Not another spoof: ‘Starsky & Hutch’ on the
big screen
Sean Hennen / Reviewer
For some reason, Hollywood loves to remake. It’s the
only media that does such a thing, and apparently has become
infatuated with it. You don’t see new television shows
based on old television shows on the nightly lineup and you
certainly won’t find any playwrights retooling William
Shakespeare for the new millennium. So why is it that movie
studios love pumping out redos of everything they can get
their hands on?
“Starsky and Hutch” is just another notch in
this vicious cycle of reworkings and, to coin a frequently
used Hollywood buzzword, “re-imagining.”
In the company of last year’s dismal “Texas
Chainsaw Massacre” remake and Tim Burton’s
directionless retelling of “Planet of the Apes,”
these films are antiquated and, more often than not,
dead-on-arrival. Old television shows don’t usually
translate to screen well, either. “The Mod
Squad,” anyone?
Occasionally a filmmaker will hit upon a fresh take on an
old idea and for the briefest of moments that idea will seem
new and novel again. They did it with the first
“Charlie’s Angels” movie and somehow
managed to hit a right note of goofy exuberance for the
release of “Starsky and Hutch.”
Of course, the enjoyments that can be taken out of this
movie more directly result from the wacky chemistry between
Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson than anything else. Like their
earlier teaming in 2001’s zanily fun
“Zoolander,” the best parts of the film come from
just letting Stiller and Wilson banter and rag on each other.
These guys don’t go for the gut-busting laughs, but
like to build comedy set-pieces slowly. The chuckles are
frequent and steady instead of over-the-top and sporadic.
The plot of “Starsky and Hutch” is about as
pointless as the remaking of an old television show in the
first place. Drug deals and random criminals and a slew of
tired clichés that feel worthless and disjoined as if
someone had collected a bunch of Post-It note ideas and
constructed the storyline. The real amusement lies in all the
kitschy performances that find an appropriate giddy zone of
antics and roll with it.
The mismatched pairing of David Starsky (Stiller), an
anal-retentive by-the-book cop, and Ken Hutchison (Wilson),
as his ne’er-do-well slacker partner, was also the
basic premise for the original show. The movie takes the same
approach, but adds a tone of 1970s spoofing that
wouldn’t have been funny when the original show aired.
The wardrobes, hairstyles and disco dancing of the era are
all lovingly parodied throughout the film.
Stiller and Wilson favorites like Vince Vaughn and Will
Ferrell show up for guest appearances and there’s even
a co-starring role for rapper Snoop Dogg as Huggy Bear.
Befitting someone of his esteemed coolness, Snoop Dogg gets
all of the best lines and funkiest clothing, while Ferrell
momentarily steals the show as a convict with a serious
obsession for bellybuttons.
It’s shouldn’t surprise anyone that
“Starsky and Hutch” isn’t a very good
movie. Luckily, it isn’t all that bad, either. Under
the direction of Todd Philips, the film manages to teeter
above the garbage line and keep itself out of the sloppy
calamity territory that so easily claimed lowlier films such
as “Old School” and “Along Came
Polly.” There isn’t a whole lot to take away from
“Starsky and Hutch” but it’s a pleasant
enough time while it’s on screen.
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