Review : Uncle Drew (2018)
When it comes to mixing motivation and entertainment, it’s hard to beat a sports movie. Most every sport translates well to the screen, but of all the sports, basketball may be the one that transitions the best to the medium of film. After Kyrie Irving introduced the Uncle Drew character in a series of Pepsi commercials, it seemed like a matter of time before the character found its way to a bigger venue, but I’m sure not many anticipated a movie. Yet here we are, 2018, one year removed from Kyrie Irving’s controversial off-season, and he’s winning many of us back over with the impressive Uncle Drew.
Dax (Lil Rel Howery), a basketball lover since his days in the orphanage he was raised in, is poised to win the legendary Rucker tournament with the help of basketball phenom Casper (Aaron Gordon). Unfortunately, he has two immediate obstacles to face : keeping his relationship together with his materialistic girlfriend Jess (Tiffany Haddish), and keeping his longtime rival Mookie (Nick Kroll) from stealing Casper off of his team, both of which he fails at in rapid succession. With little to no hope, Dax searches for a new team, which eventually leads him to Rucker legend Uncle Drew (Kyrie Irving). After forging a friendship, Dax and Uncle Drew go on a mission to build a team full of Uncle Drew’s former Rucker teammates : Preacher (Chris Webber), Boots (Nate Robinson), Lights (Reggie Miller), and Big Fella (Shaquille O’Neal), all of whom are now senior citizens who have not played in decades. On top of that, Preacher’s wife Betty Lou (Lisa Leslie) is dead set on bringing Preacher back home, and Boots’s granddaughter Maya (Erica Ash) begins to develop a relationship with Dax. With all of their collective baggage in tow, the team sets out to win the entire Rucker tournament despite the odds being stacked heavily against them.
Rarely do commercials translate well to feature films, but this particular project has many things working in its favor. Kyrie Irving has the basketball skill to sell the Uncle Drew makeup, and he has the natural charisma for his performance to not come off as forced. His team is comprised of several former NBA superstars known specifically for being larger than life characters that have all transitioned into TV personalities. The comedic cast put in place to bolster the film more than carries the weight in regards to the non-basketball elements of the film, helping to raise the collective performances all around. Adding the backdrop of New York City and Rucker Park helps bring validity to the world built for the film as well.
Cleverly, however, the film knows exactly what works for it, and stays to the path without letting ambition undercut the movie. The film plays a four part balancing act of sports film, redemption story, road trip movie and comedic blockbuster surprisingly well. The Uncle Drew character had the luxury of being established in the series of aforementioned commercials, so other than a short blurb at the beginning of the film, time is not wasted on backstory, and the connection we have with him provides a convenient shorthand for understanding the role each of his teammates plays.
The film also finds validity via a plethora of featured roles and cameos, all helping us understand the gravity of the situation as well as giving us a built-in lore that parallels the real world. Basketball world cameos include Steve Nash, Dikembe Mutombo, Chris Mullin, David Robinson, Rick Barry, George Gervin, Bill Walton, Jerry West and Earl Monroe. A handful of Rucker legends make appearances, including Pee Wee Kirkland and Jon Hammond. Basketball journalists Scott Van Pelt, Scoop Jackson and Sal Masekela all make appearances. Even Rick Ross pops up momentarily.
Lil Rel Howery brings his comedic loose cannon approach to the table to wonderful effect, even managing to slip in a great joke at the expense of Get Out. Kyrie Irving drops a surprising amount of depth to his character, coming off as more than a one-note player in the film. Tiffany Haddish and Nick Kroll go head to head in terms of the comedic MVP of the film. Shaquille O’Neal, Chris Webber and Reggie Miller all are given opportunities to showcase their comedic range, while Nate Robinson plays a surprisingly reserved role. Erica Ash plays the grounding element of the film, allowing the audience to have a character they can easily connect to. Lisa Lesie also gives Haddish and Kroll a run for their comedic money. J.B. Smoove and Mike Epps make smaller appearances while still managing to make an impression.
Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much from Uncle Drew, but it surprised me in all the right ways. I don’t want there to be a sequel or anything, but in the context of basketball films, I think Uncle Drew stands up to the pack, and will probably find a cult life of its own. I think it’d possibly make a good double-feature with Semi-Pro as well.
