Stuber

Despite its amusing premise and its great leading double act of Kumail Nanjiani and Dave Bautista, this action-comedy sadly fails to do justice  to either.  Oh, and Iko Uwais is completely wasted as the film’s villain.

Premise:  When super-cop Vic Manning (Dave Bautista) is left unable to drive after having laser eye surgery, he’s forced to hire a desperate part-time Uber driver named Stu (Kumail Nanjiani) to help him follow a lead to the drug dealer (Iko Uwais) who killed his former partner.

Review:

This film has a great cast list.  Kumail Nanjiani is a brilliant comedic actor, having stolen the show in Silicon Valley, Men In Black: International and The Big Sick.   Dave Bautista is able to combine the physical presence of an action star with quiet, contemplative performances (like in Blade Runner 2049) or deadpan comedic timing (like in Guardians of The Galaxy Vol 2).  Iko Uwais is a legend of Indonesian cinema, having starred in the action masterpieces The Raid and The Raid 2 (although since then, Hollywood seems unsure what to do with his talents).  Even the supporting cast in this film includes Bautista’s fellow Guardian Karen Gillan (fresh from Jumanji: The Next Level), and Betty Gilpin who is excellent in the comedy-drama GLOW.

“…very bland, very by-the-number, and ultimately, very forgettable…”

Unfortunately, Stuber doesn’t really give any of these actors much to work with.  That’s not to say that the script is bad per se, but it’s very bland, very by-the-number, and ultimately, very forgettable.  Nanjiani and Bautista have good odd-couple chemistry, but the script never really “pops” with any particularly memorable comedic moments, leaving it to the stars to (presumably) ad-lib a lot of their comedic bickering.  But at least Nanjiani and Bautista have some semblance of a character, whereas Iko Uwais is given neither a personality nor enough screen time.

Perhaps the main problem with Stuber is that it fails to satisfy on either the action or the comedy front.  Films like Game Night or even The Spy Who Dumped Me work really well as comedies that also have an effective action-based plot, while films like Hobbs & Shaw, Bad Boys or even The Hitman's Bodyguard are good action films with plenty of comedic banter.  Stuber, on the other hand, fails to deliver many laughs while also having a tired and unimaginative action plot that’s devoid of any real moments of excitement.

“…Nanjiani and Bautista can make anything watchable…”

The film is by no means a disaster, as Nanjiani and Bautista can make anything watchable with their chemistry, but this still feels like a wasted opportunity.  Ultimately, although there are a few enjoyable moments along the way, you’re unlikely to be able to remember any of them a week after watching the film.  I really wanted to enjoy this film, hoping it would be up to the standard of something like The Heat with Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy, but instead it feels more like some sort of 90s straight-to-DVD action-comedy.