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Uncle Drew is a 2018 American Sports film 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, Nick Kroll, and Aaron Gordon also star.
The film was released in the United States by Lionsgate Films on June 29, 2018, and received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the performances of the cast, but called the direction and screenplay "formulaic".
Dejected, Dax has little luck finding players for a new team until the cantankerous Angelo encourages him to seek out Uncle Drew, a well-remembered streetball legend who, along with his team, disappeared after missing the finals of the 1968 Rucker. After seeing a demonstration of Drew's prowess, Dax recruits him for the team, neglecting to inform him about the prize money. Drew agrees to join Dax under the condition that they recruit his original teammates.
They set off in Drew's van and recruit Preacher, who has since become an actual preacher, but incur the wrath of his wife Betty Lou who pursues them as they leave town. They next reunite with the partially blind Lights and wheelchair user Boots whose granddaughter, Maya, volunteers at the nursing home looking after them. They escape and make it to the karate dojo of Big Fella. Big Fella is reluctant to join the team, as he still holds a grudge against Drew, but Dax persuades him to join. After his credit card is declined at a gas station, Dax attempts to hustle the coach of a girls basketball team to earn money for fuel. Dax's team loses, but Drew offers up the money to help Dax after learning the real motive for the game, and Maya begins to appreciate him for the way he treats the elders.
Returning to Rucker Park, Drew gives each member of his team gear that restores their faith and abilities, but Big Fella still refuses to cooperate with Drew. During the first round, Big Fella and Drew tussle on the court, almost costing the team the win. Eventually, Drew acknowledges his mistake: sleeping with Big Fella's late wife before the big game. He admits that he too loved her and the two make amends.
Meanwhile, Dax learns that Mookie and Jess are dating, and begins falling for Maya. After learning about the tournament's prize money from Angelo, Drew angrily confronts Dax for misleading him to believe that he wanted to only have him on the team to help the community, but instead ending up using him to better his image and fix all of the trouble he's gotten himself in previously. As a result, this causes Dax to confess about his past with Mookie, causing Drew to forgive him. While playing in the semi-finals, Big Fella suddenly has a heart attack and is taken to the hospital. Betty Lou arrives but instead of chastising Preacher, she agrees to fill in as the team's fifth member.
Dax and his team, now renamed the Harlem Buckets, play against Mookie's team in the finals who are an even match for them. Late in the game Lights and Casper collide and are both injured, forcing Dax and Mookie to fill in. Dax still lacks self-confidence, but his teammates give him the advice he needs and he manages to make the game-winning shot, beating Mookie and earning everyone's respect. Returning to the hospital the team reunite with Big Fella, Dax uses the prize money to pay his medical bills, and ESPN now hails Dax as a hero.
During the credits Jess is shown trying to call Dax about getting back together, having dumped Mookie, but becomes increasingly distraught when he doesn't answer. She eventually curses at her phone and gives up.
Making cameo appearances as themselves are Sal Masekela, John Calipari, Justin Mathis, Bill Sizemore, 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, Scott Van Pelt and Ben Nethongkome.
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In the United States and Canada, Uncle Drew was released alongside , and was projected to gross $11–15 million from 2,742 theaters in its opening weekend. 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 , Incredibles 2, and Sicario: Day of the Soldado. It fell 56% in its second weekend, to $6.7 million, finishing sixth.
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." Varietys Peter Debruge 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 Pepsi Max 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."
The intention of these shorts was to form the backbone of an advertising campaign but Pepsi decided not to be heavy handed with the product. Marc Gilbar, then a creative director at Davie Brown, described how product placement was sufficient for their goals "We put a couple of barrel coolers of Pepsi MAX on the outside of the court. It was a warm night, and they were free, so people naturally started drinking it. In some places it may have felt like it was placed there, and it was, but the people weren't acting." PepsiCo also owns the Gatorade brand which can be seen in the shorts and feature films.
Kyrie Irving was credited as writer and director in these productions as he developed the character's personality, improvised dialog, and blocked out a lot of scenes. Additionally, Gilbar and the Davie Brown team created the Uncle Drew universe, makeup artist Ed French came up with the character's look, and Jonathan Klein directed. Klein was reported to give up credit to Irving to make the shorts seem more intriguing. Gilbar went on to be involved with the production of the 2018 feature-length movie.
| Pepsi MAX went to a pick-up game in Bloomfield, NJ and some magical things happened |
| Uncle Drew visits a basketball legend who sends him to Los Angeles to get his old team back together |
| Uncle Drew visits an underground jazz club in downtown Chicago |
| Uncle Drew is down in Miami putting in work and settling old scores |
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