Buddy-cop comedies are a dime a dozen. One need only search their short term memory for three examples of buddy-cop bombs: Hollywood Homicide, National Security, and I Spy. In the face of cliche, Starsky and Hutch manages to stay fresh, quirky, and funny enough to work. Hilariously timed and staged chase sequences along with a disco-themed “dance-off” (two comedic guilty pleasures of mine) sure don’t hurt either.
If I am counting correctly, this is the 110th time that Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson have worked together, and it shows: their rapport is timed-tested and true. Its like watching an old married couple bicker -- a “not again?!” feel, but nevertheless funny every time. This time, they aren’t fashion models out to stop a would-be assassination, and they aren’t meeting any parents, they are the legendary TV crime-fighting duo David Starsky and Ken “Hutch” Hutchinson. As with all of these campy, throw-back TV adaptations, the plot doesn’t really matter, but the stars’ need some excuse to mug for the camera, so a shell of a storyline is thrown together. In Starsky and Hutch, the titular duo are on the case to thwart a drug smuggling ring, lead by Reese Feldman (Vince Vaughn).
These classic TV show adaptations are a dime a dozen -- just like comic book adaptations -- and there are three elements which makes or breaks these types of movies: 1. Overblown, tongue-in-cheek, comedic ACTION. Lots of things need to blow up in movies like these. It really doesn’t matter what, just as long as its never taken very seriously, and a laugh always follows the explosion. 2. Movies like these must have a great SENSE OF HUMOR -- they can’t take themselves to seriously, and the jokes have to be above all, funny. 3. They must have a KITSCH APPEAL. This means that the show must have a throw-back element, which gives the time frame of the original show a retro feel. Also belonging in this category is the debate about faithfulness to its predecessor. (Now, I realize I am going off on a tangent about TV to film adaptations, but I will take this opportunity to make my opinion on this growing trend in cinema known.) Personally, I feel that its best if a movie of this genre incorporate certain elements of the original show into the production, but the movie must be updated so as to comply with rule number one and two. Does Starsky and Hutch meet these three criterion? The answer is yes, for the most part.
Starsky and Hutch nails rule #1 (the action if overblown and fun), and #3 (giving it the kitsch appeal it requires is the Owen-Ben dynamic, the car, Snoop Dogg as Huggy Bear, and a couple of well-timed cameos). But what about the comedy? Does Starsky and Hutch violate rule #3? At times, well, yes. Last year, director Todd Phillips made a movie called Old School, which was a hit. People everywhere hailed it as “hilarious!” I was not one of those people; I thought it was dull and offered only one solid laugh. This is an improvement from Old School, as this film offers quite a few belly-laughs. Yet, it also misses the mark on more than one occasion.
If you go to Starsky and Hutch expecting the funniest movie is years, you will leave disappointed. But for the most part, this is an enjoyable lark; a movie you will likely recommend to your friends as “good, for what it is,” and despite these last 1000 words or so, those 5 words sum up Starsky and Hutch in a nutshell.
Grade: B
© 2004 Jacob Sproul
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