Review: Stuber

On some levels, Stuber is the typical action comedy meant for adults. For some, this could be appealing, but I’m not sure it has enough to really grab and maintain an audience. There’s nothing that really stands out or makes it anything more than a generic movie. This could be disappointing to anyone who may be interested, but that’s more than I thought it would be.

Stuber is about a mild-mannered Uber driver named Stu (Kumail Nanjiani) who picks up a passenger (Dave Bautista) with more than a destination in mind. As it turns out, this isn’t an ordinary passenger. No, this guy happens to be a determined cop obsessed with taking down an elusive killer (Iko Uwais) he’s been after for years.

I could see Stuber developing somewhat of a cult following. It won’t have any staying power for most, but it might be funny enough and decent enough to at least accomplish that. What prevents it from being more is the fact that the jokes aren’t strong enough. I didn’t find any of it to be “laugh out loud” funny, but there are moments that were amusing enough to potentially entertain the crowd to some degree.

You’ll also find that there’s not much logic behind any of this. None of this could possibly happen in the real world whether you’re talking about the police business that the story is centered around, the way eye surgery works or even the way Uber is used throughout. For a high-quality movie, this is something I would see as detrimental. However, I couldn’t be too hard on this particular movie purely because it never takes itself too seriously.

With something like Stuber, you don’t really expect a lot as they are clearly playing loose with the rules in order to allow everything to take effect. I’m assuming most people won’t mind this either. This could lead to at least some viewers having fun with what they get here even if it might not stick with them long term.

Based purely on what it is, Stuber is a decent enough movie to watch, but it’s not something I would suggest people go out of their way to see. It has the potential to be a ludicrous and entertaining experience, but the comedy doesn’t land as much as I wanted it to. You may likely come out feeling the same way, but there’s a chance some may like it more than I did. Either way, I don’t see the harm in giving this a chance at some point in time.

Rated: R

Director: Michael Dowse

Writer: Tripper Clancy

Cast:
Kumail Nanjiani
Dave Bautista
Iko Uwais
Natalie Morales
Betty Gilpin
Jimmy Tatro
Mira Sorvino
Karen Gillan

Film Length: 105 Minutes

Release Date: July 12, 2019

Distributor: 20th Century Fox