Dave Bautista and Kumail Nanjiani team up for "Stuber," the story of a hard-hitting police detective who drags a knock-kneed Uber driver into his latest case. "Stuber" is a vehicle, forgive the pun, for its two leads: Bautista, a wrestler-turned-actor whose deadpan comic delivery is a high point of the "Guardians of the Galaxy" movies, and Nanjiani, a stand-up comedian still basking in the goodwill generated by his heartfelt 2017 rom-com, "The Big Sick." Both are well-liked faces but not yet full-blown stars.
"Stuber," released by 20th Century Fox, feels like the big time: an R-rated comedy opening at American multiplexes in the middle of summer. For Bautista and Nanjiani, it's a test-drive of their star power. Unfortunately, this weakly-structured comedy turns them both into crash-test dummies.
Nanjiani plays Stu, a low-paid employee at a big-box store who moonlights as an Uber driver in Los Angeles. One evening, Stu picks up Vic (Bautista), a cop who is in the middle of tracking down a local drug kingpin (Iko Uwais). Why does a cop need an Uber? Where's Vic's Crown Vic? Turns out the guy just had Lasik surgery and can barely see, a predicament that leads to such Mr. Magoo moments as fistfights with mannequins and conversations with people who are dead. Stu puts up with this half-blind yet trigger-happy cop for one reason: He's desperate for a five-star rating.
