Uncle Drew ★★ ¹/₂

Spending most of my evenings in a darkened theater, I miss certain things like professional sports. So, when I sat down to watch Uncle Drew, a comedy centered on a group of septuagenarian basketball players who reassemble and take to the court one last time, I had no idea who Kyrie Irving was. But then, I wouldn’t have recognized the Boston Celtics point guard and NBA All-Star, since he dons a mound of old-age makeup to portray the titular character. Drew’s recruited by Dax (Get Out’s Lil Rel Howery), a dreamer who’s drained his life savings to enter into the Rucker Classic hoop tournament in Harlem. The only catch is that the longtime loser has just lost his team to lifelong rival Mookie (Nick Kroll), who’s also stolen Dax’s girlfriend, Jess (Girls Trip’s Tiffany Haddish). Stunned when he sees the mythical Uncle Drew school some cocky young players on a local court, Dax convinces the legend to join his team, but the old man has one condition: He gets to pick the roster. Reluctantly, Dax agrees, and the duo embark on a road trip rounding up Drew’s old squad of former NBA stars, including Preacher (Chris Webber), Lights (Reggie Miller), Boots (Nate Robinson) and Big Fella (Shaquille O’Neal), who all don wigs and ridiculous amounts of latex for the goofy fun, which was spawned from a series of viral videos produced by Pepsi. As such, there’s product placement galore—but the sugary drinks aren’t nearly as saccharine as the film itself. Nevertheless, it engaged this benchwarmer. (At Boston Common, Fenway, Seaport and in the suburbs.)