STUBER: Worthy Addition To The Buddy-Cop Pantheon

I don’t think we’re ever going to outgrow the buddy-cop model. There’s something to the dynamic of a hardened badass taking taking their polar opposite on a 90 minute adventure. We’re presented with two obviously differing personalities, and we’re going to watch to see if it comes to blows, or if it ignites a new friendship. Opposites will either clash or attract. In any case, it’s going to be entertaining to watch, so we’ll be in the theater for it every time (or at least I will). This was my main draw to Stuber, the new buddy-action flick from director Michael Dowse. 

With a solid cast consisting of Dave Baustista, Kumail Nanjiani and Natalie Morales, Stuber relays the chaotic story of Vic (Bautista), a cop who has been trying to nail the same drug dealer for three years after his partner was killed pursuing the criminal. After his lasik eye surgery leaves him partially blinded, he enlists the help of the Uber driver, Stu (Nanjiani), to chaperone him around after receiving a tip about the notorious drug dealer. Stu is unwittingly thrown into a world of shootouts, strippers and animal shelters.

A Perfect Pair

Nanjiani and Bautista are a hoot together. Bautista’s Vic is an action-hero cop who lives his life without the anxieties of getting hurt or bloody along the way. Nanjiani’s Stu doesn’t allow food in his car because it’s a lease (not that he’d ever be bold enough to tell that to one of his passengers). They work effortlessly together, and though sometimes the dialogue makes it clear that they’re delivering lines from a script, their chemistry is enticing enough to let the audience forgive any peaks behind the curtain.

Whether it’s Nanjiani’s high pitched screams or Bautista’s classic dry delivery of quips, there’s a lot of fun to get lost in during Stuber’s 90-minute runtime. But past the obvious handling of the comedic talents that these two actors possess, Stuber also finds its footing in its challenging of conventional action films.

Stu is constantly quarreling with Vic about how he carries himself. Stu maintains that there are other ways to show manliness besides violence, and even stands by the power of having a good cry. It can come off as forced at times, almost as if the film is awkwardly self-aware about the fact that it’s attempting to speak out against toxic masculinity, but the sentiment is there, and I think that audiences should appreciate what should be a simple summer comedy feeling as though it has a responsibility to say something.

The Consequence of Violence

Stuber elevates itself from its counterparts in how it deals with a component that is essential to every action film: violence. The violence in Stuber is visceral from its kicks to its bullets, and the film is sure to show that violence has consequences. There’s blood to be seen, not for the sake of seeing red liquid explode from someone’s head, but harshly effective blood and gore that really grounds the film in a terrible reality. When people die in Stuber, it’s hardly ever played for laughs. Death is looming in Stuber from the beginning when we see Vic’s partner get killed.

The violence would mean nothing without Stu’s reactions to it. Nanjiani conveys genuine horror at what he’s seeing as he galavants around town with Vic. Men aren’t being tied up Spider-Man style, bullets are killing them and knives are slicing them. And Stu’s reactions continue to the very end of the film, when he’s even squeamish in the final fight, and for this, I commend Stuber. Stu never gets used to the violence. He never lets it become normal because he knows it isn’t. It’s not a film about an Uber driver that learns how fun a life of fighting crime can be, Stu exists to show Vic that violence and revenge should not be the center of life.

Stuber: Conclusion

Stuber isn’t a life changing film, but it’s a worthy addition to the buddy-cop comedy pantheon. It’s not a remarkable piece of cinema, but it does more than it needs to, and you’ll have a damn good time spent with Kumail Nanjiani and Dave Bautista watching it.

What did you think of Stuber? Do you have a favorite buddy-cop film? Let me know in the comments below! 

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