By day, mild-mannered Stu (Kumail Nanjiani) works a soul-crushing job at a sporting goods store, for an obnoxious younger boss, Richie (Jimmy Tatro)—the son of the store’s owner. Richie has given Stu the nickname of “Stuber” because Stu also works as an Uber driver to pick up extra cash. Stu has always been a bit of a pushover. For years he has pined away for best friend Becca (Betty Gilpin)—even investing lots of money he can’t afford into her new spin gym for single women, “Spinsters”—even though she shows no sign of return affection. Stu has leased a new electric vehicle, and tries to make everything perfect for his customers, so that his rating won’t dip below 4 stars.

Vic Manning (Dave Bautista) is the opposite. He’s a gruff, confident police detective, who has been obsessed with capturing drug runner Oka Tedjo (Iko Uwais) ever since his partner was killed while chasing down the criminal 6 months earlier. Vic’s eyes aren’t what they used to be, so he schedules a LASIK surgery appointment—which happens to be on the day of his daughter Nicole’s (Natalie Morales) first art gallery show, which he promised to go to. It will take Vic’s eyes 24 hours to fully recover, so he can’t drive himself. Vic gets a lead on the Tedjo case, but his captain (Mira Sorvino) refuses to send him a car, so Vic decides to use Uber for the first time. Now Stu is about to go on the rideshare of his life as Vic gets him involuntarily involved in his dangerous world. However, along the way, these two mismatched guys manage to teach one another some things about life.

Stuber is a crazy, wild ride, that reminds me of the fun cop action-comedy films I grew up with. It’s got that familiar cop/not-a-cop, odd couple setup, but also feels modern with its rideshare premise. The casting is perfect. Nanjiani is hilarious as the neurotic Uber driver who is desperate to get a five star rating. Stu feels like a genuinely nice guy who is thrust into this very unfamiliar, dangerous situation. He is constantly having to apologize to his customers, who get caught up in the wake of Vic’s lack of understanding of how rideshares work and bull-in-a-china-shop mode of operation. Nanjiani is a skilled comedian, and the hilarious things his character says feel so natural—and possibly improvised. Bautista is also a strong comedic force—he has proved this in the Guardians movies, and continues to do so here. He is great at playing this type of somewhat simple-minded brute with an underlying heart of gold. The two actors have great chemistry and comedic timing with one another.

The film is rated R, but I can’t recall anything that really warranted this rating—perhaps some excessive violence (though it doesn’t reach Deadpool levels), and there’s a hilarious background penis shot in one scene. Overall, this film was a lot of fun, and I would definitely watch a Stuber 2—hey, Rush Hour got three films, and the Shanghai Noon franchise has a possible third film on the way.

FOX’s Blu-ray release provides solid picture and sound. The picture is clean and detailed, with no sign of grain or imperfection—I really have no complaints. (The film is also being released on 4K UHD for those who want even more detail and an HDR color palette, though it’s likely unnecessary.) The audio presentation is equally impressive. The Blu-ray’s 7.1 DTS-HD soundtrack provides a fully immersive experience—when bullets start flying, you can hear them whizzing across the room. Dialog also remains clear throughout the movie. (The 4K release bumps the audio up to a Dolby Atmos track).

The Blu-ray comes packed in a standard HD keepcase along with a cardboard slipcover. Inside is the HD digital copy redemption instructions and the Blu-ray disc. The bonus material includes an audio commentary by director Michael Dowse and star Kumail Nanjiani, 5 deleted scenes, a gag reel, some alternate joke takes, and a photo gallery. The amount of material is a bit disappointing—I wish there had been some behind-the-scenes featurettes, and there is mention of some deleted scenes in the commentary that weren’t included on the disc—but the material that is included is entertaining and appreciated.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:33:24)

Blu-ray:

• 1080p / Widescreen 2.39:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, English Descriptive Audio 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1
• Subtitles (Feature and Commentary): English SDH, Spanish, French

Digital:

• HD Digital Copy redeemable via Movies Anywhere

Extras:

• Deleted Scenes (4:35)
  Collection of 5 deleted scenes with optional audio commentary by director Michael Dowse and star Kumail Nanjiani. Play All, or select from:
  • Stu’s Mannequins (:55)
    Stu is dressing a mannequin named Keith at the store when Becca walks in on them.
  • Vic Calls McHenry (:37)
    Vic asks his boss to send him a car.
  • Doris (:29)
    In hopes of not getting a negative rating, Stu apologizes to Doris, the woman who smashed her head against the window when Vic’s Mr. Magoo-like driving caused him to stop the car quickly.
  • Stu Shares His Plan (1:45)
    Stu tells Vic about his spin gym investment as they are driving in the car.
  • Stu and Nicole (1:00)
    Nicole tells Stu about her father’s odd lessons when she was a child.
• Gag Reel (3:01)
  The cast flub their lines, crack up, and have fun on set.
• Joke-O-Rama (5:14)
  The cast riff alternate takes on their lines.
• Georgia Film Works (3:01)
  Animated PSA for the Georgia film industry.
• Audio Commentary by Michael Dowse and Kumail Nanjiani (1:33:24)
  Director Michael Dowse and star Kumail Nanjiani provide a fun an entertaining commentary throughout the film, giving some interesting behind-the-scenes stories, and talking about some of the stuff that didn’t make it into the film.
• Gallery (1:45)
  Manually step through this gallery of 20 behind-the-scenes photos, or let the slideshow auto-advance every 5 seconds.
• Theatrical Trailer (1:57)
• Sneak Peek (2:28)
  Trailer for Booksmart.

Final Thoughts:

Stuber is a fun reluctant-buddy action/comedy with a modern rideshare twist. The film does a great job of establishing the main characters and giving them solid backstories, before thrusting this odd couple together for a wild ride. Stars Kumail Nanjiani and Dave Bautista really bring the action and laughs, and have great on-screen chemistry and comedic timing. I hope this film is just the first of a franchise! The Blu-ray looks and sounds great, and contains a small but entertaining assortment of bonus material. The film is definitely worth checking out for anyone who is a fan of the cast or of action/comedies in general.