Movie Review

Starsky & Hutch

I've had Starsky and Hutch on the top of my must-see list for a while. The up and coming comic talents of director Todd Phillips and stars Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson made this movie look too good to pass up. My expectations for it were very high and I think that is what dimmed my enjoyment of it a little bit. This movie delivers laughs but nothing more, which may come as just what the doctor ordered for some and an underwhelming experience for others. I have to say that I was sort of disappointed, but was amused enough to recommend it as an entertaining night out.

Starsky & Hutch is based on an old television show, and as far as old tv goes, this is probably the one of the best. The movie takes place in the 70's in a city called Bay City. David Starsky (Ben Stiller) is the most intense cop on the force; he loves his job and thinks the pay is decent. Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson is just the opposite; he's very cool under pressure, thinks the pay sucks, and in the movie's opening scene, he isn't afraid to rob a bank to pick up a few extra bucks. It only makes sense for these two to be thrown together as partners.

Their first assignment comes when a dead body washes up on a beach. The deceased just so happens to be a drug trafficker who works for Reese Feldman (Vince Vaughn), who has discovered a way to create a form of cocaine that is undetectable to drug screens. With the help of a police informant named Huggy Bear (Snoop Dogg), Starsky and Hutch work to bring down the drug kingpin.

Director Todd Phillips and his usual co-writer Scott Armstrong have made Starsky and Hutch a very free-flowing piece of entertainment. This movie is concerned less with plot and more with just being funny, and for the most part, it succeeds very well. They send these characters on a series of very funny events, including one with Will Ferrell (in cameo), and the laughs come consistently enough to enjoy it.

The reason why primarily comes from the terrific casting of Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, who are really playing to their comic strengths here. As the tightly-wound David Starsky, Stiller displays a goofy toughness that will have people cracking up in the aisles, while Wilson finds charm and comedy in the laid back slacker who just kind of coasts through life.

Both actors make you wish that the script would give them more scenes where they play off each other, but as is, Starsky and Hutch barely even registers as a buddy cop comedy. There is very little sign of tension contained in the plot and very little comic interplay between the two mismatched characters. This movie feels very slight overall, and were it not for the very funny moments it contains, it would not work as well as it does by a long shot.

Two other big disappointments are the wastes of comic talents like Vince Vaughn and Snoop Dogg. Both make the best of their time onscreen, but their screen time is too limited for them to do anything but get a few chuckles. Still, Starsky and Hutch is funny and that is more than you can say for most of the movies that have come out so far this year.

Craig's Grade: B

A	10.9%
B	41.8%
C	31.8%
D	15.3%
F	0.3%