Uber Diaries

“Dumb and dumber” (to varying degrees) odd-couple buddy road-trip comedies are a time-honored staple in Hollywood, and the latest addition to this grand tinsel-town tradition is ‘Stuber,’ pairing the unlikely duo of Pakistani-American comedian Kumail Nanjiani and hulking He-man and former WWE wrestler Dave Bautista, who’s expanding the comedic repertoire hinted at in his role as Guardian of the Galaxy muscle-man “Drax the Destroyer.”

 

Bautista plays Vic Manning, a tough-as-nails LAPD detective who lost his partner in a bungled raid when their target, drug dealer Oka Teijo (Iko Uwais from ‘The Raid,’ though he was a cop in that movie), escaped from his bumbling grasp.  Half a year later, Vic was given a second chance at revenge and redemption with a small window of opportunity when Oka is back in LA, but the timing couldn’t have been worse because it just so happens that Vic can’t drive because he’s half blind from having had a Lasik procedure that very same day!  Not to be deterred, old-school Vic – at the unwitting behest of his daughter Nicole (Natalie Morales) – utilizes the Uber app to aid him in his crime-fighting quest.  The unlucky driver who picked him up is none other than Stu (Nanjiani), an annoyingly loquacious, fussy and not-very-manly drama queen whose simple goals in life before being hijacked are to: (a) get his first 5-star Uber rating which eluded him so far and (b) become more than  "just friends” with his business partner Becca (hint: he wants to get into her pants).  Hilarity ensues.

 

‘Stuber’ (or ‘Stuber and Stuberer”?) has its funny moments to be sure, but I feel guilty laughing because the humor is often lame and highly juvenile.  It is also evidently violent enough to garner an R rating, which works perfectly fine for me, but overall I would say it’s worth no more than a 3-star review.  Sorry, Stu.

Grade: B-