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07/12/02

Frank's film tip: The kiddie sports fantasy "Like Mike" double dribbles with the convincing efficiency of a botched lay-up shot to the hoop. A tepid formulaic premise deserving of a few technical fouls!

The filmmakers would love the urban demographic to make a fast break to the wildly tepid kiddie sports fantasy flick "Like Mike". Of course it couldn't hurt to include elements that might entertain both NBA and youthful rap music enthusiasts since the film diligently stocks itself with a handful of real-life NBA players (guess Michael "Air" Jordan was too busy to appear in a movie that obviously caters to his legendary courtside manner) not to mention showcasing smooth teen rapping sensation Lil Bow Wow in his big feature film debut. Although it appears that "Like Mike" may be a rollicking good time in all its formulaic frenzy, the film has all the impact and subtlety of a charging foul call.

Director John Schultz assembles this banal basketball fable with no apparent conviction other than to exploit the ambience and amiable nuance of this popular, kinetic-style game. Sure, what 10 year old wouldn't want to be in Lil Bow Wow's shoes as he gets to mingle with these bigger-than-life sporting personalities that range from superstars Allen Iverson to Jason Kidd? Shamelessly, this film feels like it was conceived to promote the merits of NBA merchandising rather than to focus on conveying its effectiveness as a piece of solid, sure-fire family entertainment. But then again, the film was forcefully produced by NBA Entertainment so one can pretty much come to their own conclusion, right?

Lil Bow Wow has a bone to pick as a 14-year-old orphan named Calvin Cambridge. Calvin, like many of his fellow brethren in the orphanage, has dreams one day of finding families who would adopt them while also holding onto the notion that they too would like to head their own family some day. But Calvin and his crew also cherish something that a majority of kids their age fantasize about...being in the limelight just like their sporting heroes and realizing the taste of glory. In this case, NBA royalty Michael Jordan is the source of Calvin's affection and inspiration. The kid has an agenda--he simply wants to be his idol's prototype, you know...to be "like Mike".

There's a couple of kinks in Calvin's plan to conquer the basketball world like his revered mentor Air Jordan. First, Calvin is a talentless kid with no proficiency whatsoever in his desired sport of basketball. Secondly, he is stuck in the auspices of his smothering orphanage run by the ever-so-creepy Bittleman (Crispin Glover). Calvin is convinced that he and his other orphans would have a better shot at getting adopted if it wasn't for the jugheaded abilities of the weird-minded Bittleman.

Before one can say "give up the rock, G" the film morphs into the predictable circumstances that await. Calvin comes across of pair of tennis shoes that supposedly were previous worn by the masterful mid-court magician Jordan. And what adds to the value of these so-called shoes is when a freaky thunderstorm zaps some lightening in the athletic footwear therefore giving these same shoes a magical ability to transform the once-incompetent Calvin into a slam-dunking machine...much "like Mike" of course!

It isn't long before the film settles into its gimmicky mode. The amazing Calvin and his explosive shoes are creating a buzz in the NBA. Eventually, he is assigned to play for a lackluster NBA franchise known as the Los Angeles Knights where his amazing ball-playing heroics turn around his team's misfortunes. Calvin is the toast of the town and he soon becomes the novelty act that lifts his teammates beyond the lower expectations they had maintained earlier before his arrival.

"Like Mike" boasts a cute premise but that hardly makes it an original or distinctive whimsical sports-themed storyline. Films such as "Rookie of the Year", "Air Bud" and "Angels in the Outfield" pretty much exhausted the genre that "Like Mike" borrows from with the bluntness of a blocked 3-point shot. The film as a whole feels very synthetic and joyless. The obvious ingredient that was missed involved not having the film's title reference on board to support or ignite the movie. The fact that Michael Jordan was missing from this project that naturally celebrates his hoop-minded genius is unquestionably clumsy (not to mention it doesn't make much sense). Instead, the moviemakers try to bandage this problem with supplying some other selected top NBA players who are more than willing to ill-advisedly mug for the unforgiven camera. Watching "Like Mike" without the film's "real protagonist" Michael Jordan is pretty much like trying to bounce a deflated basketball. Hence, great opportunities were lost to fortify this otherwise generic, kiddie-based sporting comedy.

Pint-size rapper Lil Bow Wow is decent in his first starring role as the beleaguered Calvin Cambridge. In fact, it's when he tangles with a fellow NBA hothead (Morris Chestnut) that his character comes alive. Somehow, Lil Bow Wow seems kind of restricted with the silly material he's given to appear in. His cockiness and dose of vulnerability would have stood out more had the script catered to his savvy image a tad bit more. In observing Lil Bow Wow, you get the sense that his quest for adventure in this fickle farce could have expanded beyond the cheesy special effects and tame situational setups.

"Like Mike" is loosely based on some of those clever Michael Jordan ads from the early '90's where "His Airness" was a one-man, pop culture wrecking crew courtesy of his affiliation with the once mighty red hot NBA entity known as the multi-champion Chicago Bulls. The fact that Jordan nowadays is a former shadow of his legendary self while trying to instill the competitve drive with his latest pro team the Washington Wizards almost bemoans the point of this movie's timely release as an indirect shrine to one of the greatest athletes to play the game of b-ball. Not only does the film choose to inexplicably celebrate Jordan without his participation, it does so at a time where the basketballer is approaching the flawed and deteriorating stretch of his hailed NBA career.

This production is woefully lacking and in essence, a ready-made celluloid postcard for the interests of a waning NBA league. Desperate times call for desperate measures, I imagine. They say that the best kind of advertising is done in the movies behind a disguised notion of a friendly-family fantasy. We like Mike as the man and as the myth. But as a ploy to boost the overall product of a panicky sports entertainment business via a clueless and unimaginative NBA plug, it's awfully difficult to "Like Mike" under these cheap and dispensable conditions.

Frank rates this film: stars