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Starsky & Hutch (2004) Warner Brothers 1 hr. 37 mins. Starring: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Snoop Dog, Juliette Lewis, Fred Williamson, Amy Smart, Carmen Elecktra, Justine Bateman, Chris Penn Directed by: Todd Phillips Starsky & Hutch Rating:  
E-MAIL FRANK OCHIENG The tradition of raiding television’s pop culture past continues to make its stride on the big screen. The latest boob tube blast from the past is courtesy of director Todd Phillips’s cheeky big screen adaptation of Starsky & Hutch, the funky ‘70s ABC-TV buddy-buddy cop show from the mindlessly entertaining Spelling-Goldberg frolic factory. Phillips, who’s known for the outrageously raunchy hits Road Trip and Old School, effortlessly continues the trend of promoting TV-oriented nostalgia for reminiscing moviegoers by bringing back a fairly popular retro police series that ruled the prime time airwaves from 1974-1979. The small screen version of Starsky & Hutch was easily considered a contemporary cousin to its Alphabet network competitors in reference to the highly rated and giggly Charlie’s Angels and the pulsating but short-lived and action-packed militia wonderment S.W.A.T. Now the big screen version gets a chance to follow up and bring its polyester-pushing brand of irreverence to the forefront much like the aforementioned Charlie’s Angels and S.W.A.T. films were previously able to do with manufactured fanfare. Although the curvy butt-kicking Angels were conceived with an over-the-top jubilance that inexplicably paid off beautifully at the box office, Starsky & Hutch fares much better as it captures the quirky spirit of its original televised counterpart. And it certainly runs rings around the forgettable frantic flick that featured Hondo Harrelson and his gun-toting posse in the juiced-up dud S.W.A.T. Those who recall the original policing pair (stars Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul) that raced around in their distinctive red-with-a-white-curvy stripe Ford Gran Torino while trading barbs and pouncing on the bad guys will be glad to see that the formula works marvelously in Phillips’s giddy presentation. The film’s leads Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson not only assume the skin of their alter egos fabulously, they managed to uncannily look like dead ringers for the previous actors that inhabited the roles. Also, the overall production is uniquely inspired thanks to the detailed authenticity that screams the progressive seventies in terms of the wild clothing, hairstyles, music, attitude, etc. In revisiting the disco era where cheesy urban cop shows were as omnipresent as Reality TV shows are in today’s mindset, Phillips does a suitable job in tapping into a yesteryear cop caper that’s spunky and spry in its offbeat tempo. David Starsky (Stiller) and Ken “Hutch” Hutchinson (Wilson) are mismatched Bay City area cops that are partnered together despite their conflicting personalities. Starsky is the impulsive one of the duo while Hutch is more reserved but cynical. Since Starsky has been used to roughing it on his own for quite some time, he’s not too thrilled with the rule-breaking Hutch attached to his back pocket. Anyhow, the detectives are asked to investigate a local homicide. Their investigation will eventually lead them to a sleazy businessman named Reese Feldman (Vince Vaughn, one of Phillips’s Old School leading lads) whose dealings in offering a specialized kind of cocaine on the streets may mean a glorious payday for the devious drug dealer. In order to nab Feldman and catch him at his high-priced game of narcotics, the law-enforcing tandem must go undercover to crack the case and catch this putrid polyester-wearing pusher dead in his tracks. Among the agenda in keeping Feldman under surveillance is having the roguish twosome pose as painted white-faced mimes for their intended target’s daughter’s birthday party where they hilariously end up ruining the proceedings. Also, Starsky and Hutch make good use of their flashy and flamboyant street informant Huggy Bear (Snoop Dogg), a fashionable club owner who has the pulse of what’s happening around town. Huggy Bear is resourceful for his badge-wearing buddies because he can provide inside information for what’s going down where Starsky and Hutch aren’t so privileged to obtain on their own watch. As Huggy Bear, Snoop Dogg brings a cunning and colorful edge to the character that would make his predecessor Antonio Fargas proud in sharing the stylish and streetwise strut of this smooth-talking informant and reliable sidekick. Not only does Starsky & Hutch find the time to poke some fun at the ‘70s TV cop genre in flippant fashion, the movie dutifully takes some liberty in skewing other pop period references. They cleverly range from acknowledging the counterculture subversive flick Easy Rider to gleefully sticking out its tongue at the outdated dance crazes created by the infectious cult classic Saturday Night Fever. Phillips, who co-wrote the script with contributing scribes Scot Armstrong and John O’Brien, has a twisted time recycling the standard buddy-buddy humorous exploits that longtime S&H enthusiasts will appreciate immensely. At times there are improvisational bits that carry on a tad long and the movie could have tightened itself up. But for the most part, you’ll find yourself chuckling at the nutty exchanges between the cagey cut-ups Stiller and Wilson. Phillips is crafty enough to let his leads Stiller and Wilson creatively work their on-screen magic by having them create the cheerful nonsense that lifts this farce beyond its potential mediocrity. Of course Stiller and Wilson have teamed up together in past projects (Zoolander, Meet the Parents, The Royal Tennanbaums, etc.) so they know the score and let the chemistry of their collaboration speak for itself in that respect. Clearly, Stiller and Wilson could make for a frothy permanent comedy couple in the tradition of the countless movie misfits that have joined at the cinematic hip: Hope and Crosby, Lemon and Matthau, Pryor and Wilder, Redford and Newman, etc. Specifically, Stiller’s knack for impersonation is riotous and right on cue when nailing down the Glaser mannerisms in the way he mugs at the camera or while performing the exaggerated Starsky-esque roll and tuck move with the gun. Wilson doesn’t necessarily make us blink twice in terms of his take on Soul’s Hutch. However, his crooning to Soul’s hit single “Don’t Give Up On Us” is ferociously naughty in its ridiculed sentiment. The supporting cast measure up and helps flow along the zany routine of this wayward action-comedy. Vaughn is funny and creepy as the perm-sporting predator with the ambitious drug-tampering tendencies. Juliette Lewis and Jason Bateman are winning as Feldman tagalongs that hang on his every twitch. Former NFL player and ‘70s blaxploitation stud Fred Williamson handily assumes the Bernie Hamilton part of the flustered police captain that is constantly perplexed at Starsky and Hutch’s latest escapades on the mean streets. Will Ferrell, another of Phillips’s Old School cronies, puts in a warped cameo as a jailed Feldman cohort with a fascination for clothes and dragons. Chris Penn is the insufferable co-worker that loves to ruffle the feathers of Dave Starsky and Ken Hutchinson when the chance permits. And Carmen Electra and Amy Smart are a hoot as cheerleaders-turned-groupies for any lucky man donning a cop uniform (this goes for plainclothes detectives as well). Plus it was inevitable for the original anti-heroes Starsky and Hutch in the matured form of Glaser and Soul to make an applauded appearance and literally pass the proverbial baton to their heir apparent of Stiller and Wilson. Again despite some lagging spots here and there, Starsky & Hutch is a groovy escapist piece of entertainment that hits more than it misses. Quite frankly, its arrested development is uproarious and makes one curious as to witness what else the filmmakers will drudge up from television’s forgotten graveyard. Anyone interested in reinstating The Rookies for big screen consumption? Click here to comment on this review or post your own thoughts. Frank Ochieng © TheWorldJournal.com |
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