'Stuber' deals with toxic masculinity, says Kumail Nanjiani and Dave Bautista

Los Angeles: Actors Kumail Nanjiani and Dave Bautista have said that they tried to tackle the phenomenon of toxic masculinity through their new film, “Stuber”.

Talking to The Hollywood Reporter on the sidelines of the film’s world premiere here, Nanjiani said they felt it was important for them to talk about “dude issues” through the movie because the way masculinity has been “traditionally defined” is causing “problems for everyone”.

“I feel like we’re in a time where we can talk about masculinity and how it’s always been very traditionally defined in a narrow way and how that’s led to problems for everyone for women and for men,” Nanjiani said.

“I felt like it would be interesting to try to talk about that stuff in a traditionally very masculine genre. A buddy cop action-comedy is such a dude movie, so we thought it would be interesting to talk about dude issues that also affect the whole world, in a traditionally male genre,” he added.

Bautista said there is an underlying message about toxic masculinity in the film.

“Throughout the film, we’re constantly talking about it. Sometimes you don’t realise it because we’re making you laugh or disguising it with action, but we really do have the discussion throughout the film,” he said.

“Stuber”, directed by Michael Dowse, is about an Uber driver, who picks up a grizzled cop, played by Bautista, who is hot on the trail of a brutal killer. The driver finds himself thrust into a harrowing ordeal where he has to keep his wits, his life and his five-star rating.

The film released in the US on Friday.