My Review of "Stuber"

Stuber came out in theaters last year unexpectedly. I remember getting free passes to watch this movie early but declined the tickets. I didn't know anything about the movie and didn't want to take the risk of watching a crappy movie. A year later it shows up on stream so I decided to see what I missed out. I have to say it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. This movie was much smarter than I expected it to be.

The movie starts out with all out action. One of our heroes goes by the name of Vic. He's a hard nosed cop trying to take down a drug deal with his partner Sara. They've finally tracked down the notorious drug dealer Tedjo and they're chasing him down when all of a sudden a domino effect of unfortunate incidents occur. It ultimately ends in the demise of Vic's partner Sara.

Time goes by and Tedjo soon becomes Vic's white whale. The problem is that the case is going to the Feds and he'll lose the ability to arrest Tedjo. Despite Vic's circumstances he's determined to take down Tedjo. This has unfortunately put a strain on his relationships especially his only daughter, Nicole.

Meanwhile our second hero goes by the name Stu. He's a sports department store clerk in the day and an Uber driver by night. To add a little spice to his story he has a longtime crush on a girl named Becca.

Becca doesn't realize that Stu is in love with her as she sees him as her best friend. This isn't Becca's fault, Stu doesn't have the guts to tell her how he really feels. Instead he goes on ventures with Becca to help her see her dreams come true. Their latest venture is a spin fitness class for women.

Vic has lost his eye sight due to age and decided to get laser corrective surgery. There is of course recovery time involved with laser corrective surgery so he he's unable to drive. This is how Vic and Stu meet and it's a pretty crazy situation that places you a little outside the movie how outrageous it is.

Vic is a police officer but makes really dumb decisions. He's irrational and filled with self confidence. By contrast Stu has no confidence in himself and thinks logically. It's kind of a perfect buddy comedy match because the two are so polar opposite from one another. They really do compliment each other by the end of the movie but the chemistry takes a little time to work.

There's a funny scene where Stu uses his own modern logic to defeat the bad guys that Vic would never have thought. This just goes to show you how modern buddy cop movies can evolve over time. The tactics need to change and they have changed with social media taking over all of our lives.

Vic is pretty much an old school guy that adheres to many of the outdated stereotypes of masculinity. Stu on the other hand talks about how he should evolve to understand how masculinity is seen today. He wants him to become more connected to his feelings and be more open to relationships. It's a little weird to see but this is what we are doing today. I guess it's a pretty important message that they're trying to get across to the audience.

Still this isn't the smartest movie but it is much smarter than a lot of buddy cop films out there. It dips its toe in some uncharted territory that the usual macho cop flicks will not really venture into. I have to give them some props for doing so.

Overall, I had a much better time watching this movie than I had anticipated. It was actually more than a mindless buddy comedy, well it was a mindless buddy comedy but with a little more added to it. I have to give this movie a 7.5 out of 10. It was well worth the watch even though you may have some apprehensions in watching it.