Uncle Drew
Lionsgate | Release Date: June 29, 2018 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
57
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
14
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Los Angeles TimesKatie WalshJun 28, 2018
Make no doubt about it, Uncle Drew is a very silly film, old-age makeup and all. But it's got humor, heart and a killer soul soundtrack. You'd be soulless to not find some joy in this movie that's pure summer fun. Read full review
75
Paste MagazineOktay Ege Kozak Jul 19, 2018
This is one of those rare occasions in which a movie uses the dusty trope of turning a group of oddball misfits into a “family” and actually pulls it off in an emotionally satisfying way. Read full review
75
Washington PostPat PaduaJun 29, 2018
Its NBA all-star cast — well hidden under layers of makeup — has a winning chemistry making them easy to root for. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperJun 28, 2018
Even though Uncle Drew is outlandish and predictable and downright corny, I loved the positive energy of this film, I got a kick out of the winning performances from a cast of All-Star comic actors and All-Star, well, All-Stars — and I laughed out loud at a steady diet of inside-basketball jokes. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsJun 28, 2018
It’s fun to hang out with these people for a while. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMatthew MonagleJul 4, 2018
For better and worse, Uncle Drew feels like the kind of movie that would’ve cleaned up in the summer of 1998. We’ll see how well its game holds up 20 years later. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyJun 27, 2018
You more or less know what this soft-drink-sponsored movie is going to be as soon as the lights start to dim. What makes it worth recommending is that it ends up being just slightly more than that by the time the lights come back on. Read full review
67
Original-CinJim SlotekJun 27, 2018
Uncle Drew is a goodhearted broad comedy, one where you don’t have to know the players (under all that latex) to enjoy the game. Read full review
67
IndieWireDavid EhrlichJun 19, 2018
Uncle Drew is such a well-acted, warm-hearted basketball comedy that you’re liable to forget about its corporate origins. Read full review
65
Film Journal InternationalAnna StormJul 12, 2018
The fun of Uncle Drew is to be had in the energy of its athletic cast, all of whom appear to be having a grand old time playing around. Read full review
63
Philadelphia Daily NewsGary ThompsonJun 29, 2018
His script is good-natured, more genial than funny, though director (and Philadelphian) Charles Stone III does get some good work from star Irving, who proves surprisingly adept at playing low-key comedy. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerJun 28, 2018
Facial prosthetics, Inside Hoops humour and "Barbershop"-styled trash talk ensue. Pepsi is one of film’s producers, but painkiller Aleve gets better product placement. Spare some for the arthritic plot, please. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineKeith WatsonJun 27, 2018
Uncle Drew, the old-school streetballer played by NBA all-star Kyrie Irving, is a cheerfully scruffy creation, and so is the film that bears his name. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeJun 19, 2018
Moviegoers who don't get a kick out of spotting athletes on the screen may be less than enthralled by the otherwise formulaic comeback flick, but sports-loving viewers will likely be more enthusiastic. Read full review
58
TheWrapSam FragosoJun 19, 2018
This journey to cobble together the old squad should be more fun that it is. Although you could say that about most of Uncle Drew. The onus is less on the performances; each former player holds his/her own. Read full review
55
The AtlanticDavid SimsJun 29, 2018
The jokes could be dirtier, the plot looser, the basketball action more gleefully ludicrous. Instead, everything feels very competent but safe. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comNick AllenJun 29, 2018
Though it has a few big laughs, Uncle Drew mistakes its goofy pitch for a free pass to be very simple with its comedy, and sappy with its emotions Read full review
50
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzJun 28, 2018
The commercials were funny and unexpected. The movie, not so much, although there are some solid laughs. Read full review
50
SlateNick GreeneJun 28, 2018
Uncle Drew the movie is by no means horrible, at least not as bad as you’d expect from something that is based on a cola commercial. It’s an enjoyable if somewhat plodding paint-by-numbers sports flick that, at times, acts as a surreal meta-examination of NBA stardom. It also happens to feature a shot of Shaquille O’Neal’s bare ass. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChroniclePeter HartlaubJun 28, 2018
The best-case scenario for a movie based on a soft-drink advertisement. It is a disjointed and inconsistent comedy, shoddily filmed at times, while occasionally abandoning storytelling effort altogether. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeMark FeeneyJun 27, 2018
Is the movie any good, and does Irving embarrass himself? The answers are: sort of, and nowhere near. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Jun 27, 2018
Look, for a movie based on a soda campaign, Uncle Drew isn’t that bad. It’s got some solid comic alternates. Read full review
50
The Associated PressJocelyn NoveckJun 27, 2018
Teamwork. Friendship. Family. Playing for the game’s sake, not money. All these themes come together in a warm-hearted but highly predictable way. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreJun 26, 2018
If it wasn’t for Webber, given the funniest part to play (over the top pastor) and playing it to the hilt, the dead spots and blase leading man would dull this to the point of distraction. Read full review
50
VarietyPeter DebrugeJun 19, 2018
Uncle Drew may be tired, but it shows that one’s fundamental love for the game never gets old. Read full review
40
EmpireAmon WarmannJul 9, 2018
Its heart is in the right place, but some lively performances from the better-than-you’d-expect ballers-turned-actors can only paper over a thin, cliché-riddled script so much. Read full review
40
The New York TimesGlenn KennyJun 28, 2018
It’s not every day that you can say, “Shaquille O’Neal was the best actor in that movie.” And yet that may well be true in the case of Uncle Drew, a genuinely unusual exercise in screen comedy. Read full review
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