“Uncle Drew” is back after making his debut online in a Pepsi Youtube campaign that launched six years ago.
Boston Celtics’ Kyrie Irving dons the white mustache and wig to reprise his role as the elderly basketball legend. This time rather than the spotlight being on him, he shares it with real-life basketball legends transformed into senior citizens (in the movie) played by Shaquille O’Neal, Chris Webber, Reggie Miller, Nate Robinson and Lisa Leslie.
From the start, the big question becomes can Irving who plays the titular role, and makes his movie debut in the film stand toe to toe with the NBA greats he costars with both on the court and during comedic scenes off the court, as well as keep up with comedian-actor co-star Lil Rel Howery. To answer the first part of the question Irving who is also the youngest of his fellow basketball player co-stars does keep up on the court of course, but when it comes to the comedic scenes off the court at times the generational gap between him and his older athlete co-stars is present in terms of dialogue.
The film also heavily relies on backstory, and most of Uncle Drew’s character’s issues, as well as issues within the character of Dax, stem from unresolved conflicts from the past. In focusing the movie so much on the character’s past vs. the present, it takes a while for the characters to show growth which slows down the movie at times.
Out of the basketball legends in the film, Chris Webber’s performance as Preacher and Reggie Miller’s performance as Lightz stand out among the team. Miller’s character is legally blind in the film, and to see him purposely miss shots is very funny to see. Webber’s Preacher especially shines during a church scene reminiscent of the Blues Brothers.
Besides The NBA legends and Lil Rel Howery, the film features Tiffany Haddish as Dax’s girlfriend who he lives with, Nick Kroll as antagonist Mookie, JB Smoove as a local barber, Erica Ash as Bootz’s granddaughter and Mike Epps. Haddish isn’t given much to do in the film and her performance truly shines in the post-credits scenes. Kroll also starts to run out of creative ways to taunt his nemesis by film’s end.
The shots of the athletes making the shots in the basket with precision are well done as well as aerial shots of different cities as the cast drive from city to city. Ultimately if you’re a fan of basketball and want to see legends who have retired from the court, show just why they are legends (possibly making you recall their legendary moments from their basketball careers), this might be the movie for you.
The film is now playing.
