Uncle Drew

Uncle Drew
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Charles Stone III
Produced by
Written by Jay Longino
Starring
Music by Christopher Lennertz
Cinematography Crash
Edited by
  • Jeff Freeman
  • Sean Valla
Production
company
Distributed by Lionsgate
Release date
  • June 29, 2018 (2018-06-29) (United States)
Running time
 103 minutes[1]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $18 million[2]
Box office $44.5 million[3]

Uncle Drew is a 2018 American sports comedy film directed by Charles Stone III and written by Jay Longino. It stars Kyrie Irving as the title character from his Pepsi Max advertisements that began airing in 2012, along with former NBA players Shaquille O'Neal, Chris Webber, Reggie Miller, and Nate Robinson, as well as former WNBA player Lisa Leslie. Lil Rel Howery, Erica Ash, J. B. Smoove, Mike Epps, Tiffany Haddish, and Nick Kroll also star.[4]

The film was released in the United States on June 29, 2018 and received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the performances of the cast, but called the direction and screenplay "formulaic".[5]

Plot

Uncle Drew is a well-remembered basketball legend who was supposed to play at the Rucker Classic with his team, but due to an uncertain conflict, he and his team broke up and disappeared. Dax is the underappreciated coach of Harlem's Money who is broke and has had a longstanding rivalry with Mookie. Dax was an orphan who planned on becoming a basketball player, but was humiliated by Mookie after he had a shot blocked by him in their youth. Dax risks losing his star player, Casper Jones, as he spent his life savings on entering the Rucker and for buying an expensive pair of shoes for him and his team. However, Mookie swoops in and steals his team anyway leading to an incident involving Dax forcibly trying to remove Casper's shoes that is filmed and humiliatingly goes viral. Due to this, Dax's girlfriend Jess breaks up with him and kicks him out of her apartment.

The cantankerous Angelo eventually approaches Dax about meeting Uncle Drew after he is turned down by other players. Drew turns out to be an exceptional basketball player despite his old age and agrees to join Dax under the condition that they recruit his original team.

They set off on the road and recruit Preacher who had since become an actual preacher, but incur the wrath of his wife Betty Lou who begins to chase them. They next reunite with the partially blind Lights and the wheelchair bound Boots whose granddaughter, Maya works at the nursing home to look after them. They escape and make it to a karate dojo where they get Big Fella, who still holds a grudge against Drew for their earlier conflict. After his credit card is declined at a gas station, Dax makes a bet with a coach for a young girls basketball team to earn money (in reality trying to win gas money). Drew and his team lose, but they offer up the money to help Dax, and Maya begins to appreciate him for giving the elders another chance at playing.

As they make it back to the Rucker, Drew gives each of his team their gear that restores their faith and abilities, but Big Fella breaks his as it does not wipe away their past and he refuses to cooperate with Drew. Eventually, Drew acknowledges his mistake; sleeping with Big Fella's now deceased wife before the big game. He admitted that he too loved her and the two make amends.

Meanwhile, Dax learns that Mookie and Jess are now dating, but begins falling for Maya instead who appreciates his caring of the elders. Drew also learns that Dax plans to make money off of the game which angers him, but after learning about Dax's past, he forgives him and tries to give him words of encouragement. While playing against another team, Big Fella suddenly has a heart attack and is forced to stay at the hospital. Betty Lou arrives and decides to fill in for him.

Dax and his team, now called the Harlem Buckets, play against Mookie's team in the finals who ends up being an even match for them. In the last bouts of the game, Lights accidentally knocks out Casper and injures himself forcing Dax and Mookie to fill in. Dax still has some doubt about himself, but Drew gives him the advice he needs and manages to make the final shot, finally beating Mookie and earning everyone's respect. As the team go to see Big Fella in the hospital, everyone watches Dax being praised for his comeback on ESPN.

During the credits, Jess is shown trying to call Dax about potentially getting back together after breaking up with Mookie. When Dax does not respond, she slowly and comically becomes enraged.

Cast

Making cameo appearances as themselves are Sal Masekela, John Calipari, Jon Hammond, Scoop Jackson, Pee Wee Kirkland, Earl Monroe, Chris Mullin, Bill Walton, George Gervin, Steve Nash, David Robinson, Jerry West, Dikembe Mutombo, NeNe Leakes, Rick Barry, Rick Ross, and Ben Nethongkome.

Production

On February 16, 2017, PepsiCo announced that they would partner with Temple Hill Entertainment for the production of the film, featuring the character Uncle Drew from the Pepsi Max advertisements.[6] On September 5, 2017, ESPN's SportsCenter revealed the cast via their Twitter account.[7] Lil Rel Howery stated that Kyrie Irving heard about his trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Boston Celtics while filming.[8]

Release

On February 12, 2018, Kyrie Irving announced the release date of June 29, 2018 via his Twitter account.[9]

Reception

Box office

Uncle Drew has grossed $42.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $1.9 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $44.3 million.[3]

In the United States and Canada, Uncle Drew was released alongside Sicario: Day of the Soldado, and was projected to gross $11–15 million from 2,742 theaters in its opening weekend.[10] It made $6.1 million on its first day, including $1.1 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $15.5 million, finishing fourth at the box office, behind Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Incredibles 2, and Sicario: Day of the Soldado.[11] It fell 56% in its second weekend, to $6.7 million, finishing sixth.[12]

Critical response

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 62% based on 84 reviews, and an average rating of 5.9/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Kyrie Irving's crossover to comedy is amiable enough to score with basketball fans, but Uncle Drew is held back by formulaic direction and too much product placement."[13] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score of 57 out of 100, based on reviews from 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews."[14] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[11]

David Ehrlich of IndieWire gave the film a "B–" and wrote: "At heart, Uncle Drew is a personality-driven film. The plot is spare, and the storytelling gets super janky whenever screenwriter Jay Longino is asked to manufacture a new obstacle. But as wince-inducing as it can be to watch the film stall for time, or use the Rucker prize money to muster up some hollow conflict, the climactic streetball showdown pays off."[15] Variety's Peter Debtuge praised the performances of the NBA players and makeup, while saying the film is never that surprising or funny, writing, "While it won't increase your appetite for zero-calorie sugar water one bit (oddly enough, Nike gets far more prominent on-screen placement), this affectionate basketball-themed comedy from sports-savvy director Charles Stone III comes across as an effective feature-length ad for the game itself."[16]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominee Result Ref.
2018People's Choice AwardsBest Comedy Movie Of 2018Uncle DrewPending

References

  1. ↑ http://bbfc.co.uk/releases/uncle-drew-film
  2. ↑ Catts, Everett (June 29, 2018). "Westminster grad's 'Uncle Drew' a basketball love letter". Marietta Daily Journal. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Uncle Drew (2018)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  4. ↑ Kroll, Justin (February 9, 2017). "NBA Star Kyrie Irving's 'Uncle Drew' Commercials to Get Film Treatment (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  5. ↑ Slane, Kevin (June 28, 2018). "What critics are saying about 'Uncle Drew'". Boston.com. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  6. ↑ Schultz, E.J. (February 16, 2017). "Pepsi Is Taking Kyrie Irving's 'Uncle Drew' to the Movies". Advertising Age. Crain Communications. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  7. ↑ SN Staff (September 5, 2017). "First Look: Cast revealed for upcoming 'Uncle Drew' movie". ESPN. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  8. ↑ Rooney, Kyle (March 5, 2018). "Lil Rel Says Kyrie Irving Found Out He Was Traded While Filming "Uncle Drew"". Hot New Hip Hop. Urbanlinx Media. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  9. ↑ Gould, Andrew (February 12, 2018). "Kyrie Irving Reveals June 29 Release Date for 'Uncle Drew' Movie". Bleacher Report. Turner Broadcasting System. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
  10. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (June 27, 2018). "'Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom' Won't Face Extinction With $60M Second Weekend; Dinos Roar Will $18M+ Tuesday – B.O. Preview". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  11. 1 2 D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 1, 2018). "At $2.5B To Date, Summer's B.O. Is More Colossal Than Ever Imagined; Dinos Still Rule With $60M+ Second Weekend". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
  12. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 8, 2018). "'Ant-Man And The Wasp' Shrinks A Tick To $76M+ Opening, But Still 34% Bigger Than Original – Early Sunday Read". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Uncle Drew (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Uncle Drew Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  15. ↑ Ehrlich, David (June 19, 2018). "'Uncle Drew' Review: Lil Rel Howery, NBA Legends, and Oscar-Worthy Makeup Help Make This Streetball Comedy an Easy Slam Dunk". IndieWire. Penske Business Media. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  16. ↑ Debruge, Peter (June 19, 2018). "Film Review: 'Uncle Drew'". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
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