Starsky & Hutch: Review By derekmay

I suppose first of all I should come clean and say that I’ve never actually seen an episode of the original Starsky & Hutch television show. That said, I think it’s a safe bet to say that this feature remake of the classic duo has only the most superficial ties to the series and is basically an excuse for Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson to share the ‘70’s limelight.

With such hilariously imaginative collaborations on such greats as Zoolander and The Royal Tenenbaums, it’s either surprising or inevitable that we find only B-grade fare here. Most of the individual gags are comical enough, generating good-hearted chuckles from the audience but the really inspired comedy is lacking here, replaced by lukewarm jokes and half-assed gags.

The pushing-it-to-the-limits opportunity for two such comic greats to play inside the 1970’s is sorely missed. Instead we get a rather cliché story about cocaine, a Disco dance-off and some (granted amusing) wardrobes. But where’s the real spirit of the seventies? We get more in That ‘70’s Show or even Undercover Brother. As I said, I don’t know much about the original series, but I know that it was a seminal barometer for life in the “me decade” and whether it’s the writing, the acting or the directing, the fact remains we just don’t get that feel here.

Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson play their characters as if they were doing it for the check, not the love. Owen simply plays the same character he has since Bottle Rocket and, while it’s definitely amusing and plays fairly well off Stiller, it’s beginning to wear a little thin. Stiller delivers most of the meat with an odd mixture of seriousness and buffoonery. And though we all know character should evolve as the story progresses, it seems so fast that I can’t exactly pin down how or where it happened. I suppose it could have been when beauties Carmen Electra and Amy Smart started shaking their pompoms. I guess that could change anyone in a heartbeat! Snoop Dogg manages to play the magnanimously hip “Huggy Bear” about as well as anyone could hope or expect. He’s not an actor, he’s a presence. But that seems to be more than enough to warrant roles nowadays and, as such, it’s a good fit here. Rounding it out is Vince Vaughn who, like Owen Wilson, plays himself once again. When it works it can be very funny. When it doesn’t, you get a villain trying to be funny in a drama trying to be funny.

Aside from the decent but not side-splitting humor of the film, the movie’s biggest flaw stems from the story itself. Now in fairness, the series may have been done the same way. However, what we get here feels like a comedy forced upon a mediocre crime drama. There are definite scenes and plot points that remove almost all traces of comedy and go straight for the gritty, yet then we fall back right into a well of wackiness. Sometimes this can be done extremely well, as in Anger Management or Meet the Parents. But the formula falls short here, and director Todd Philips gives more Old School than Road Trip. Depending on your taste, you decide which is funnier.

Overall there’s a sense throughout here of missing the tone of the film. While it works on certain individual levels, it manages only a par on the whole. The chemistry between Stiller and Owen is undeniable, and their performances are admirable. The jokes are funny by themselves, but the attempted drama of the movie hinders more than helps. And without spoiling it, the ending is one of the most unsatisfying and against-the-grain endings I’ve seen since William Friedkin’s work.

Philips, Stiller and Wilson should have thrown caution to the wind and gone all out instead of putting too much on their plates. A broad comedy would have better served the film and created a tone better suited for the unique assembly of talent here. Fans may love it and find it a wonderful homage to the original series. For those unfamiliar with the lore, check it out for the comedy, but don’t expect too much.