STUBER – A Review by Cynthia Flores
Hurrah for an R-rated comedy for adults. It’s about time Hollywood realized that we like something other than just PG-13 rated fun. Stuber, the new film from Canadian filmmaker Michael Dowse, is a silly situation buddy film. The movie tells the story of Stu (Kumail Nanjiani) a mild-mannered part-time Uber driver. That’s why the nickname he hates is Stuber. He works by day at a sporting goods store for an aggressive and mean boss named Richie Sandusky (Jimmy Tatro). While at night, he is a driver. He’s desperately trying his best to stay above four stars so he can keep driving to make extra cash to invest in his friend Becca’s (Betty Gilpin) spin class business. He’s been in love with her since college but has been stuck in the friend zone. He thinks if they are in business together, she might finally see what a catch he is. Really, the slow parts of the film revolve around his unrequited love for her. They could have cut this whole part out, and the film would have been better off.
Anyway, during his shift, he has the unlucky chance of being LAPD detective Vic Manning’s (Dave Bautista) ride. It’s supposed to be to the gallery show opening night of his daughter Nicole (Natalie Morales). Instead, Vic forces Stu to drive him around town to catch a notorious drug lord named Oka Tedjo (Iko Uwais) who killed his partner. Oh, did I mention that Vic can’t see very well because he’s just had Lasik eye surgery? He is supposed to be resting and not hunting down bad guys off the clock.
That is all I am going to tell you about the somewhat flimsy plot of this film. Because like in most good buddy films, the plot is really not that important. It’s the chemistry that counts, and these two have it in spades. I wasn’t sure how the super low energy and nebbish-type personality that Kumail Nanjiani usually plays would mesh with the bigger than life, loud types that Dave Bautista is known for. Well, I was pleasantly surprised, and I can tell you that it works really well. In fact, I would love to see what these two could do with a strong script.
I want to do a shout out to a small part of the film that was stand out funny. There’s a bit with a character of a male stripper named Felix (Steve Howey) that’s hilarious. In his perfect body, he takes self-loathing to an all-new high.
Stuber is not going to become a classic, but it is on point to being one of the funniest summer films so far. So find a babysitter and go see this comedy that I give a solid B+ rating.
Directed by Michael Dowse
Written by Tripper Clancy
Rated R
Selig Rating B+
Running Time 1hr 33min
Comedy
Wide Release July 12th
Starring: Dave Bautista, Kumail Nanjiani, Mira Sorvino, Betty Gilpin
The Selig Rating Scale:
A – Excellent movie, well worth the price.
B – Good movie
C – OK movie
D – No need to rush. Save it for a rainy day.
F – Good that I saw it on the big screen but wish I hadn’t paid for it.
