Like Mike

Like just about every other recent pop star before him, Lil' Bow Wow has landed the starring role in a major motion picture. Unlike the rest of them, he has managed to carry a good, clean family film. There's nothing too offensive here and kids of all ages (at least from the test screening) seemed to eat it up. While it's not terribly original (see "Rookie of the Year"), it's not trying to re-invent kids' movies, it's just trying to entertain in a fun, safe way, which it does.

Bow (Mr. Wow?) has enough boyish charm and enough charisma to show what could be a promising acting career in addition to his duties as a rapper. Morris Chestnut ("The Brothers") does well as an unwilling mentor who becomes a father figure to the orphaned boy. Crispin Glover is pretty creepy as the greedy "caretaker" of the boy, and Robert Forester and Eugune Levy both have humorous bit parts. Funny cameos by famous basketball players with obviously little acting skills give it an authentic feel.

While this probably won't do too well with critics, that's not who it was made for. The target audience is young kids and it will work for them. Parents won't have to worry about anything objective, except a questionable scene where Bow climbs an electrical wire in a rainstorm to recover his shoes. It's entertaining for kids and passable for adults taking their children. If this sounds good to you, you'll probably like it. If not, it wasn't made for you anyway.

Like Mike was one of those fun family movies. I never had high expectations of the movie going in and subsequently I was pleasantly surprised. It is no masterpiece, but it is definitely a worthwhile-piece. Bow-Wow was decent as was the script. The movie held an even keel throughout, never getting too dull, but also never having any real riotous moments. Obviously the movie was a bit of a fantasy with a boy finding mystical shoes that gave him the skills of Michael Jordan; but hey, that is what made the movie as good as it was. I like the idea of using a kid as opposed to an adult so as to make the movie more entertaining. In fact, it reminds me of a story I wrote for a sixth grade project. All-in-all, a good movie, certainly better than average.

An unusually strong supporting cast (including Crispin Glover, Robert Forster, Eugene Levy and Anne Meara) enlivens this simple family comedy built around the appealing young actor Lil' Bow Wow. He plays an orphan who, upon finding a magical pair of sneakers, becomes an NBA superstar and in the process befriends another player (Morris Chestnut) with his own family problems. Bow Wow will have an appeal to children of various ages because his own age seems indeterminate; he can act like a teenager (managing various relationships in the orphanage, rallying his teammates) or a pre-teen (gorging himself on so much food he gets sick, saying his prayers at bedtime); and his winning smile makes him non-threatening to adults. There's absolutely nothing that isn't predictable here and the film itself culls themes and sequences from other family films such as `Home Alone' and `E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial'. There's also nothing objectionable either: it's barely above the level of a Disney Channel movie so kids will gobble it up, which isn't a bad thing. The NBA had a hand in making the film in an obvious attempt to improve its bad boy image, and naturally most of the real players come off as kindly, caring and ready to perform good works. (Fortunately, there are exceptions: Allen Iverson doesn't play cute and Gary Payton treats Bow Wow as an equal on the court, making him pay.) Not bad for its genre--that supporting cast definitely helps, especially the always-welcome Glover and Levy--but hardly memorable.

This movie is hilarious, I think it deserves higher than a 5.3! It's heartwarming, story is solid, endearing, has great dialogue, music is awesome, and highly entertaining. I don't think I have any complaints, I appreciate it all. Shad Moss, Jesse Plemmons, Jonathan Lipnicki, and Chrispin Glover are great in my opinion! I love Like Mike even if others don't.

I am not saying this movie is perfect as it isn't. The story is very predictable, the ending is a little too silly for my liking and the villain is disappointing, more to do with how he was written than how he was acted. That said, the cinematography, scenery and music are cool and the film is snappily written and directed. The pacing is also brisk, and the chemistry between the two leads is believable. I was impressed with Bow Wow in his debut, he makes for quite an appealing lead and makes the most of what he has. So all in all, this is far from perfect family entertainment but for some harmless fun I actually recommend it. However, for a sophisticated plot or a milestone of a villain, this may disappoint. 7/10 Bethany Cox