The Reel Review
Dave Bautista and Kumail Nanjiani star in this brainless buddy comedy about an ill-tempered cop without a car who is forced to hail an Uber to chase after a deadly criminal. What arrives is Stu, a ridiculously over-accommodating Uber driver obsessed with maintaining his Uber rating. A series of wildly implausible stakeouts and car chases follow.
The formulaic story relies heavily on cheap laughs, physical comedy and silly situations. If you have seen the trailer (below), you pretty much have seen all of the best chuckles this mind numbing comedy has to offer. Both Bautista and Nanjiani (The Big Sick) crank out one-dimensional performances as the respective big burly badass cop and the quirky nerd, with Natalie Morales (Parks and Recreation, Battle of the Sexes), Mira Sorvino (Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion) and Karen Gillan (Guardians of the Galaxy, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle) rounding out the cast.
While mindlessly entertaining enough, frankly the schtick gets old real fast. This very average Uber ride of a film gets only two and a half stars.
REEL FACTS
• Dave Bautista and Karen Gillan also co-starred in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy, 2017’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.
• After the shootout in the vet’s office, white doves fly around the room, an homage to action movies from director John Woo.
• Stuber is the first R-rated movie from 20th Century Fox since it was acquired by The Walt Disney Company.
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