Calvin Cambridge (Rapper Lil Bow Wow) is an orphan who dreams of becoming a basketball player and of having a family. One day he discovers a pair of sneakers owned by Michael Jordan and when they're struck by lightning become magical. When he has a chance meeting with the coach of his favorite basketball team the Knights, he wins a sweepstakes where he takes on the star player Tracy Reynolds (Morris Chestnut). When he wins with magical skills given to him by the sneakers, he becomes a star player pursuing his dream to become just like Mike. I have to admit I was very skeptical about this movie going into it. I've seen tons of movies with the exact same theme and none of them are masterpieces. So, when I went into this, I went in with low expectations. Well, I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised by the end result. I'm not a big fan of Lil' bow wow, and he makes his feature film debut in a charming movie. Though not an excellent actor, he does well with his character coming off as very likeable and charming. The best parts though are between him and Chestnut who have excellent chemistry together and play off well against each other. I constantly laughed aloud when I saw their scenes and found their dialogue well written. Morris Chestnut manages to save this movie and give it class with his character who is, at first, a very arrogant ego-maniac who grows to like Cambridge as they're forced to become friends. The movie is great for kids, especially young boys as this fabricates every little boys fantasy: to be a sports star, and this movie pulls it off very well. Crispin Glover (Back to the Future) is almost too creepy as the evil orphan master named Bittleman who constantly manipulates Cambridge and treats the kids with cruelty. Parents will love the positive message this gives young kids and the story will let them enjoy it, kids will love the sheer excitement of imagining themselves becoming just Like Calvin as a sports star. This is a good one.

The movie suffers from the same faults every other kids sports movie suffers from: it's too predictable. I was able to guess what would happen throughout the entire movie before it happened. We know Calvin will become a star, we know he will form a bond with Reynolds, we know he'll be discovered, we'll know the villain will ruin his chances, and we know the obligatory happy ending. I wasn't expecting anything new, but give me something different. The movie is cheesy with a lot of plotholes in it. For example, how come no one ever asks how he jumps so high? How come they let a little kid join the NBA? But, I'm just nitpicking at this point in time.

Predictable yet charming; parents will like this, young kids will love this; especially young boys. Parents, sit down with your kids and pop this into your DVD/VCR player; you won't be disappointed.