Review of Uncle Drew (2018) by Kevin P — 12 Dec 2018

Strengths: The basketball scenes in this movie are pretty cool. The players get to bust out some impressive looking moves and the games, other than the championship, donâ(TM)t follow the traditional formula youâ(TM)ve come to expect. Kyrie Irving (Uncle Drew) is better than I thought heâ(TM)d be, while Reggie Miller (Wilbur âLightsâ? Wallace) and Shaquille Oâ(TM)Neal (Big Fella) are both funny. The main characters grow from the start of the film until the end, showing solid evolution.

Weaknesses: The script is very predictable. It hits a lot of beats that are all too familiar with the genre. You can basically call out what is going to happen next with relative ease. Most of the physical gags miss the mark and a lot of the actors just arenâ(TM)t funny. Tiffany Haddish (Jess) makes you cringe way more than she makes you laugh, while Nick Kroll (Mookie Bass) only has one or two moments that work.

Overall: A goofy basketball movie that is okay at best. I donâ(TM)t feel like I wasted my time on it, but I canâ(TM)t ever see myself watching it again. A few laughs but a formulaic script and some unfunny characters hurt.