Uber comedy lucky to get two laughs, never mind two stars

Stuber (R16, 93 mins) Directed by Michael Dowse Reviewed by James Croot ★★

This must have seemed like a brilliant idea. Bring together two stars from a couple of massive comedy hits from the past few years for a buddy action-comedy that pays tribute to the genre’s past, but is also as zeitgeisty as hell. Unfortunately, this teaming of Guardians of the Galaxy’s Dave Bautista and The Big Sick’s Kumail

Nanjiani is one of the worst movies of the year so far.

Stuber does neither its pair of leads nor its twin product placements of a particular ridesharing app and an electric car any favours.

On the rare occasions Tripper Clancy’s (Four Against the Bank) script isn’t reliant on crude sex jokes, its ‘‘humour’’ comes from Bautista playing a younger, bulkier version of Mr Magoo. Yep, not only does this myopic tale lack any clear vision, it’s also tone deaf.

Bautista is Vic Manning, an LAPD detective still sideswiped by the murder of his partner (fellow

Guardian Karen Gillan) six months earlier. Determined to track down her killer – an elusive drug trafficker, Vic is outraged when his boss (an unconvincing Mira Sorvino) suggests the case is about to be taken over by the Feds.

Despite having had laser eye surgery that morning, Vic makes a last-ditch attempt to get his man, but, given his inability to see, let alone drive, he’s going to need the assistance of a driver. Enter sporting goods storeworker-cumUber-driver Stu Prasad (Nanjiani).

That’s right, this is Tom Cruise’s Collateral played for laughs – or 2004’s Taxi for the Uber generation.

However, with its vertiginous camerawork and old-school soundtrack (featuring the likes of 10cc, Styx and The Hollies), it’s clear director Michael Dowse (It’s

All Gone Pete Tong) wants this to be the next Baby Driver. Sadly, unlike Edgar Wright’s heist movie, this offers few traces of wit and inspiration. There is a nice subversion of the staple visit-toa-strip-club scene and a clever torture by Twitter set-piece, but these are quickly snuffed out by painfully predictable plotting, a showcase of what can only be described as toxic masculinity and odd 1980s movie references, made weirder by the soundtrack’s focus on the decade before.

Stuber feels very much like a rip-off of the cop comedies of that era. Think Midnight Run, Police Academy, Beverly Hills Cop, 48 Hours, Red Heat or K-9. Only with lazy writing, typecast leads and a sensibility that feels out of step with its audience.

Barely earning a two-star rating, you should definitely swipe left on Stuber.