Phil Hubbs
Always thought it was kinda funny that two undercover cops drive around in a souped up Gran Torino with a custom paint job. What's that noise? oh its the fuzz in their muscle car.The first parody of one of the two biggest TV shows with the coolest cars, the other being 'The Dukes of Hazzard'. Its nothing too outrageously original overall, a simple drug kingpin needs to be taken down and the cool hip duo are on the case.Its not really about the plot though, this film is just about the humour and having a good time. Like many Stiller films its a sly sneaky semi-serious spoof/parody comedy which is light-hearted, at times clever, but not over the top with silly childish jokes...not too much. A good decision because a serious adaptation of this would never have worked. The casting of Stiller and Wilson is actually inspired as they both fit the roles perfectly, Stiller actually looking very similar to Glaser and really capturing that 70's vibe. Both guys take to their characters like ducks to water and really make the whole film very likable and thoroughly watchable. Gotta admit I had my doubts at first.Other casting includes frat pack members Ferrell and Vaughn, both of whom boost the film giving solid amusing performances. Loved Ferrell and his slightly creepy Big Earl character. So the cast is great and really holds the film together but I must give big kudos to the overall visuals in the film. Obviously set in the 70's but to be honest you could be fooled into thinking they'd gone back in time to shoot this. Very impressed with everything, all the period cars driving around, abundant street trash and grime (including those darn pesky cardboard boxes that turn up in all car chases), the costumes, hair styles and even those classic 70's TV show camera angles and zooms. They did tend to cram in almost every clichéd 70's tune they could muster though, didn't need that, we get the idea about the era.Of course they do cater for the car porn fans out there. Plenty of Torino action naturally with slow motion action, close-ups, lots of skidding and tyre smoke etc...maybe too much? Gotta expect that I guess, it is a nice looking and sounding car and virtually a character in its own right.I think they went the right way with this, as I said, a serious attempt would have been laughable. No way this could of been a gritty hard action thriller, not with that car, that dialog and those threads! I'm also glad they didn't reduce the concept to childish smut (ahem). Its a by the books action comedy flick, but the fact its a neat little parody of a classic cop show which has actually been well thought out, makes this worth your time in my view. 7.5/10
Steve Pulaski
Starsky & Hutch is marginally successful for the sole reasons that it doesn't take itself too seriously and makes great use out of its two leads, who go on to have inseparable chemistry in the film. It is yet another entry in the "throwback genre" area of film, which would certainly go on to see darker days apart from this picture, what with Bewitched and The Dukes of Hazzard just a year ahead of this one. As comedies go, this is simple, effective entertainment, boasting a very relaxed charm and charisma.The formula that made both Brady Bunch films work so well has gone on to be adopted by the Starsky & Hutch film adaptation to do the same job; the creative blend of self-parody and competence. Ben Stiller plays David Starsky, an over-the-top detective, who is paired up with the lax, go-with-the-flow-guy Ken Hutchinson, played by Owen Wilson, to attempt to find and arrest Reese Feldman (Vince Vaughn), a drug kingpin who is about to release a type of cocaine on the market that has the look, feel, and scent of plain sugar, to fool drug-sniffing dogs and police officers. They hop into Starsky's bright red, always reliable Ford Gran Torino and begin their hot pursuit on their first drug bust.This is unbelievably standard formula, but it's taken in a way that isn't so much fresh as it is efficiently done. What could've spawned a dead, lazy action film instead worked into a film that is collectively paying homage to the seventies program as well as throwing many corny jokes in the picture for good measure. Starsky and Hutch are only assisted by Huggy Bear (Snoop Dogg), their local snitch that offers the details on all the recent busts and complications that go down in their hood.Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson are ideal for the roles of Starsky and Hutch, as they exercise completely within their boundaries, never overstepping their roles and never seemingly playing them in a smarmy, artificial nature. Working solo, they men are fun to watch, but pairing them together is a move that was right from the start. Their chemistry carries the entire film into a whole new realm of comedy, and certain scenes (take for example the superbly crafted Easy Rider parody) work well because of their capable screen presence and ability to pull off certain levels of nuanced humor.It's safe to say too that the film works because it's not dumbed-down to all new lows, like The Dukes of Hazzard project was. It was ham-fisted into incompetence because of how simplified the charm of the original program was to dull car chases and stiff characters. They cast was there, the setting too, but the heart was missing and the treatment was lacking. Here, we can at least say that the cast is unanimously capable, and the writers John O'Brien, Todd Phillips, and Scot Armstrong, and director Todd Phillips, who made this film right in the middle of his career as a raunchy comedian with works like Old School and Road Trip under his belt and The Hangover and Project X to come, have a great level of respect for the original source material so much so that they can parody it while admit that it was still a very fun program to watch.Starring: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Snoop Dogg, Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Amy Smart, Carmen Electra, Fred Williamson, Juliette Lewis, Molly Sims, and Will Ferrell. Directed by: Todd Phillips.
