Stuber (2019) – Film Review – “Instituting Martial Laughs”

I have a lot to say about this movie—and I use that term in the most endearing way I know how.

Usually, on this blog, I use “film” to describe something that truly knocked my metaphorical socks off—your Midsommar’s, your The Infiltrator’s, and so on. Otherwise, everything’s just a “movie” until proven otherwise, and this nomenclature tends to fall to the mid-summer fare that explodes into cinemas just to fill space between the more “high-art” seasons of spring and fall.

But Stuber, as Luke Stephens (bless him) on YouTube would say, did something amazing…

It all starts and ends with Bautista and Nanjiani. These two are comedy gold together, my friends—Bautista has very much embedded himself into the Hollywood movie-goer consciousness, while Nanjiani (known, to me, only for his voice work and TV) is a real stand-up kind of comedian all on his own. Sight gags, improvised humor, and snappy references and one-liners rain from this guy’s mouth like…well, rain.

I was unsure about how this would all play out, looking like just another stupid comedy, but it turned out to be exceptionally-hilarious; I was coughing up yucks for a good 90% of the run-time. Almost none of the jokes fall flat, and they play off each other’s acting so well… Again, as with all comedies, I have to wonder at just how much was ad-libbed in real-time. Other than that, the movie just looks good—takes place in LA, sure, but it could be anywhere. The shots are all set up very nicely, shooting is steady and seamless, for the most part…and there’s a pupper involved.

I’m kind of upset how they did the wonderful Karen Gillan dirty in the opening scene. You see her on the poster, kinda figure she’d be in a good chunk of the movie… Nope. I am glad more wasn’t explored with the relationship between Stu and female friend Becca, though, as it would’ve taken away from the center-stage performances from our two leads.

The premise is basic, kind of predictable, but I came for the laughs. Just because I could see where the movie was going a mile-off, though, doesn’t mean it was boring, by any stretch; there’s an easy “Chekhov’s Gun” tell early-on, but it’s seeing it play out later—and knowing it will, to some meaningful degree—that makes it worth it. Suspension of disbelief doesn’t last, and the “of course” moments are so fleeting they’re easy to overlook. There are some conveniences, but I sincerely enjoyed the plot device of Vic (Bautista)’s Lasik surgery having just occurred—breaks down action hero tropes, almost to a parodying degree.

…In a sense, this reminds me a lot of the 2010 road/reluctant buddy comedy Due Date, starring Robert Downey, Jr., and Zach Galifianakis—another one worth checking out, just for those two.

Cool action scenes (despite the weird shaky cam in the opening scene with Gillan), where Bautista shows his WWE roots and hits really, really hard. It’s truly like watching Drax the Destroyer, without the patterned body paint. He’s a real mountain of a man whom, like Dwayne Johnson before him, has just as much acting talent there.

It’s no John Wick action film, but Stuber still feels unique within its very specific genre; cut-and-dry, yes, but—with the right people in the right roles, as seen here—it can be something so much better than the bog-standard roll-out. The music and overall score are minimalist, at best, and that’s cool—not everything needs a Guardians of the Galaxy-style set-list…

And that’s…everything. Solid flick, definitely check it out on the big screen. ****/* ‘Risk Assessment.