404. Stuber; movie review

STUBER
Cert 15
91 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong bloody violence, language, sex references

What do you get when a neurotic shopworker called Stuart becomes an Uber driver who gives a lift to a cop hellbent on revenge.
Yep, Stuber - arguably the dumbest most unfunny comedy of the year.
I've seen this described as a buddy movie and yet the characters played by Kumail Nanjiani and Dave Bautista could not be further apart.
Kumail's Stu is pernickety, bordering on OCD and scared of his own shadow while Bautista's Vic is all-guns-blazing and damn the consequences.
The latter calls Stu's Uber after he has eye treatment which renders him unable to drive on to the trail of bad guys.
Consequently, Stu becomes his unwilling sidekick in shootouts and similar craziness.

On the face of it there a germ of comedy in the premise but Michael Dowse's film fails to turn its potential into laughs.
This is party down to its leads - I am left to presume that Stu's tight-as-a-drum persona is meant to be endearing when it is just irritating.
Meanwhile, it would be impossible to have any empathy for Vic because he hasn't got any for anyone or anything.
Even the opposites don't attract until the inevitable finale.
Stuber is stu-pid. It is too screechy, its body count is too high and its jokes misfire consistently. The Odd Couple, it ain't. Indeed, It is one of 2019's turkeys

Reasons to watch: Original comedy
Reasons to avoid: Not funny

Laughs: None for me
Jumps: None
Vomit: Yes
Nudity: Yes
Overall rating: 3/10

Did you know? Uber operates in 83 countries and over 858 cities worldwide

Final word. Kumail Nanjiani: "This is not a movie that’s like about diversity but I think that’s the victory, having movies that just happen to have diverse people and that’s not what the movie’s about. It’s just a great movie that just happens to have South Asian people." LA Times

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