"Starsky & Hutch"
Rewind those eight-track and beta videotapes to a more innocent time of cocaine drug busts and feathered hair, Farrah Fawcett-wannabe women. Sporting classic ‘70s-wear, Ben Stiller and contemporary-clad buddy, Owen Wilson, were spotted on small screens nationwide on Oscar night. The two presented an award and plugged their latest flick in which they teams up again on the big-screen as ‘70s classic TV cops, Dave Starsky and Ken “Hutch” Hutchinson.
Directed by Todd Phillips, best known for his gross out gag-full work Old School and Road Trip, Starsky & Hutch not only features Stiller and Wilson in the sixth on-screen fusion of their comedic minds. A slew of more big names add evident energy to the movie. Vince Vaughn, plays Reese Feldman, a cocaine-dealing white-collar criminal, who Starsky and Hutch attempt to bust through a series of amusing missteps.
The kooky and chaotic all-star cast breakdown goes a little something like this: Vaughn's character isn't only married to Molly Sims; his mistress is Juliette Lewis. Carmen Electra and Amy Smart serve as hot mama cheerleader witnesses; Will Ferrell makes a priceless cameo as a jailed comrade to Vaughn and Snoop Dogg stars as urban informer, Huggy Bear. Seeing familiar faces galore displaced in the tacky disco decade, the constant cameos alone offer the film watch-ability.
Stiller and Wilson succeed in their attempt to appeal to a generation who still had at least five years to be born at the time of ""Starsky & Hutch""'s TV premiere. The origins of the lively ‘70s duo are explained, with the plot of the film serving as a prequel. Brought together by their hard-ass boss, Captain Dobey, uptight Starsky and easygoing Hutch butt heads in the beginning. Obviously well seasoned in their comfort level on screen, Stiller and Wilson are the perfect pair to re-envision cops who embody the theory that opposites attract, at least eventually. Somewhere along the line, their annoyance with one another turns to affection and soon they're wooing women together, zooming around town together in their celebrated '74 Ford Torino hot rod and giving each other guy hugs.
The not-exactly original buddy concept pumps up its funny quotient by being full of witty one-liners. The script's clever dialogue contributes to the over-the-top charm, designing memorable bits between the two leading men, as well as with Huggy Bear's crew and the cheerleaders among others.
Of course, some of the most memorable parts don't necessitate costuming. From the more adult scenes like the duo's interview with a semi-naked cheerleader to Starsky's unintentional coke ingestion or an insinuated threesome, the flick successfully exaggerates the spirit of a free-loving era.
Luckily there are also more innocuous bits to balance, like a scene in which Starsky makes a fool of himself on the dance floor or the two playfully banter back and forth. Whereas similar comedies have overdone one brand of laughs stimulated by vulgarity, in Starsky, gross-out jokes aren't center stage. Blatant violence and suggestive sexual situations are to be expected and are handled in an overstated way, playing up and good-humored picking on the themes of the original TV show.
For what it is- a re-vamped, revved up, colorful tribute to ‘70s crime TV, Starsky & Hutch does a better than decent job. All parties involved know their audience and cater to it. Stiller and Wilson carry on their successful tradition of being a comedic twosome, and the rest of the cast are not only fitting to their roles but adequately funny to boot.