Like Mike

Release Date: July 3, 2002

It's a cute enough premise, I guess, especially for the small fry at which it's undoubtedly aimed. And Lil' Bow Wow is an appealing screen presence. The trailer includes lots of shots of basketball games and, I gather, real players interacting with our pint-sized hero, along with the brief back-story.

The trailer seems designed to draw in kids and basketball fans, and in that respect, it does its job well. I'm not sure there's going to be much appeal beyond those two groups, though; certainly this non-kid, non-basketball fan didn't find the film an interesting prospect. In fact, judging from the trailer, the film doesn't really look all that good. Still, given it's not only a summer film but a summer kids' film, Like Mike should do decent box office. I just think a trailer that wasn't so narrowly targeted might have done a better job of marketing this flick.