Stuber

Stuber is a movie that looked great in the trailers. I was a little disappointed to see its reviews were underwhelming and so was its box office performance (although neither were terrible). Still, as both a wrestling fan (although that friend Paul hates Dave Bautista for reasons he’ll gladly tell you) and someone who really admired Kumail Nanjiani₁ the most recent time I saw him I felt the need to watch this appealing-looking odd couple comedy.

So glad I did! I loved it. I realize I’m only telling you this as it’s on the verge of leaving theaters, but hopefully you can catch it before it’s too late. If not there will of course be the option to watch it on TV/video. In fact my hairstylist even told me she’s going to stream it.₂

So the plot is just what the trailer tells you. Vic, a cop played by Bautista, strong-arms Stu, an Uber driver played by Nanjiani, into transporting him through every stop of his dangerous pursuit of Vic’s partner’s killer. It’s basically a standard vengeful cop story with an nerdy rideshare driver thrown in as the cop’s right hand man – in other words a very original story!

I’ll admit it’s not perfect. The opening is a bit too dark to be setting the tone for this plot and the montage of terrible Uber passengers had the potential to be hilarious but falls flat instead. Still, the pros SO VASTLY outweigh the cons.

A list of pros (not even exhaustive):

• The setup for why Vic needs a driver –he has had LASIK surgery and is begrudgingly accepting the consequences – is funny in its own right.
• Stu’s conflict – he needs to do whatever Vic wants to get a 5 star rating and keep his rating above the minimum 4.0 – is hilarious and perceptive, considering Uber and Lyft have the strange business model where you’re expected to give 5 stars unless it’s the worst ride ever.
• Stu’s reason for wanting his Uber money so badly – so he can help the woman of his dreams fulfill her dream of operating her own business, even though they’re not together – feel so perfect for the nerdy, hapless character he’s supposed to be.₃
• There’s a ridiculously funny scene where Stu tries to guess Vic’s ambiguous ethnicity.₄
• Each one of these two has his own inner struggle – Vic shuts out people (most unfortunately his daughter) emotionally while Stu is too timid, especially around his beloved Becca. Both conflicts are woven nicely into the plot.
• Nanjiani is terrific expressing Stu’s panic as he finds himself deeper and deeper in dangerous situations far beyond his worst nightmares, while Bautista makes a great straight man as your prototypical vigilante cop.
• The scene where Stu shows Vic a way to get answers in interrogations using brains instead of brawn is brilliant!₅
• A fight scene in a sporting good store very appropriately reminded me of when Steve Austin beat up Booker T in a grocery store. Check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwpiAr_Pzls
• I really loved both the skewering and affirming of cop movie clichés.
• The key punchlines in the climatic scene and the scene after that are great.

I’m sure I’ve convinced you to watch the film now. Enjoy!₆

Agree? Disagree? Feel free to comment.

Up Next: Darker movie from yesteryear.

Bottom line: Don’t listen to the haters. Watch this film!

1. Although I’m embarrassed to have just learned both that he’s Pakistani, not Indian, and that his name is Kumail Nanjiani, not Kumal Naljini.
2. The movie’s on pace to make roughly twice its small budget at the worldwide box office, meaning it will need about another $8 million from the home viewing audience to break even. Lend a hand!
3. MAJOR SPOILERS*I’ve vented here and here about the sexist way Hollywood has fed into the “nice guy deserves the girl” trope. This is by far the most mature take I’ve seen on the concept. Stu loves Rebecca to the point where he gets a second job to pay half the money for HER business, all the while watching her date jerks. I 100% expected this plot thread to end with them living happily ever after, yet that’s not what happens at all. He tells her how he feels, she confirms she doesn’t feel the same way, she gets hurt that she feels like the bad guy, he makes clear she shouldn’t feel that way and she did nothing wrong, she asks to remain friends, and he tenderly tells her no, as that’s not healthy for him. Every syllable of that is perfect. I once had a very similar conversation with MY friend Rebecca, except she talked me into remaining friends. I’m really glad she did; she’s become too precious to me to not have in my life. Yet I have gladly said no to other girls’ desires for friendship in the same situation. Ultimately, when two people are friends and one person wants more, NEITHER owes the other ANYTHING. I applaud this film for realizing that. Also, it was cool that Stu got to be with Vic’s daughter Nicole at the end after saving her life J *MAJOR SPOILERS
4. MINOR SPOILERS*When Stu is incorrect with his assumption, white, he tries guessing all sorts of other races before finally getting desperate enough to try Chinese. Ironically that’s the closest other than white for Dave Bautista, as he’s half-Filipino/half-Greek. *MINOR SPOILERS
5. I initially wrote “braun”. I suppose when writing about a movie starring a wrestler it makes sense I would think of Braun Strowman, even though I can’t stand him.
6. I’ve previously expressed my fondness for John Francis Daley. It seems like our beloved Sam Weir is on a path to becoming one of Hollywood’s best producers!