Stuber (film)

Stuber is a 2019 American buddy cop comedy film directed by Michael Dowse and written by Tripper Clancy. Its plot follows a mild-mannered Uber driver named Stu (Kumail Nanjiani) who picks up a passenger (Dave Bautista) who turns out to be a cop hot on the trail of a brutal killer. Iko Uwais, Natalie Morales, Betty Gilpin, Jimmy Tatro, Mira Sorvino, and Karen Gillan also star.

Stuber
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMichael Dowse
Produced by
Written byTripper Clancy
Starring
Music byJoseph Trapanese
CinematographyBobby Shore
Edited byJonathan Schwartz
Production
company
GoldDay Productions
Distributed by20th Century Fox (through Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures[lower-alpha 1][1])
Release date
  • March 13, 2019 (2019-03-13) (SXSW)
  • July 12, 2019 (2019-07-12) (United States)
Running time
93 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$16 million[2]
Box office$32.4 million[1]

The film had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 13, 2019 and was theatrically released in the United States on July 12, 2019. Stuber was produced and released by 20th Century Fox. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who criticized it for not taking full advantage of its potential but praised Nanjiani and Bautista's chemistry.

Plot

An aggressive Los Angeles Police Department detective Vic Manning is in pursuit of a notorious drug lord Oka Tedjo, who six months earlier, murdered Vic's partner, Sara Morris, after which Vic's superior, Captain McHenry, orders him on leave. Because his pursuit of Tedjo during that encounter was hampered when his glasses were knocked off his face, Vic undergoes corrective laser eye surgery. This requires him to remain off duty for a day or two, due to his reduced vision as his eyes heal. However, when an informant contacts him with a lead on Tedjos' activity, he calls for an Uber, and is picked up by Stu Prasad, an unassuming driver who diligently performs his job with an eye on the reviews he receives on the Uber app.

Along the way, Stu deals with Vic's violent and reckless behavior while trying to express his feelings to his friend Becca. As Stu and Vic get to know one another, they confront each other about Stu's lack of courage with Becca, while Stu criticizes Vic for his toxic masculinity and his insensitive treatment of his daughter Nicole.

Vic's investigation lead him and Stu around Los Angeles, at locations including Koreatown, then a male stripper club and a house in Long Beach, where Vic detains a key suspect of his investigation and rescues the dog Pico (a Pit Bull Terrier) from being drugged to hide the evidence. Stu accidentally shoots the thug in the leg and Vic leads them to an animal hospital, where a group of thugs find the two and attack them. Though terrified, Stu throws dog food cans at the thugs, enabling the nearly blind Vic to successfully shoot the criminals by using the sound of the impact of the cans.

Vic, using the phone of one of the thugs, sends a text to their leader to inform of "his" death and then runs to Nicole's museum exhibit to warn her about the impending danger. Meanwhile, Stu struggles with his relationship with Becca, a friend and partner of his in an upcoming spin biking gym. Becca, dealing with the end of her relationship with her boyfriend, wants Stu for casual sex, but for whom Stu is genuinely in love with her.

Eventually, Stu and Vic face Tedjo at the location of his drop, where Vic finds that McHenry is a dirty cop who has been working with Tedjo and was planning to frame Vic for murder to get him off their trail. Stu does admit he loves Becca, but then realizes it would not work since he knows she does not feel the same way and that they should not even be friends.

Stu and Vic work together to take down the villains, but Nicole ends up in the mayhem when crosses path with them, and is nearly shot by Tedjo. Stu takes the bullet, and Vic almost kills Tedjo before Nicole stops him. Police arrive to bring Tedjo to justice.

As Stu and Vic recover in the hospital, Vic gives Stu a five-star Uber review (despite the $5534.95 fare he has to pay him), and Becca has started up a successful spin biking business. That Christmas, Vic arrives at Nicole's home with Pico, only to discover that Nicole is dating Stu.

Cast
  • Kumail Nanjiani as Stu Prasad, an Uber driver.
  • Dave Bautista as Victor "Vic" Manning, Nicole’s father, Sara's partner, and a grizzled LAPD detective.
  • Iko Uwais as Oka Tedjo, a ruthless drug trafficker and cop killer.
  • Natalie Morales as Nicole Manning, Vic's daughter.
  • Betty Gilpin as Becca, Stu’s best friend and love interest.
  • Jimmy Tatro as Richie Sandusky
  • Mira Sorvino as Captain Angie McHenry, Vic’s boss.
  • Karen Gillan as Sara Morris, Vic's late partner.
  • Steve Howey as Felix
  • Amin Joseph as Leon
  • Scott Lawrence as Dr. Branch
  • Rene Moran as Amo Cortez
  • Julia Vasi as Sloane
  • Melody Peng as Brooke
  • Victoria Anastasi as Melanie
  • Malachi Malik as Tariq
  • Patricia French as Grandma Doris
  • Jay D. Kacho as Detective Kramer
  • PLK's TMT Casanova Stroker as Pico the Dog[3]

Production

Development

In April 2016, 20th Century Fox bought the spec script Stuber from Tripper Clancy for a mid-six figure deal, with Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley set to produce the film.[4]

Casting

In December 2017, Dave Bautista was cast as a "detective who commandeers an unsuspecting Uber driver named Stu" while Michael Dowse was announced as the director of the film.[5] In March 2018, Kumail Nanjiani signed on to costar with Bautista.[6] In April 2018, Iko Uwais joined the cast.[7] In May 2018, Betty Gilpin, Natalie Morales, Mira Sorvino, Steve Howey, and Amin Joseph joined the cast.[8][9][10]

Filming

Principal photography commenced on May 3, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia and was shot until July 2, 2018.[11][12]

Release

Stuber had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 13, 2019[13] and was released on July 12, 2019.[14] Following their acquisition of 20th Century Fox, the film was Walt Disney Studios' first film to receive an R-rating by the Motion Picture Association since The Fifth Estate (2013).[15]

Home media

Stuber was released on Digital HD on October 1, 2019, and was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K Ultra HD on October 15, 2019.[16]

Reception

Box office

Stuber has grossed $22.3 million in the United States and Canada, and $9.8 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $32.2 million.[1]

In the United States and Canada, the film was projected to gross $7–15 million from 3,050 theaters in its opening weekend.[17] The film made $3.1 million on its first day, including $750,000 from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $8 million, finishing fourth at the box office.[2] In its second weekend the film made $4.1 million, dropping 50% and finishing sixth.[18]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 41% based on 215 reviews, with an average rating of 5.06/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Though it makes a strong case for future collaborations between Kumail Nanjiani and Dave Bautista, Stuber fails to mesh its contrasting genres, settling for an overtly violent, mildly entertaining diversion that's far from a five-star ride."[19] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 42 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[20] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an average 3.5 out of 5 stars and a 51% "definite recommend".[2]

Peter Debruge of Variety gave the film a positive review and wrote: "It's both funny and familiar to see these two incredibly different personalities thrust together for what's meant to be a short ride."[21]

Glenn Kenny, writing for RogerEbert.com, said "The only thing worse than hot garbage is elaborately lukewarm mediocrity, and for too much of its running time, the new comedy Stuber is just that."[22] Simon Thompson of IGN wrote: "Stuber is an awkward, uneven action-comedy that never realizes its full potential. It squanders a good premise and an odd couple pairing with potential that could have delivered something special."[23] A. A. Dowd of The A.V. Club gave the film a grade C−, calling it "a big waste of talent".[24]

References
  1. "Stuber (2019)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  2. D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 14, 2019). "Counterprogramming 'Crawl' & 'Stuber' Collateral Damage In Superhero Summer As 'Spider-Man' Climbs To $45M+ – Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  3. "PLK's TMT Casanova Stroker". TeamNoFear Working APBT.
  4. Jr, Mike Fleming (15 April 2016). "Move Over, Travis Bickle; Fox Buys Spec About An Uber Driver". Deadline.
  5. N'Duka, Amanda (8 December 2017). "Dave Bautista To Star In Action-Comedy 'Stuber' For 20th Century Fox". Deadline.
  6. "Kumail Nanjiani to Star Opposite Dave Bautista in Action Comedy 'Stuber' (Exclusive)".
  7. Hipes, Patrick (6 April 2018). "'The Raid' Star Iko Uwais Joins Fox Action Comedy 'Stuber'".
  8. N'Duka, Amanda (2 May 2018). "'GLOW's Betty Gilpin Joins Dave Bautista & Kumail Nanjiani In Fox's 'Stuber'". Deadline.
  9. N'Duka, Amanda (3 May 2018). "Natalie Morales, Mira Sorvino & Steve Howey Cast In 'Stuber' Comedy From Fox". Deadline.
  10. N'Duka, Amanda (16 May 2018). "'The Detour's Jason Jones Cast In 'What Men Want'; Amin Joseph Joins Fox's 'Stuber'". Deadline.
  11. "Dave Bautista Movie Casting Call". 10 April 2018.
  12. "Atlanta Now Casting: Feature 'Stuber' Starring Kumail Najiani Needs Actors With Beat-Up Cars".
  13. Nolfi, Joey (February 7, 2019). "Pet Sematary remake to world premiere at 2019 SXSW Film Festival". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  14. D'Alessandro, Anthony (2018-12-27). "How Paranoid Should Studios & Exhibitors Be About The Disney-Fox Merger In 2019?". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-04-20.
  15. Mendelson, Scott (July 1, 2019). "The July Box Office Preview". Forbes. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  16. "Stuber Release Date". DVDs Release Dates. September 3, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  17. Fuster, Jeremy (July 9, 2019). "Can 'Stuber' or 'Crawl' Find an Audience in 'Spider-Man'-Dominated Box Office?". TheWrap. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  18. D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 22, 2019). "'Lion King' Rips Up July & Disney Remake Records With $191.8M Opening – Monday Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  19. "Stuber (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  20. "Stuber Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  21. Debruge, Peter (March 14, 2019). "SXSW Film Review: 'Stuber'". Variety. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  22. Kenny, Glenn (July 11, 2019). "Stuber Movie Review & Film Summary (2019)". www.rogerebert.com.
  23. Simon Thompson (10 Jul 2019). "Stuber Review - A competent but underwhelming buddy comedy". IGN.
  24. Dowd, A. A. (2019-07-03). "Stuber is stupid". The A.V. Club. The Onion.
  1. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is uncredited on all media for this film.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.