Alonzo Mourning Movies
Pint-size rap music star Lil Bow Wow shows that he can play ball as well as he raps in this youth-oriented comedy about a young boy whose dream comes true in an unexpected way. Calvin Cambridge (Lil Bow Wow) is a 14-year-old boy, who, since the death of his parents, has been living in an orphanage run by the unpleasantly eccentric Stan Bittleman (Crispin Glover). While the tough but caring Sister Theresa (Anne Meara) tries to encourage the kids, Calvin knows that he and most of the other kids his age are poor prospects for adoption. Calvin loves basketball and idolizes Michael Jordan, but he's too short to be much of a challenge to the older kids when shooting hoop at the playground. One day, Calvin discovers a pair of old basketball sneakers with the initials "MJ" written on the inside. Calvin is convinced they once belonged to Michael Jordan, but he can hardly believe what happens when he puts them on -- suddenly he's able to make superhuman jump shots and dunks just like a miniature version of Air Jordan himself. Calvin's newly developed talent on the court comes to the attention of Frank Bernard (Eugene Levy), the manager of the Los Angeles Knights, an NBA team having a humiliating season. Bernard brings Calvin to the team as a novelty item, but with the help of Coach Wagner (Robert Forster) and the new kid's can-do attitude, the Knights start to climb out of the cellar and look like possible season champs. However, Tracey Reynolds (Morris Chestnut), who used to be the team's star player, isn't happy to have his thunder stolen by a 14-year-old boy -- especially when he's made Calvin's roommate and de-facto guardian on the road. Like Mike also features cameo appearances by a number of pro basketball stars, including Allen Iverson, Chris Webber, and Jason Kidd. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lil' Bow Wow, Morris Chestnut, (more)
E.Z. Mony (Charles Malik Whitfield), the nasty, avaricious star player of the Salt Lake Saints basketball team, is idolized by 14-year-old Darnell (Jamil Walker Smith), who not only wants to emulate E.Z.'s athletic skill, but also his antisocial behavior. Special Agent Angel Sam (Paul Winfield) is so determined to prevent Darnell from being led down the wrong path that he assigns four Heavenly troubleshooters--Monica (Roma Downey), Tess (Della Reese), Andrew (John Dye) and Ruth (Cloris Leachman)--to this one case. Ultimately, the root cause of E.Z.'s hostile attitude is revealed...and it's quite a surprise for everyone. Real-life NBA stars Alonzo Mourning and Greg Ostertag appear as themselve in this episode, which also serves to introduce Alexis Cruz in the recurring role of streetwise angel Rafael. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi



