Uncle Drew (2018)

An anti-ageist comedy about a man's dream to win the Rucker Classic street ball tournament in Harlem.

Director:

Charles Stone III

Writer:

Jay Longino

Stars:

Kyrie Irving, Lil Rel Howery, Shaquille O'Neal

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kyrie Irving	...	Uncle Drew
Lil Rel Howery	...	Dax
Shaquille O'Neal	...	Big Fella
Chris Webber	...	Preacher
Reggie Miller	...	Lights
Nate Robinson	...	Boots
Lisa Leslie	...	Betty Lou
Erica Ash	...	Maya
Tiffany Haddish	...	Jess
Nick Kroll	...	Mookie
Aaron Gordon	...	Casper
Mike Epps	...	Louis
J.B. Smoove	...	Angelo
Wesley Witherspoon	...	Mario
Thomas Mills	...	Duke Tango

Storyline

After draining his life savings to enter a team in the Rucker Classic street ball tournament in Harlem, Dax (Lil Rel Howery) is dealt a series of unfortunate setbacks, including losing his team to his longtime rival (Nick Kroll). Desperate to win the tournament and the cash prize, Dax stumbles upon the man, the myth, the legend UNCLE DREW (NBA All-Star Kyrie Irving) and convinces him to return to the court one more time. The two men embark on a road trip to round up Drew's old basketball squad (Shaquille O'Neal, Chris Webber, Reggie Miller, Nate Robinson, and Lisa Leslie) and prove that a group of septuagenarians can still win the big one. After a successful five years as a fan-favorite digital episodic series, originally conceived by Pepsi, UNCLE DREW, will hit theaters June 29, 2018. UNCLE DREW is a Summit Entertainment release produced by Temple Hill in association with PepsiCo's Creators League Studios.

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Plot Keywords:

based on commercial | basketball | singing in a car | rapping in a car | product placement | 

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Taglines:

Fast break, no brakes.

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Genres:

Comedy | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for suggestive material, language and brief nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site Official Site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 June 2018 (USA)

Also Known As:

Uncle Drew

Filming Locations:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$19,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$15,242,781, 1 July 2018

Gross USA:

$42,469,946

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$46,664,414

Company Credits

Production Co:

Summit Entertainment, Creators League Studio, Pepsi Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Surround 7.1

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kroll played basketball at his Jewish day school, so he jokes he could have been an NBA player "if things had gone another way." The players took a poll and voted Nick Kroll to be better than Lil Rel Howery at basketball. Howery, however, thinks that they should settle that debate on the court, one-on-one.

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Quotes

Boots: We don't stop playing because we get old , We get old because we stop playing

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Connections

References Get Out (2017)

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Soundtracks

Ballin'
Written by Eskeerdo (as Alexander Izquierdo), Logic (as Robert Hall), and Jeremy McArthur
Performed by Logic
Produced by Jeremy McArthur for Canadian Jew Music, Inc.
Courtesy of Def Jam Recordings under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

"You don't quit playing because you're too old, you get too old because you quit playing."

I watched this at home on BluRay from my public library. I saved my wife the pain.

The premise is funny, a hustler loses his prize player and has to recruit basketball players to compete in the annual street basketball competition in Harlem. It is the movie version of the short "Uncle Drew" skits, most as Pepsi commercials. In them pro basketball player Kyrie Irving is dressed up as elderly Uncle Drew who crashes pickup games then proceeds to show up all the young hot shots to the amusement of the spectators.

Irving is very good in his role, both on the court and in the role of Uncle Drew. Shaq O'Neal is also good, in fact all the pro players are good. But the script is overly silly and annoying most of the time. In fact the first 10 to 15 minutes are mostly unbearable. Then it picks up when Uncle Drew makes an appearance.

The story involves a road trip, and one location is New Orleans, very recognizable, although the IMDb doesn't include it as a filming location. The short sequences of the "old guys" playing basketball are interesting, but most of the filler scenes are silly and uninteresting. However a few of the jokes are funny. Too many characters are overly annoying.

Not a particularly good movie.