Like Mike Boxset (2002)

"[1] Two thumbs up!  Ebert & Roeper
"[1] Offers a gentale summer fantasy for both grown ups and little ones.  Jeffrey M. Anderson, SanFrancisco Examiner
"[1] Fun for the whole family!  WFLD-TV, Chicago

Editor's Note LIKE MIKE: 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 pair of sneakers that used to belong to a famous basketball player and bear the initials M.J.--ostensibly those of basketball legend Michael Jordan--Calvin's wildest dreams begin to come true. The 4'8" teenager is suddenly an unstoppable force on the basketball court and soon finds himself an indispensable member of the LA Knights, a floundering NBA team. As long as Calvin has his magic sneakers, he believes he can do anything and be "like Mike." Ultimately, despite his newfound fame and fortune, Calvin still yearns for a family to call his own. Morris Chestnut stars as Tracey Reynolds, Calvin's mentor on the Knights team, and Crispin Glover is sufficiently creepy as Bittleman, the greedy head of the orphanage. Basketball fans will love the game footage and multiple cameos from real NBA stars like Allen Iverson and Jason Kidd. Rap star Lil' Bow Wow is impressive in his film debut, and also contributes songs to the soundtrack. LIKE MIKE 2: Young Jerome Jenkins Junior (Jascha Washington) has dreams larger than his diminutive frame, but learns the price of their fulfillment in this sequel to the hit 2002 film LIKE MIKE. Aspiring to rule the street basketball courts but spurned for his small size and lack of talent, Jerome's luck changes when he finds a pair of lucky sneakers. Suddenly, he has more game than he can handle!

	Brett Kelly
	Crispin Glover
	Jascha Washington
	Jonathan Lipnicki
	Kel Mitchell
	Lil Bow Wow
	Michael Beach
	Morris Chestnut
	David Nelson - [2] Director
	John Schultz - [1] Director

DVD Verdict 8 of 10
[2] Like Mike 2: Streetball is light, non-offensive kiddie fare. There is a solid moral message to the film and the 'tween audience (especially basketball fans) will likely enjoy it. Adults, however, need not apply. On a completely unrelated note, this is the first kids movie I've seen in a long time that did not at some point turn to flatulence for laughs. That was refreshing. - Neal Masri

Chicago Sun-Times 8 of 10
[1] ...Rapper Lil' Bow Wow (who has since dropped the "Lil' ") is responsible for a lot of the movie's success. He is confident and relaxed on the screen, engaging, and has good moves on the basketball court. In a role that could have been deadly with the wrong kind of kid actor, he's the right kind, a no-nonsense professional who wisely plays the fantasy as if it were real. - Roger Ebert