sleeping medication. However, while Calvin gets benched as punishment for “joyriding”,Tracy begins to warm up to Calvin after this.
• One Season Athlete: Calvin Cambridge is given shoes worn by a former basketball legend, spends most of the movie playing for the Los Angeles Knights NBA team. However, he retires after the team makes the playoffs because his magic shoes are torn, robbing him of the athletic talent that came with them.
• Only Known by Their Nickname:
  • Murph, to which his name is short for "Murphy".
  • Reg, which we can guess her name is short for "Regina".
  • Ox, as he's not called anything else.
• Orphanage of Fear: The orphanage, because of Bittleman's greed.
• Orphanage of Love: Outside of Bittleman's gambling and other antics, the orphanage is a pretty nice place for the kids. After Bittleman’s “departure”, and the Knights take over, it becomes this fully.
• Parental Abandonment: Calvin, Reg, Murph, and the other orphans. While it's not quite said what happened to their parents, it's heavily implied that they all passed away.
• Reluctant Retiree: Calvin’s magic sneakers end up being ruined during the final seconds of the Raptors game, so he is forced to tell the team that this will be his final game. While Calvin doesn’t really mind this(as he’d intended to return back to his normal childhood anyway), he is visibly upset when breaking the news to the team.
• Shout-Out: To Annie in the candidate montage.
• Stage Parent: While he's not a parent but a legal guardian, Bittleman starts acting like this when he finds out how profitable Calvin's talents are.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
  • Calvin is a teenager and, as anyone can tell you, it's harder to adopt out a teenager.
  • Because he's a minor, Calvin can't use any of the money he makes from playing on the team, until he's eighteen or adopted.
  • Also, as shown when the Knights lose to the Bulls, while Calvin’s magic shoes improved his basketball skills, they won’t guarantee he’ll win every game. ^note Although the loss was contributed to the fact that Calvin and Tracy’s newly formed bond had been strained beforehand.
  • The reason why Calvin’s shoes were ruined in the end: he constantly wore them and HARDLY TOOK THEM OFF. As anyone can tell you, continuously wearing the same pair of shoes on a daily basis without taking them off will eventually cause them to wear down.
• Teens Are Monsters: Ox and his crew spend their time picking on Calvin and his friends and even rips apart Calvin's Iverson jersey after beating him on a 1-on-1 match for it. They do get better, though.
• Terrible Interviewees Montage: An Invoked and Justified Trope. Once Calvin gets the magic sneakers, he becomes a cash cow for Bittleman, the owner of his Orphanage of Fear. Naturally, this makes Bittleman very reluctant when Calvin asks him to keep looking for adoption possibilities, and he presents Calvin with a montage of candidates, most of whom are blatantly insane. Of course, Calvin is fully aware that Bittleman is deliberately screening out anyone who might be a possibility, but he can't really do anything about it.
• Third Time's The Charm: Twice during the film, Calvin goes for a jump shot, only to have said shot blocked by someone much taller than him. The third time, he manages to do a pump fake to trick Vince Carter into going for a block, but Calvin dribbles past Carter and passes the ball to Tracy, who goes on to win the game for the Knights.
• Threw My Bike on the Roof: Ox takes the MJ sneakers from Calvin and tosses them on an overhead telephone pole wire. He gets them back, though.
• Title Drop: "Make me like Mike."
• Tragic Keepsake: Murph's picture of his mother. Later, Bittleman uses this to his advantage when he threatens to burn it to get Murph to cooperate.
• True Companions: Calvin, Murph, and Reg are this towards one another. Not even being adopted by different families break this bond.
  • Tracy seems to hold this opinion towards his teammates.
• Villain Respect: Downplayed. While the NBA players that Calvin faces off against were competitive and somewhat arrogant towards Calvin, none of them had any genuine hatred or malice towards him. Some examples include:
  • David “The Admiral” Robinson was said to have given Calvin a salute after his first game.
  • Dirk Nowitzki asking Calvin for an autograph(for his niece named “Dirk”).
  • Gary “The Glove” Payton ended up fouling and almost getting into a fight with Calvin. However, during the post-game interview, Payton warns the press “if Calvin Cambridge comes to your town, you’d better watch out”.
  • Vince Carter seemed to be the most antagonistic of them all, claiming he’ll shut Calvin down and jokingly wonders what “some little kid” like Calvin knows about the NBA playoffs. However, after the Knights manage to win over the Raptors, Carter nods in respect towards Calvin, with Calvin returning the sentiment.
    • By the end of the film, Ox and his crew have all undergone Character Development, and are shown to have become friendlier towards Calvin and his friends.
• We Only Have One Chance: After the Knights suffer a humiliating loss to the Bulls, Coach Wagner states that they’ll have to win against the Raptors in order to make it to the playoffs.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Reg disappears half-way through the film, aside from crowd scenes. We eventually find out she was adopted by another family but she keeps in touch with Calvin and Murph.
• What Measure Is a Non-Cute?: Played for Drama as the teenaged Calvin, Murph, Reg, and Ox are all regularly passed over for adoption in favor of the adorable small children at the orphanage. Ox lampshades it by remarking that everyone wants to adopt puppies but no one wants a grown dog.
• Wise Beyond His Years: Outside of being good at playing basketball, Calvin is also shown to have such an extensive knowledge of the sport that he’s able to point out even the smallest flaws in otherwise good plays, and can even come up with plays that can outsmart opponents.
• Worthy Opponent: When Calvin enters the NBA scene, he is severely underestimated because of his age and height. However, he quickly proves to be this towards several big-time NBA players. Some of these include Allen lverson(whom Calvin is a big fan of), Gary Payton(who ends up with a technical foul after nearly getting in a fight with Calvin), and even Vince Carter(who gives Calvin a nod of respect after the Knights win the final game).
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: During the Raptors game, his shoes are ruined, stripping him of the athletic talent that came with them. This shakes Calvin’s confidence, but Tracy tells him that he has to be brave and that he and the team still believe in him.
  • Calvin himself tells the team this when he lets them know that he’s retiring after the game is over.

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