In the long-running tradition of the NBA’s stars branching out into different entertainment arenas, All-Star Kyrie Irving acted as the title character in Uncle Drew, a sports comedy that was released in late-June. Most fans of the NBA are already familiar with the Uncle Drew character—since 2012, Kyrie Irving has acted in a series of Pepsi Max commercials, playing the role of Uncle Drew, an elderly man who challenges and humiliates amateur basketball players in pick-up games. I was doubtful that the transition of Uncle Drew from minute-long commercials to a feature-length film would be successful, but as an avid fan of the NBA, I couldn’t resist going to see the movie on opening night.
The plot of Uncle Drew intertwines two stories. One is of Dax, played by Lil Rel Howery, who is a manager for a team competing in the Rucker Tournament, an annual streetball tournament held in Harlem’s Rucker Park. After his team dissolves days before the tournament, Dax has to reassemble his roster. His prospects appear bleak until, one day, he encounters Uncle Drew in a basketball court. Uncle Drew, a now-retired Ruckers Park legend, has no intention to join Dax’s team, but eventually joins under the condition that his teammates from his heyday get to join the team too. Uncle Drew’s story is woven into Dax’s need to win the tournament prize, and the majority of the movie consists of their hilarious quest to find these teammates, played by former NBA players Nate Robinson, Shaquille O’Neal, Chris Webber, and Reggie Miller, and their gameplay in the tournament.
The main reason for my initial apprehension about the movie was the intense branding behind the Uncle Drew persona. After all, Uncle Drew had previously only appeared in the context of commercials for Pepsi, and one of the production companies behind the movie was Pepsi Productions, who made it clear that the goal of the movie was to “extend the equity” of the Pepsi brand. As a result, I was expecting this movie to be a two-hour commercial with an underdeveloped plot as the result of the focus on marketing. This movie did prove to be chock-full of advertisements—the villain, played by Nick Kroll, literally gave a shout-out to Pepsi in a TV segment during the movie—and at points in the movie, it was painfully obvious that references to brands like Nike were intentional.
However, even if the movie was ultimately just a 110 minute-long branding opportunity, at no point did I feel like the advertisements took away from the story or the emotions of the movie. This movie was filled with lighthearted moments, and the theater roared with raucous laughter at many instances, especially when Shaquille O’Neal’s character exposed his naked backside. Surprisingly, the movie also had sentimental, borderline tear-jerking moments as well, which was completely unexpected and a testament to the fact that this movie managed to be a creative, artistic film despite its commercial context.
Each of the characters were developed well, especially that of the villain, Mookie, who was the childhood rival of Dax. Mookie is a complete jerk, stealing Dax’s best player (who is played by rising NBA star Aaron Gordon), and his over-the-top swagger and bravado is hysterical. Dax’s character is also very well-developed, and exhibits and elicits a surprisingly complex set of emotions given the movie’s light theme. Of course, any movie wouldn’t be complete without a love story, and the romantic interlude in Uncle Drew ended up being unexpectedly tender.
So, while Uncle Drew did not shy away from its commercial origins, it maintained a sense of artistry, and it ended up being one of the better movies I saw over summer. Its characters were endearing, and the plot was more complex than I expected. While the movie was far from perfect, it is a must-see for basketball fans and sports fans in general.