Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Stuber’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

We are taught from a very young age, that we should ‘never judge a book by its cover’ and it’s a lesson that mankind has an interesting relationship with. Because despite the fact that it is a lesson that rings true, we tend to forget it more often than not, and we quickly judge something before giving it the opportunity it deserves. Why exactly that happens, I will never know, and truthfully, trying to explore that is something best left to the scholars of the world. But for the sake of this review, it matters, simply because, we tend to immediately judge a movie by its trailer, and I fully understand the reasons for why that happens.
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After all, the trailer is our first impression of a movie, and if it doesn’t click in our minds immediately, we are quick to write it off, or if it looks rough, we tend to deem the movie bad well before we’ve seen it. It’s something that happens time and time again and I know I’m guilty of it as well and it’s honestly a habit that I definitely need to break, because more often than not, when I’ve seen a ‘questionable’ movie on cable or streaming or Blu-Ray, I feel like quite the fool when I’m stunned by its overall quality. An element I missed due to bad marketing. If anything, this is on my mind today, simply due to the fact that I recently had the opportunity to watch a motion picture that definitely turned out to be far better than it was originally advertised, in Stuber.

Which is awesome in the end. Because I, and countless others, judged this film pretty harshly based on what the trailer presented us with. For what we were treated to initially, made it seem as though this was going to be an awkward comedy that was going to be filled with stupid jokes and weird moments that wouldn’t engender that many laughs to begin with. But clearly whomever decided to put together this marketing campaign, didn’t have a clue as to how to express what this film has to offer, because this one turned out to be a complete and utter delight when all is said and done, and that is thanks in large part to the performances of Dave Bautista and Kumail Nanjiani. 

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In fact, these two are perfectly cast in their respective roles of Detective Vic Manning and Stu and by being such polar opposites and having such lovely comedic chops, the jokes work well on screen when this acting duo starts riffing and ripping on one another. Also, by setting the film in Stu’s Uber, we actually get the opportunity to learn more about these characters, and the depth present here only draws you into the story further and by the end of the film, you’re rooting for both Vic and Stu to accomplish their respective goals and you’re also trying to catch your breath and you’re wiping tears from your eyes, thanks to the many hilarious moments that play out on screen.
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Because let’s be honest, we go to comedies to laugh and laugh hard and that’s really what the trailers didn’t show us, all the off-the-wall and delightful moments that genuinely leave you in stitches and I’m hard pressed to think of a joke that didn’t work in this film. Plus, I need to give some serious props to the writer of this film, Tripper Clancy, for putting together a screenplay that actually managed to deliver a quality plot as well. Because everything in this movie works, and there’s not a moment wasted or a scene that feels out of place and that’s honestly quite the feat when you think about it, since most comedies worry about jokes over anything else.

In the end however, this is a film that I highly recommend. Due in large part to the reasons I outlined earlier, but also because this a comedy with heart. Because there are also some surprisingly moving moments present in this story, the kind that the audience can relate to, believe it or not, and that just makes this movie magical in its own right and I really do hope that you get the chance to see this in theaters with an audience, since that was quite the lively experience on my end and if by chance you miss it, catch this one as soon as you can. Because this really is a funny film, one that is also endearing, and it is just a great way to lose yourself for an hour and a half. 

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