He and his friends are amazed when they see that the shoes have the initials “MJ” on them. One day, their teacher, Sister Theresa, brings some clothes for the orphans, including a pair of tennis shoes that supposedly belonged to a famous basketball player when he was a child. Calvin and his buddies are bullied by another teenage orphan, Ox, who has a pessimistic outlook on life, because the prospective adoptive parents only want to take home the younger children. Teenage rapper Lil Bow Wow plays 13-year-old Calvin Cambridge, a small-sized orphan living at the Chesterfield Group Home in Los Angeles. This summer, there’s a family movie from 20th Century Fox that plays on that popularity, LIKE MIKE. Michael Jordan, the great basketball player for the World Champion Chicago Bulls, has been pretty much out of the national limelight for several years, but his effect on our culture remains high. Calvin also helps other people and displays honesty. There are only a few minor objectionable elements in the movie, but the main context of the movie is Calvin’s faith and the support he gets from his friends. LIKE MIKE also has a strong moral worldview with a positive outlook on faith and prayer.

First-time performer Lil Bow Wow does a surprisingly good job, as do the other children and the adults. Although it loses some of that energy in the second half, the characters carry the story until the fun finish. The evil manager of Calvin’s orphanage, however, has plans of his own that endanger plans to find a good family and get into the playoffs.

Calvin’s prayers and optimism turn the team around and melt the heart of the team’s star player, Tracey, who’s estranged from his own father.

A bolt of lightning energizes the shoes, and Calvin is able to play “like Mike.” He joins the slumping Los Angeles Knights. LIKE MIKE tells the story of 13-year-old orphan Calvin Cambridge, who finds tennis shoes that may have been basketball player Michael Jordan’s when he was young.

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