The Movie: Stuber
The Director: Michael Dowse
The Cast: Dave Bautista, Kumail Nanjiani, Iko Uwais, Natalie Morales, Mira Sorvino, Karen Gillan, Betty Gilpin,
The Story: A detective recruits his Uber driver into an unexpected night of adventure.
The Review:
It's about time we had a new entry into the buddy comedy genre and Stuber absolutely fits the bill. Dave Bautista and Kumail Nanjiani, real life good friends, are perfect together on screen and they plat off of each other in some really fun ways. One of the things I like most about the cast is the diversity. Bautista is Filipino and Greek, Nanjiani is Pakistani, Karen Gillan is Scottish, Natalie Morales is Cuban, and Iko Uwais is Indonesian which all adds up to a great mix of authentic personalities together on the same screen. Seriously, this is the primary cast not some whose who of background and supporting characters. (insert applause)
Comedies that are truly funny from start to finish while maintaining a legitimately good story are quite honestly hard to find these days as most have one or the other or maybe bits and pieces of both but few have put together the whole package quite like Stuber does. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this is the next historically significant Oscar caliber masterpiece, but it does deliver exactly what you are hoping it will be. At least I'm assuming you're hoping it will be an entertaining comedy filled with laughs, action, and lots of fun.
Watching Dave Bautista transition over the years from WWE superstar to bona fide movie star has been a real treat especially when he burst on to the scene as Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy. His personality is as big as his biceps and his unique brand of humor is a perfect fit for this particular film. You get the bad ass action hero but you also get plenty of heart and humor in a lot of the same ways as what fellow WWE alum Dwayne Johnson has brought to his big screen persona. I could definitely see Bautista following a similar career path as an action star with this movie being a major first step.
If I am going to gripe about something I would have to say it would be how Iko Uwais's character is bland, stereotyped, and nearly absent of any dialog at all. He's about as caricatured of a villain as you don't want to see as it continues the tired trope of the violent and evil Asian gang leader who knows nothing but a life of criminal activity. Sure, the fight scenes are great, mainly because of his exceptional skills, but it would have been nice to see him have an opportunity to play a more fleshed out character than what he is handed here.
The Verdict:
Stuber is a super fun summer movie that is entertaining from start to finish. The movie gets almost everything right and of course sets things up for the inevitable sequel(s) which I am all for. Please make more movies that are this good and that are filled with such a diverse roster of talent. I will show up every time.
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