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| photo courtesy of teaser-trailer.com |
In 2018, studios are
looking everywhere for franchise inspiration: books, comic books, video games,
other movies, and now, Pepsi commercials. Yes indeed, the new sports comedy Uncle Drew has its origin as a series of
successful Pepsi Max commercials, in which NBA player Kyrie Irving plays a
retired basketball legend. The movie sees coach Dax (Lil Rel Howery) recruit old
Uncle Drew and his team (played by basketball stars Shaquille O’Neal, Chris
Webber, Reggie Miller, Nate Robinson, and Lisa Leslie) to beat his arch-rivals
in the Rucker Classic. Tiffany Haddish and Nick Kroll co-star.
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| photo courtesy of cinefilesreview.com |
As much as I would like
to write it off as a cynical corporate maneuver, Uncle Drew is the type of movie that makes you check your baggage
at the door. Without breaking much of a sweat, Drew keeps the jokes and the dunks coming from start to finish. And
with a surplus of NBA personalities having a great time onscreen, the fun is
infectious.
Comic actors like Lil
Rel Howery (Get Out), Tiffany Haddish
(Girls Trip), and Nick Kroll (The League) lead the way. Each of them
gives predictably satisfying performances—hilarious and, alternatively,
obnoxious—to help set the stage. What surprises most about Uncle Ben, however, is the exceptional performance of the NBA
stars. Not all of the acting earns an A+, but the main things demanded of them
are comedic timing and physical presence, and they prove equal to both tasks.
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| photo courtesy of theatlantic.com |
It might be easy to
nitpick the movie’s weaker aspects—formulaic plotting, most notably—but to do
would be to miss the point entirely. Uncle
Drew doesn’t set out to revolutionize sports movies or bring complex character
development to light; it’s a vehicle for Kyrie Irving and company to dress up
as old people, school all the young upstarts, and be hilarious in the process. More
than any story quips, it’s rampant product placement that detracts from the
experience, but if you can stomach a few large Aleve posters in the background,
you should still have a good time.
TRAILER
Watch the trailer here.
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| photo courtesy of rogerebert.com |
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