Transcription
Welcome back to Fox Recaps. Today, I'm going to explain the movie Like Mike, released in the year 2002.
A teenage boy named Calvin Cambridge lives in Chesterfield Orphanage with two of his best friends, Murf and Rege. All three of them love to play basketball in the front yard of the orphanage.
One morning, while they're in the middle of the game, a group of bullies led by Ox stops them. He challenges Calvin to a match for his basketball jersey. While Calvin's friends suggest he ignore the bully, the ambitious boy wants to take on the challenge, as his favorite basketball players would. The match starts, and Ox easily wins against him because of the significant height difference. As promised, he gets Calvin's jersey and rips it apart just to annoy him.
The orphanage director, Stan Bidleman, often makes the kids sell candy to raise money for their own good. That night, they go to the home game of the NBA team, Los Angeles Knights, and sell candies outside the arena. At the end of the game, Calvin spots the Knights' coach, Wagger, getting into a car to leave. He approaches the man, offering him some candies. When the coach finds out that they're for a charity, he offers Calvin a $20 bill. However, Calvin refuses to take it because he isn't sure if the money they collect really goes to charity. Impressed by the kid's honesty, Wagger offers him four tickets to the next basketball game, and an overjoyed Calvin runs to Murf to tell him about the tickets.
The next day, a group of couples comes to the orphanage looking for a child to adopt. At first, Calvin is hopeful, but he soon realizes the parents only want younger kids. Later, they are handed a box of donated clothes from the thrift store. Calvin gets his hands on a pair of shoes and tries them on. When he asks the nun about the shoes, she says that they belong to a famous basketball player. On checking, Calvin finds Michael B. Jordan's initials on it. Ox gets jealous of the shoes and takes them away. He ties the laces together and throws them in the air. To Calvin's disappointment, the shoes hang on the power cable.
At night, a thunderstorm strikes. When everyone else is asleep, Calvin wakes Murf and Rege to retrieve the shoes from the cable. They go outside in the heavy rainfall. Calvin somehow manages to climb a tree near the cable. He reaches for the shoes when suddenly lightning strikes right at them, making Calvin fall to the ground along with the shoes. Thankfully, he doesn't get seriously hurt. He notices that the shoes are charged with a weird force but doesn't think much of it.
The following day, the children go to the arena yet again to sell candies. Calvin, Murf, and Rege get four tickets like the coach had promised. Ox and his group of friends see them and get jealous. The bullies threaten to tell Bidleman that they bought the tickets with the charity money. To keep him from creating trouble, Calvin offers Ox one of the tickets. The four of them then enjoy the game between the Knights and the Minnesota Timberwolves. During halftime, the team's star player, Tracy Reynolds, and one of the coaches take part in a halftime show intended to invite more audience members to the arena. One person from the audience will get a chance to go one-on-one with Tracy. To the group's surprise, Calvin's ticket number gets selected for the contest. When Ox finds out, he tries to snatch the ticket from his hands. Calvin somehow tricks him and runs to the front with his ticket. Tracy doesn't think much about the faceoff since Calvin is just a kid. He lets him score the first round so the audience would be more involved, but following that, he has to stop the kid or he would be humiliated. Tracy tries his best, yet cannot stop Calvin from scoring a slam dunk. The crowd freezes in shock and erupts into cheers, while the star player is left embarrassed.
The following day, Knights coaches go to meet Bidleman and ask him to let Calvin play for them for a day. At first, the director is reluctant, but he agrees to let him go when he is offered money. Calvin's friends are overjoyed for him. Ox, on the other hand, is furious. Since Calvin couldn't even win against Ox before he got the shoes, the kids deduce that the shoes are magical. They decide to keep it a secret so no one would try to take them away, but Ox hears them talk.
The following day, Calvin enters the Knights' changing room, much to Tracy's annoyance. The teammates ask Tracy to brace himself because the kid is coming for his throne. Calvin is given a Knight's jersey and a pair of new shoes that he has to wear. He asks the coach if he can wear his old shoes, but the coach doesn't care about the attire; Calvin's presence is only a publicity stunt, so it wouldn't matter how he plays. After the last match, Calvin's popularity has grown exponentially, which has in turn increased the audience in the arena. He doesn't get to play for the first half of the game as their team is about to lose. He asks the coach to give him a chance. Although skeptical, he allows Calvin to play. Since he is not wearing his lucky shoes, Calvin is too nervous to everyone's annoyance. He calls a timeout and runs to the locker room to change into his old shoes. On returning, he is much more confident. The kid efficiently helps his team to catch up with the opponent's points and makes them win.
Following the match, he signs a contract to play with the team for the rest of the tournament. He is in the orphanage packing up to leave for the tournament when Bidleman confronts him. The man wants to continue being his guardian because of the financial benefits. Therefore, he tells Calvin to be careful of the people who will want to adopt him now because they only care about his money.
On the flight, the coach assigns Tracy and Calvin to the same room. Calvin loves the fact that he gets to share a room with his idol, but Tracy isn't as excited about it. At night, they have a curfew that Tracy plans to break. He gets ready for a date and leaves after teaching Calvin how to use room service. The kid gets to eat wherever he wants and takes full advantage of it. When Calvin returns with his date, the room is trashed with half-eaten food. He had expected to spend the night together with his date, but instead, they end up taking care of Calvin, who is sick. The boys go to sleep late at night, but even then, Tracy can hardly fall asleep because of Calvin's snoring.
The following day, they have an important match, but Tracy is tired. Calvin unknowingly reveals to the coach that they stayed up late at night. The coach warns to suspend Tracy if he misses curfew one more time. Starting that day, Calvin plays several games with the Knights and helps them win all of them. The opponents do not know what to expect when they play with the kid and are surprised by his skills. He gets to go to several press conferences and makes a lot of money. With the money, he buys a bunch of gifts for everyone in the orphanage. He also wins the NBA slam dunk competition and becomes the most talented rising basketball star.
One night, Calvin is talking to Murf about his new life and all the fun he has had playing in the NBA. A jealous Ox hears them and attacks Calvin, trying to take his shoes away. The fight stops when Bidleman intervenes and scolds Ox for hitting his friends. He doesn't want Calvin to get hurt now that he makes so much money off him.
The next time the team is at a hotel, Tracy goes to the pharmacy to buy sleeping pills and allergy medicines to ensure he gets a good night's sleep before the next day's match. Calvin joins him for the ride, much to Tracy's annoyance. On their way, the kid inquires about Tracy's parents. He has found out that Tracy has a father with whom he doesn't talk. The idea is foreign to Calvin because he would do anything to have good parents. Tracy claims that he doesn't want to talk about his family and keeps driving. He doesn't pay attention when the cashier gives him the pills and takes a sleeping pill instead of an allergy one. Because of this, the man falls asleep before he can start the car and get back to the hotel. Calvin knows that if he misses the curfew, Tracy will be suspended, hence he drives the car back to the hotel, hitting several things on his way.
The next day, Calvin is suspended for going on a joyride. Tracy feels bad that the kid got punished because of his mistake. Later at night, they're on the flight back when Tracy thanks Calvin for taking the heat to save him. Tracy has started to like the kid after spending some time with him.
When Calvin returns to the orphanage, several people come in wanting to adopt him. Murf gets jealous because he wants the adults to want him as well. Since Bidleman doesn't want Calvin to get adopted, he chooses only the worst parents and arranges a meeting with them. Calvin doesn't like any adults he meets and decides to keep staying at the orphanage instead.
That weekend, he goes to meet Tracy at his house unannounced. The kid is mesmerized by the size of the player's mansion. When asked why he is there, Calvin tells Tracy everything about Murf being upset, him not getting good parents, and a geometry test he has tomorrow to solve. The kid's problems. Tracy asks him to invite Murf over. While they wait, he teaches him geometry in a fun way so he wouldn't get bored. In the middle of it, they start playfully throwing paint at each other. Murf joins them a while later and forgets about his argument with Calvin.
The following day, Calvin and his friends are together talking about how difficult it is to find good parents. When Calvin tells him about Tracy and his father's relationship, they suggest he help them reconcile. The next day, Calvin meets with Tracy's father and brings him to Tracy's house. The player is furious at Calvin for invading his privacy. They get into a massive argument about the matter.
The next day, the Knights have a match against their biggest opponents, the Toronto Raptors, but Calvin and Tracy have still not resolved their differences. Because of this, they lose the match. The coach scolds the team for degrading their performances in such a crucial game. Now they only have one last match, which will decide if they will enter the playoffs or not.
The next day, a couple comes to the orphanage asking to adopt Calvin. He is skeptical after several failed meetings, but Bidleman urges him to give them a chance. He makes Calvin wear new shoes, telling him if he looks presentable, they will want to adopt him even more. Before leaving, Calvin hands his lucky shoes to Murf, asking him to guard them with his life. To test the shoes, Murf wears them and tries to play like Calvin, but he fails. He concludes that they do not fit him and continues talking to a picture of his mother. Ox and his friends threaten him to tell them about the shoes. When he refuses, they take him to Bidleman, who burns the only picture of his mother that Murf has. With no way out, Murf tells them where the shoes are. Following that, Bidleman meets his associates and bets $100,000 against the Knights in the next game. Since he has hidden the lucky shoes, he is sure that Calvin will be horrible in the game.
Calvin goes on a dinner with his potential parents, but he doesn't seem to fit in. In the meantime, Tracy meets his father and reconciles with him. He misses Calvin terribly and talks to him before their next match. He wants to adopt the kid but refrains from telling him that. After meeting the couple who he went to see yesterday, 20 minutes before the game, Murf calls Calvin and tells him about the shoes. Calvin rushes back to the orphanage to retrieve them. The kids help him to tie up Bidleman and ask him where the shoes are. Ox goes against the group and tries to help him, but he changes his mind after Bidleman insults him. Like usual, he brings out the shoes from the safe and gives them back to Calvin. Everyone then gets on their scooters and drives back to the arena. Bidleman somehow frees himself and calls his associate to stop Calvin from arriving at the game. The men stop him, but the kids manage to stall them and let Calvin into the arena. As a last resort, Bidleman stands in front of Calvin, refraining him from going further, but the kid hits him with his scooter and finally gets to the game.
By his arrival, his team is behind by a large margin. When he starts playing, they soon catch up with the opponent's score. However, he gets tackled in the middle of the game, and his shoes are destroyed. A nervous Calvin believes his magic lies in the shoes, so he would never be able to score without them. Tracy motivates the boy, telling him that the shoes only gave him confidence; the real talent lies within himself. Eventually, Calvin continues the game and helps his team win.
Wanting to spend the rest of his childhood like a normal kid, Calvin tells his coach that he doesn't wish to renew the contract. He returns to the orphanage, which is now entirely different because of Bidleman's departure. Tracy tells Calvin about his plans to adopt a child and asks him if he wants to be his son. Calvin agrees on the condition that Murf will also come with him. Their friend Rege is also adopted by a different family. In the end, both Calvin and Murf playfully fight with Tracy in their new room.
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