Starsky & Hutch (2004) Reviews

• Great Sunday Hangover Film

  toffeesi2007-02-05

  Hand on heart I did not want to watch this film. Although I grew up with the TV series and really enjoyed it, when the film was released I have to say that I was not keen, I can not put my finger on why, perhaps it was Stiller, who, Something About Mary apart, has never really done it for me. But what ever the reason, it remained unveiwed. That was 2004 - Xmas 2006 and I get DVD vouchers, so In the January sales off I go to see what I can get, I do quite well, but have £3 remaining, I have 2 or 3 to chose from 2 I have already seen, and Starsky & Hutch.....So I bought it.......yet still it was unwatched until yesterday.......hungover and feeling a little lazy I needed something to pass the time that was easy to watch, funny, and not too taxing.....so on it goes. How surprised was I then when after only a few minutes I was giggling away. Stiller was actually entertaining and I was enjoying watching him, Mr Wilson was very good and I got the vibe that the characters gelled as the ones in the TV series did. Vaughan was a good baddie, and Snoop was hight entertaining if not as camp Huggy Bear! All in all this is a good solid comedy film, not brilliant don't get me wrong, but worth a watch.

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• Great melding of traditional 1970s flicks and Stiller/Wilson

  BrandtSponseller2005-02-08

  David Starsky (Ben Stiller) is a by-the-book cop who thinks nothing about destroying thousands of dollars of property to apprehend a mugger who has stolen only a few dollars. Ken Hutchinson (Owen Wilson) is the complete opposite--it seems the only reason he has become a cop is that it makes a life of crime much easier. Captain Doby (Fred Williamson) can't stand either of them, but hits upon the brilliant idea of pairing them. When they begin investigating a murder that has ties to a prominent millionaire, the best qualities of each just might start influencing the other. Although I always wait to read others' reviews and comments until I've seen a film and written my own review (I do not want to be swayed or influenced in any way by other opinions), I can imagine that quite a few people would not like Starsky and Hutch. To really enjoy it, one would have to alter their expectations to what director Todd Phillips has chosen to deliver instead--a clever film that is both an absurdist spoof and a respectful, faithful homage at the same time. Creating that combination is a difficult feat, but Phillips was largely successful. The combination means that Starsky and Hutch is not aiming to be over-the-top hilarious, and it's also not aiming to be overly consistent with the characters and tone of the original pilot film and series. Viewers expecting either are likely to be a bit disappointed. However, if you're a fan of gritty 1970s films as well as a fan of Stiller and Wilson's usual material, you should find much to love here. Phillips has remarkably captured the look and feel of a typical 1970s film. The costumes, hairstyles, and overall production design are also perfect for a subtle spoof on the 1970s, and given the source material, even the plot has the slightly formulaic, slightly hokey, almost made-for-television feel that is appropriate for this genre. You know they're on the right track when Fred Williamson--star of such blaxploitation masterpieces as Hammer (1972), Black Caesar (1973) and Mean Johnny Barrows (1976)--has a prominent supporting role. The 1970s spoof/homage aspect is far more understated and reverential than you'd normal expect from a Stiller film, but easy to like and understand. Other outstanding supporting roles are played by Vince Vaughn, Snoop Dogg, Will Ferrell and Juliette Lewis, all except Dogg slightly out of character, but just as enjoyable and funny as always, as they're all somewhat faithfully filling traditional 1970s roles. Dogg is the most in character, as he has long been deferential to that era, anyway. The film hinges, of course, on Stiller and Wilson, and true to form, Stiller is still a somewhat oblivious buffoon with Wilson as a hipper, more streetwise buffoon. Grafting their comedy personae onto the Starsky and Hutch characters was more easily done and natural than anyone might have thought, and provides a highly amusing 100 minutes, even if it's a bit of an acquired taste and not likely to be understood quite as well by future generations.

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• Starsky & Hutch get no respect in their big-screen movie

  zardoz-132004-03-18

  "Old School" director Todd Phillips lampoons every cop movie convention and cliché in his new action comedy "Starsky & Hutch," an amusing but anemic annihilation of the tough-minded, 1970s-era, buddy-themed, crime busters television series that paved the way for shows like "Miami Vice." Comedian Ben Stiller of "Meet the Parents" recreates the Paul Michael Glaser role as Det. Dave Starsky, while Owen Wilson of "The Big Bounce" updates the David Soul character Det. Ken Hutchinson. Mind you, Stiller is usually a stellar comic, but his exaggerated, hyperactive performance here is far too epileptic to be palatable. He resembles an anorexic Lou Ferrigno, and he behaves as if he wandered in from another movie. Meanwhile, Owen Wilson plays his usual laid-back slacker self. Wilson goes for comparative subtlety. Sadly, "S & H" lacks any shred of subtlety. What Phillips and co-scenarists John O'Brien of "Cradle 2 The Grave" and Scot Armstrong, who co-scripted "Old School" and "Road Trip" with Phillips, have done to TV's "Starsky and Hutch" is not nearly as appalling as what director Barry Sonnenfeld did to TV's "The Wild Wild West" with his "Wild Wild West." Sadly, this sacrilegious law & order spoof is horrendous enough as it is. "Starsky & Hutch" TV show fans will feel insulted and humiliated by this contemptible makeover of a venerable series. Phillips & company stand the action formula on its head, pull its pants down, and turn our heroes into moronic misfits. "S & H" shares more in common with the Village People than a straight-up and serious TV cops & robbers show. People who never saw TV's "Starsky and Hutch" may find it easier to laugh at our heroes' buffoonish behavior. Phillips scores points for his broad, imaginative comedy, but he devastates a popular show. Essentially, Phillips & company have ignored the basic rule of remakes: if it ain' t broke, don't fix it. Only Snoop Dogg as Huggy Bear, Vince Vaughn as villainous Reese Feldman, and Fred Williamson's Captain Dobey emerge unscathed from this cretinous comedy. "Starsky & Hutch" gets off on the right foot. Jewish businessman/cocaine dealer Reese Feldman (Vince Vaughn of "Clay Pigeons" with a bandit mustache) has a falling out with one of his accomplices over the loss of a coke consignment and a plane. Out of the blue, Feldman palms a pistol and blows a hole through the argumentative thug, sending him involuntarily backwards over the railing of his yacht and into the ocean. As the wily villain, Feldman has altered the chemical formula of cocaine so drug-sniffing German Sheppard dogs cannot catch any incriminating whiffs from the narcotics. Further, this new cocaine is tasteless, which spins off a great gag with Starsky stirring it into his coffee as if it were sugar. The clever running joke during the expository scene about the drug is the comparison of 'new' coke with 'old' coke. Feldman plans to sell consignments of his wonder drug to a syndicate of drug dealers. Meanwhile, Bay City Police Captain Dobey (Frank Williamson of "Hammer") makes partners out of polar opposites who have virtually no credibility in the department. Detective Dave Starsky has an anger management problem and is prone to firing his pistol in public at the wrong times. He drives like a maniac and he busts citizens for the least infraction of the law. On the other hand, Detective Ken Hutchinson drop kicked his ethics long ago and moonlights as a robber who hits bookies. Predictably, these dynamic dudes have problems adjusting to each other's idiosyncrasies. One thing Hutch likes about Starsky, however, is his souped-up, red Ford Grand Torino in which they careen recklessly around the streets of Bay City. Anyway, our heroes find a floater who turns out to be the same guy Feldman gunned down on his yacht. (Indeed, Vaughn makes a more believable bad guy than our protagonists make heroes.) In the by-the-numbers, police procedural screenplay, Starsky and Hutch trace the floater back to Feldman. Initially, they have no luck with Feldman and follow another lead: the dragon designs on the corpse's jacket. This takes them to prison where they encounter Big Earl (an unaccredited Will Ferrell of "Elf" with a hair net) who fashioned the designs. Starsky and Hutch ply Big Earl for information, but he proves more an obstacle than they expected. Where the original "S&H" duo would have shattered the glass between them in the prison interview room and beaten him to a pulp, the new "Starsky and Hutch" adopt a different approach. No concession they offer the convict appeals to him, until he asks to ogle Hutch's belly button. Before it's all over, Starsky and Hutch are caught on prison surveillance cams performing "Dumb and Dumber" routines for Big Earl. Like so much of the comedy in "S & H," this scene tickles your funny bone. Unfortunately, it's in the wrong movie. Starsky and Hutch check in occasionally with their number one snitch: Huggy Bear (Snoop Dogg of "Baby Boy") and even persuade him to wear a wire and serve as Feldman's golf caddy in one scene. However, no matter what our heroes do to try and bust Feldman, they always wind up with egg on their face, to the point Capt. Dobey suspends them from the force. Snoop Dog walks off with the show without breaking a sweat. The producers show greater reverence for his character than any other. The Ford Grand Torino gives a better performance than either lead. Another plus is the classic disco soundtrack with hits from the 70s such as "Afternoon Delight" and a send-up of David Soul's own "Don't Give Up On Us Baby." Altogether, while its boasts several funny scenes, this "Starsky & Hutch" remake doesn't amount to much.

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• Funny (and entertaining!) send-up of the cop-buddy formula

  MovieAddict20162004-07-15

  A funny and thoroughly enjoyable spin on the overused cop-buddy formula, "Starsky and Hutch" is one of the most entertaining films of 2004 -- even if it's nothing more than just that. With a fair share of laugh-out-loud moments, and more than a handful of in-joke references to '70s pop culture (including the original source material: "Starsky and Hutch" the TV show), it also boasts a fine comedic cast with talented performers: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Snoop Dogg, Chris Penn, Amy Smart and some uncredited cameos by the likes of Will Ferrell -- and yes, even the original Starsky and Hutch. But their shared appearance is one best left open. ("I get a good vibe from these guys," the younger Hutch exclaims in one of the film's most savory self-referential moments.) The film takes place in Bay City, "sometime during the '70s," when David Starsky (Stiller) -- a by-the-numbers police officer who spends his entire day chasing small-time crooks -- is paired up with a new partner, the reckless Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson (Wilson). Starsky and Hutch don't get along at first -- their mixed personalities collide, resulting in uncomfortable tension. Placed on an assignment involving an alleged drug lord (Vaughn), who has managed to create undetectable cocaine, Starsky and Hutch find themselves in a number of awkward situations: getting a statement by Big Earl (Ferrell), a dragon-obsessed inmate with some major issues; the usual tidbits of information from Huggy Bear (Dogg), a friend and informant of Hutch's; and of course the mandatory romantic subplot involving a pair of sexy cheerleaders. The contrast of Starsky and Hutch is handled deliberately blunt: this comedy isn't as much a victim of the cop-buddy genre as it is a dead-on spoof. Hutch is a self-described "realist" -- during his introductory sequence he is shown fleeing the scene of a robbery with a stash of money. We assume he is undercover, and that's what he tells the cops when they try to arrest him. However, he's just using his badge as an excuse to commit crimes -- and get away with them. I asked myself if it was as possible as the film implies, but then the Constantly Yelling and/or Upset Police Captain (another clichéd role that happens to show up in all these movies) tells Hutch that it's the seventh time he's been arrested for robbery, and Hutch tells him that he's undercover -- trying to work his way in through the criminal underground. The joke, of course, is that we find out the robberies are all totally unrelated and bear no significant to a criminal underground of any kind. There are a few sequences in the movie that deserve a description of their own, such as when Starsky accidentally consumes a large amount of cocaine and works himself into an ultimate-high-frenzy, battling on the disco floor of a nightclub for short-lived glory. After his opponent is unjustly awarded the gold medal, Starsky pulls out his gun and from there on the entire situation escalates into one of those scenes that -- like parts of Stiller's "There's Something About Mary" -- last on in viewers' minds even after the film itself fades away. The sort of sequence you might chuckle about to yourself as you drive home and recall certain moments from the film. Stiller and Wilson -- presently two of Hollywood's most famous odd couples who have united together for a number of projects over the years -- are always likable in their films and nothing changes here. Wilson uses his sarcastic quips to an advantage, coming across as the smoother of the two, whereas Starsky is the bumbling and self-conscious idiot who is both over-protective and over-zealous. The movie is at its best when it is cleverly satirizing the genre. Most of these films always include a sequence where the police captain will suspend the movie's protagonist and frown on him, saying something cheesy like, "Your father, who spent years on the force and was one of the highest-decorated officers, would be ashamed of you!" Instead, the police captain tells Starsky that his mother would be ashamed of him. And then after being suspended, Starsky takes a visit to his mother's grave and places a glazed donut on the headstone (she was the highly decorated cop in the family, apparently). The film was directed by Todd Phillips, whose resume includes such raunchy efforts at comedy as the crude-but-enjoyable "Road Trip" and surprising "Old School." The latter film starred Ferrell and Vaughn and contained a cameo appearance by Snoop Dogg (as himself), so obviously these guys enjoyed working with Phillips and, I'm sure, agreed to contribute to this movie just for the heck of it. The result is a very goofy, entertaining summer flick that never tries too hard and invariably never falls too hard, either. It does fall sometimes, but even then it usually takes its screw-ups with a pinch of salt. This is the sort of movie worth the price of admission -- just to sit back, forget your worries, and watch a couple of clowns bumble their way through an enjoyable farce of the '70s. It's not the kind of movie you'll be talking about after you see it -- just a simple popcorn flick. If you're out and about and you happen to stumble into a theater showing this film, you'll find your money well spent. I won't praise "Starsky and Hutch" for being a brilliant tongue-in-cheek spoof of the cop-buddy films -- I'll merely say that, for what it is, "Starsky and Hutch" is well-made and funny -- a surprisingly simple movie that is everything it pretends to be. The majority of films that use this approach suffer because they fall victim to their targets, especially most released this year, but where the others have failed "Starsky and Hutch" succeeds.

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• Fun entertaining movie.

  Boba_Fett11382005-08-10

  Of all the recent buddy-cop movies, released lately this is one of the better ones. Biggest strength of this movie is in the two main characters played by Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson. They are such a great screen duo together and have some great team chemistry on the screen. The movie is filled with many other great comical talented actors such as; Vince Vaughn as the main villain, Snoop Dogg and Will Ferrell and some smaller roles for famous names such as; Chris Penn, Carmen Electra, Amy Smart and Juliette Lewis. But the movie is more then just an ordinary buddy-movie, it also is a priceless parody of '70's TV-shows in general. It uses some of the same camera-positions and style of editing at times, especially in the action sequences. But also the way of acting, dialog and costumes perfectly spoof all those silly '70 TV-series. I'm not sure if everybody catch or understood this but I really laughed out loud at some moments. The comedy can be put in the category silly, so this movie is clearly not suitable for everyone. The humor is really over-the-top but I for one really enjoyed that. The characters are really silly but the professional comedy actors portray them extremely well and likable. A perfectly fun comedy to kill some time with. 7/10 http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

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