Like Mike

Like Mike

At the Chesterfield Group Home orphanage, it’s practically a universal rule that people who come to adopt are in search of “puppies” (younger children), and certainly not old “puppies” like Calvin Cambridge and his pals Murph and Reg. But that doesn’t make any difference to Calvin because he believes that maybe one day he will be able to find a family that will take him in. In the meantime, Calvin finds some old basketball sneakers (in clothes collection) with the letters “MJ” on them.

When Sister Theresa, the only adult in his corner, tells him that a “basketball player” used to wear those sneakers, Calvin is sure that this player was no more and no less than Michael Jordan himself. But the shoes are just simple pair of basketball shoes worn to the ground, until Sioux and Pablito senses them in the middle of the thunderstorm. That is when the shoes start to do wonders for the player by giving him out of the normal sometimes preternatural sports skills.

In a twist of fate, Calvin manages to secure tickets to watch his favorite NBA team, which isn’t doing so hot, the L.A. Knights. Even luckier, Calvin wins a contest to face off against Knights’ player Tracey Reynolds for the chance to win $1,000. Wearing sneakers like Michael Jordan, he successfully dazzles Tracey.

One of the spectators during the event, Frank Bernard, gets an idea. He suggests to allot the kid a single game contract to get the scanty numbers of fans, if not for loyalty, at least for advertising purposes. Tracey is not pleased but the audience loves Calvin and the kids’ magical shoes. All in all, now Calvin has no other option but to join the team and he is happy as he gets on as a real fan. Can he find a family among so many fans?

positive elements: The family concept is strongly emphasized in Like Mike. Not only do Calvins and his pals desire to belong to one, but wondering why Tracey has opened up a feud with his father which drives Calvin mad, he tries to assist the two in reconciling (“How can you have a dad and not talk to him?”). Friendship also comes pretty much high on the rank of values.

In situations where Calvin and Murph have disagreements, Tracey intercedes to bring them back together as is the case on the episode, “Good friends are hard to come by”. Sister Theresa advocates for school success alongside completing homework assignments. When Tracey does not want to associate with Calvin, another Knight player tells him to come along “Take the locker next to mine”.

Even Tracey later on changes her mind and spends time with Murph and Calvin. Gambling is very much shown to be the downfall of man. Calvin is able to manage his own actions and chooses to build a family instead of focusing on success in his so called ‘career’.

spiritual content: In his view, Sister Theresa, a teacher is one of the best role models one can have. As a National Basketball Association player, Calvin feels it necessary to call for some nightly prayers with his roommate Tracey for help as well. Tracey is a bit hesitant and goes on his knees only to recite Calvin’s prayers when the latter says, “Now I lay me down to sleep”. But Calvin has this prayer in a very different way and is able to take it a step further when he makes it a point to mention certain people who include Tracey and ask for blessings on them (this is a prayer that seems to impress the NBA pro).

At some point, Calvin has said a prayer of sorts which said, “Make me like Mike,” but it is unclear to who or what he is praying to or if it is simply an expression directed at his shoes. For some reason, the first name that comes to Calvin’s mind and mouth when asked about famous adopted people is “Moses” because, “Moses had a destiny”. Calvin crosses his fingers for good luck’s sake hoping to win the drawing. In an airplane, Tracey puts on self-hypnosis tapes.

sexual content: The cheerleaders for the L.A. Knights flaunt their bodies in sexy outfits with minimal concealment. Tracey disobeys the rules and goes to his (with Calvin) hotel room with a girl after the designated hour.

violent content: Ox repeatedly pushes and shoves Calvin, including one attempt to get his shoes. Calvin forcefully angles his scooter into an unsuspecting man’s groin. The children also tape a man to a chair. People are inadvertently run into; Calvin attempts to drive a vehicle over construction cones; Murph rides a motorized scooter and wipes out; a stray vending cart collides with a man. This is how the very angry leader of the orphanage tries to get the boy to help him by threatening to burn a photo of Murph’s family, focused on the mother.

crude or profane language: There are multiple uses of the word “damn” (and the word is used in songs). Calvin also says “dang” which is a more tame way of saying the word. Frank wishes to ”put some as in those seats” in relation to how he wants to help improve the game day’s spectators.

drug and alcohol content:When a lady nice to Tracey catches his attention, he mistakes his sleeping pills for anti allergy medication and blacks out.

other negative elements: Power company Pacific Gas and Electric has taken a stance that Like Mike may not be healthy for children due to the sequence in the film where Calvin goes for his MJ sneakers that hang on the power lines. “These are high-voltage power lines and the little kid doesn’t stand a chance,” says a rep for the west coast utility.

Southern California Edison vice president Dick Rosenblum said, “We’re worried the Like Mike story line may lead an innocent child who does not know better to emulate a stunt of touching the electric wires or trying to grab the shoes off the wires. It is understood that electricity and a prank are two aspects that do not go hand in hand. It is very foolish to play with or try to reach out for something that is on a power line.”

Calvin appears, together with several other characters, to be endowed with some level of lying skill; Calvin looks ready for a geometry test by Sister Teresa when in fact, he is not. For example, Tracey tells his date that alas, overdue for reasons beyond his control, his hotel suite looks like a disaster, construction was supposed to be done by a maid (which was the work of Calvin), or followers of the amateur drama, whose main character is completely absent from the picture, agrees with his father.

Tracey states that he does not have a mother or a father (in fact, he has a father). The movie also suffers in that it endorses mainstream rap which has many problems in fact.

Along with the fact that the leading character is a hip hop star characterized by self centered rhymes, rap is displayed here very prominently. At some point, Calvin and Tracey face each other and try to out rhyme each other by stating a rendition that celebrates the then troublesome rap group, Ruff Ryderz. Anyway, Calvin gets a bad case of gluttony ordering room service with most of the things on the menu.

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