Tío Drew

A film the whole family can enjoy some great laughs and set pieces other times it's slightly average but had enough laughs to get by without breaking any new ground and being a tad forgettable. Perfect viewing on a weary Sunday night.

I have to admit, I loved the ads when I first saw them a couple of years. What ads some might ask. The ads where Kyrie Irving played a fictional character called "Uncle Drew". I don't know how staged they were or if especially the first one people actually knew that under all that (really well done) makeup, was one of the best ballers - Kyrie.

Fast forward to 2018 and we get a movie based on that character that was only meant to sell a product. How could that be any good? And yet it is. If you are not too cynical that is. We are talking about a predictable story about a manager who could have been in the Jerry Maguire school of how to make money fast. But we know there is more. And there are more basketball players too - all playing different characters. Funny and hearfelt this really may touch you

I'll admit, even though I'm a huge basketball fan, I went into this movie with very low expectations. The trailers didn't entice me much and the movie itself didn't start off too strong for me. However, as the story progressed, it got funnier and I was having a pretty good time! I was pleased to see that the movie had some heart to it, with some good messages towards the end. Lil' Rel Howery and Tiffany Haddish were pretty much the only strong performances, but you're not really looking for good acting in a cast comprised mainly of NBA players. Overall, Uncle Drew is a pretty predictable movie that doesn't do anything particularly special, but one that made me laugh, smile, and ultimately won me over.

When I watched this movie back in August, it just made me even more happy and glad I played the game of basketball as well. Also it was cool to have Kyrie Irving, Lisa Leslie, Shaquille O'neal, Chris Webber, Nate Robinson and Reggie Miller as stars of the movie. It was so cool that they would work together taking time away from basketball, retirement, etc to make an all around great movie.

Based on trailer had no plans to ever see this movie. So glad a friend ordered it on pay per view. Tell you up front that the storyline is trite and cliche ridden. Also tell you up front that the movie is much funnier than I anticipated. First half of the movie has belly laugh, laugh out loud lines sprinkled liberally throughout. Second half the hand sprinkling the laughs is a bit restrained. Perhaps there should be an early disclaimer that some of the laughs require some level of basketball and cultural insider knowledge. Not sure the quick "watch your tone" would resonate unless you've also heard "you better take that base out your voice." Do not go in thinking that you are going to see ground breaking cinema. What you will see and hear in this movie is great basketball players not taking themselves seriously (imagine that), cultural references that take you back to the day, music that reminds that old school music hasn't always been about sampling, and just enough ball that you can say that this is a basketball movie.