Release Date: March 5, 2004
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for drug content, sexual situations, partial nudity, language and some violence
Written and Directed by: Todd Phillips
Starring: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Snoop Dogg, Vince Vaughn, Carmen Electra, Juliette Lewis, Chris Penn, Molly Sims, Amy Smart, Fred Williamson, Jason Bateman, Terry Crewes, Richard Edson, Daniel Dae Kim, David Pressman

Plot:
Set in the 1970s in a metropolis called "Bay City," this is the tale of two police detective partners, Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson (Wilson), and Dave Starsky (Stiller), who always seem to get the toughest cases from their boss, Captain Dobey, rely on omniscient street informer Huggy Bear (Dogg) and race to the scene of the crimes in their souped-up 1974 Ford Torino hot rod, telling the story of their first big case (as a prequel to the TV show), which involved a former college campus drug dealer (Vaughn) who went on to become a white collar criminal.

Review:
From the famous 1970's cop TV series Starsky and Hutch, Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson hit the big screen and play the roles. They have the look, they have the style, but the point of the film was to deliver comedy and while there is some, there clearly isn't enough. While Starsky and Hutch delivered chuckles it certainly wasn't a comedy that is memorable.

The problem is clearly that Stiller and Wilson are not actually playing Starsky and Hutch, but instead they are playing themselves, Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson. Although both of them make a great pair and handle each other well on the screen, the punch lines for the comedy in the film weren't strong enough to get a recommendation. The hard work the filmmakers put for this film is present, but its embarrassing to see that it didn't work.

This is obviously not just a comedy film. Its mostly aimed for entertainment and laughs, but its an action film as well. The action is sometimes exciting and some scenes seem promising, but it is surprising that it fails more than it should.

I could be the first to say that if the film had less comedy and more action, it just might have been a more entertaining motion picture overall. However, that would be eliminating the purpose of the television series and I'm sure would upset fans. What you get is what you get though and there should have been more than what we did get from the film.

Lets cut to the supporting cast really quick here. Snoop Dogg plays Huggy Bear and he is a forgettable character. Nothing interesting to witness from him except for the fact that he helps Starsky and Hutch in their mission. Besides the obvious, Snoop Dogg's character is quite lame and stale for that matter. Will Farrell's cameo role for instance is a different deal.

The cameo roles in movies are more than never supposed to be the defining moment of the particular movie. Now, Farrell's cameo role as a prisoner in jail hits us with a few laughs and is pretty entertaining for the time being. I wouldn't jump and say that Farrell was the best part of the film, but it certainly brought life into this movie that was very lackluster for a lot of its running time.

Farrell was entertaining and the other characters in this film had their share. However, there is not much of a feeling while watching the film that you are witnessing the characters from the television show. The problems are varied and it is not all on Ben and Owen whatsoever. They played their roles well and at times were amusing. With that said, I didn't feel the script offered much for the actors to deliver in an action comedy film here.

Even if Ben and Owen were not playing Starsky and Hutch, but instead just two other different characters, it doesn't change that the film is disappointing. Again, laughter is different to everyone, but there simply wasn't any jokes in Starsky and Hutch that stood out. Its not a good sign when an intentional comedy hardly makes anyone laugh. Stiller again stars in a disappointing comedy, the other being Along Came Polly.

Starsky and Hutch is simply a mediocre action comedy. There is hardly anything that stands out in the movie. You come to expect interesting and wise ideas to be injected into the screenplay, but instead its lacking most of the time. The film is disappointing and the potential that could be clearly seen was delivered with a careless touch.