Starsky & Hutch (2004) Warner Bros./Action-Comedy RT: 101 minutes Rated PG-13 (drug content, sexual situations, partial nudity, language, some violence) Director: Todd Phillips Screenplay: John O’Brien, Todd Phillips and Scot Armstrong Music: Theodore Shapiro Cinematography: Barry Peterson Release date: March 5, 2004 (US) Cast: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Snoop Dogg, Fred Williamson, Vince Vaughn, Juliette Lewis, Jason Bateman, Amy Smart, Carmen Electra, George Kee Cheung, Chris Penn, Brande Roderick, Molly Simms, Matt Walsh, Jeffrey Lorenzo, Richard Edson, Terry Crews, Will Ferrell, Patton Oswalt, Har Mar Superstar. Box Office: $88.2M (US)/$170.2M (World)
Rating: ***
It’s been a little over four years and I’m still angry about the awful film adaptation of the popular 70s cop show CHiPs. It’s a crime what the makers did to it. They took an innocent TV show beloved by kids of all ages and turned it into a profane, mean-spirited, homophobic, misogynistic, unfunny R-rated comedy. They couldn’t have gotten it more wrong if they tried. It’s the most grievous case of artistic vandalism since Gus Van Sant decided it would be a great idea to remake Psycho.
There’s a right way to do a satirical take on an old TV shows. Look at The Brady Bunch Movie. They poke fun at the sappy absurdity of the show without compromising its wholesomeness by resorting to cheap laughs and vulgar humor. That’s one example of a TV-to-film adaptation getting it right. Another one is Starsky & Hutch, a good-natured goof on the show starring Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul as a pair of crime-solving cops who took on all types of criminals from common thieves to cold-blooded killers. If you were a kid in the 70s, chances are you watched it. It appealed to both sexes. Boys liked Starsky’s ride, a bright red Gran Torino with white stripes on both sides. Girls tuned in for Glaser and/or Soul because they were cute.
I didn’t watch Starsky and Hutch at that time because I was more into sitcoms like Happy Days, Good Times, Welcome Back Kotter and What’s Happening. I just recently made my way through the entire series on GetTV. I enjoyed it so much (in all its supreme 70s silliness), I decided to rewatch Starsky & Hutch, the film version in which Frat Pack brothers Ben Stiller (There’s Something About Mary) and Owen Wilson (The Royal Tenenbaums) take over the roles from their originators. I liked it okay when I first saw it in ’04, but didn’t fully appreciate it until this past weekend’s viewing. This time, I liked it a lot! It’s funnier when you’re more familiar with the source.
Starsky & Hutch is a prequel of sorts. It could easily be subtitled When Starsky Met Hutch. It takes us through the first case worked on by Bay City detectives David Starsky (Stiller) and Ken Hutchinson (Wilson). Starsky is a macho, no-BS type. Hutch is more laid-back. Starsky is a by-the-book straight arrow. Hutch plays fast and loose with the rules. However, they both have a tendency to get into hot water over their hot dog antics; it’s only fitting they should be made partners. According to their boss Capt. Doby (Williamson, Vigilante), they deserve each other.
Like any given episode of the show, the plot is simplicity itself. The boys’ first case has them going after drug kingpin Reese Feldman (Vaughn, Old School) who’s about to close a major deal involving a new type of cocaine undetectable to drug-sniffing dogs. Although it tastes like artificial sweetener, it’s no less potent as the guys learn after Starsky unwittingly ingests a significant amount by putting it in his coffee. In order to nab Feldman, the partners do what they always do (or will always do in the future), gather intel through informant Huggy Bear (rapper Snoop Dogg), go undercover in various disguises, shoot it out with assorted bad guys, infuriate Doby, get it on with the ladies and close the case.
Director Todd Phillips (Old School) wisely retains the series’ original setting instead of trying to update the material. That’s one of the things I love about Starsky & Hutch. It adds a sense of authenticity to the proceedings. The clothes, hair, cars, attitudes and music (especially the music!) makes you feel like you’re watching something from the 70s despite all of it being done for comedic effect. The score by Theodore Shapiro sounds like it’s lifted directly from a cop show of the era. The groovy soundtrack includes cuts from Eric Clapton (“Cocaine”, what else?), The Band (“The Weight”), KC & The Sunshine Band (“That’s the Way I Like It”), Starland Vocal Band (“Afternoon Delight”), Maxine Nightingale (“Right Back Where We Started From”) and Barry Manilow (“Can’t Smile Without You”). In addition, Wilson does a nice cover of David Soul’s hit ballad “Don’t Give Up on Us” (complete with animated bird).
Another thing Starsky & Hutch has going for it is a solid cast. It’s unusually well cast. Frequent co-stars Stiller and Wilson have great rapport. Their comic interplay, starting with Hutch mocking Starsky’s perm within minutes of meeting him in Doby’s office, is highly amusing. Vaughn makes a convincing comic villain with a vicious streak. Juliette Lewis (Old School) has some good moments as his mistress. Amy Smart (Road Trip) and Carmen Electra (Baywatch) are hot as hell as a pair of cheerleaders that get involved with S&H (mostly Hutch). Dogg’s version of Huggy Bear is more of a superfly pimp than a street hustler. He still has a way with words. He’s also a wealth of information and not just about what’s going down on the streets. He can tell you all about grass and how it affects a golf game. Fred “The Hammer” Williamson is an excellent choice to play temperamental but fair Captain Doby. Will Ferrell (Old School) cameos as a jailhouse snitch with peculiar sexual kinks.
There are several funny moments in Starsky & Hutch and a few decent action scenes. I’m especially pleased that Phillips stays mostly within the bounds of good taste although the gag involving the accidental shooting of a pony didn’t set well with this animal lover. You can tell that he has genuine affection for the original source and that’s what makes it a winner. He pokes fun without trashing it altogether. There’s even a surprise appearance at the end by…. eh, why ruin it. Starsky & Hutch is a lot of fun. It’s light, insubstantial (in a good way) and good-natured. It’s proof good movies can be made from old TV shows.
