I know I'm showing my age when I say this, but I actually do remember the old "Starsky & Hutch" TV series that ran from 1975-1979. At the time, I thought that the famous red and white Ford Torino was the coolest car ever made. Of course, that was until "The Dukes of Hazzard" came out, and the General Lee was the coolest car ever made. But that was only until "Knight Rider," because no car was cooler than K.I.T.T.. Now that I'm all grown up, I'm happy with a car that runs well and an A/C that always works (in Miami, a car without a working A/C is a deathmobile).
So where was I? Ah yes, the old "Starsky & Hutch" TV series. Yeah, I remember watching it, and thinking that Paul Michael Glaser (the original "Starsky") and David Soul (the original Hutch) were two very cool cops, they drove a very cool car, and they had a very cool buddy named "Huggy Bear" (played by Antonio Fargas). Back then, I didn't know what a pimp was, nor did I understand the concept of being an informant, so I thought he was just a friend of theirs who dressed funny. In reality, the show was very cheesy, very campy, and very 70s. Watching the TV show today would leave it open to some serious MST3K-style ripping. It's not that the show was terrible, in it's day, it was pretty good. But time has not been good to it.
By the way, does anyone remember the episode that had a vampire in it? It was either a vampire or a villain who thought he was a vampire. One of the vague memories I have of the show is this one part where a guy dressed as a vampire, cape and all, is running after a woman in a parking garage. She frantically tries to find the car keys and unlock the door, and the vampire is running towards her. It's all in slow motion, and it's very creepy.
So anyway, yeah, "Starsky & Hutch" is the perfect TV show to be made into a satirical film. There's a lot there to make fun of, and it could be a great comedy. Unfortunately, though it's certainly a good comedy, it's not a great comedy. It's got the perfect cast, and there are a lotta good things in the movie, but ultimately, I thought it was gonna be a lot funnier. I liked the movie, but I thought I'd be laughing a lot more.
Like I said, the movie has the perfect cast, and it really does. Ben Stiller plays "David Starsky" and Owen Wilson plays "Ken 'Hutch' Hutchinson," and they're awesome together. This is their sixth film together. The first film they ever did together was "The Cable Guy." They each had small roles, and Ben Stiller also directed the film. Since then, they've been in "Permanent Midnight," "The Royal Tenenbaums," "Zoolander," and "Meet the Parents." They have fantastic chemistry together, and I think they can work great as a comedy duo, like a modern day version of Abbott and Costello, Laurel and Hardy, or Martin and Lewis. Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson are excellent in the movie, but their chemistry can only go so far. They need a really funny script, and they didn't have it here.
Also perfectly cast is rapper Snoop Dogg as "Huggy Bear." Seriously, I can't think of anyone better to play that role, and Snoop was as great as you'd expect. I don't think the guy is ready for Shakespeare or anything. His demeanor and delivery are perfect for the role, so it's not like it was a challenging part for him. Still, he was lotsa fun to watch.
Vince Vaughn (he worked with Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson in "Zoolander"... he was awesome in "Swingers" and "Made") is great as the villain in the film. He's the bad guy, but it's hard not to like him. He does a great job, and he makes for a very entertaining villain. Also in the movie is Fred Williamson (college football player turned actor... starred in a lotta blaxploitation flicks of the 70s), who's very good as "Captain Doby," and there are a couple of nice scenes with Amy Smart and Carmen Electra, two very sexy babes. There's this one scene where they do something TOTALLY gratuitous and unnecessary, to the point where it clearly doesn't belong in the movie, and it brings the film to a screeching halt. But I'm really glad that the scene is there. Finally, there are a few cameos that are kinda cool. Some are expected, some are unexpected.
"Starsky & Hutch" was directed by Todd Phillips, the director of "Old School" and "Road Trip." I've seen neither film, but he did a decent job with "Starsky & Hutch." The problem I had with it had to do more with the script than anything else. Unfortunately, Phillips was one of the writers. The story was by Stevie Long (feature film writing debut) and John O'Brien (this is his second writing project for a film, the first being "Cradle 2 the Grave"), and the screenplay was written by John O'Brien and Todd Phillips & Scot Armstrong (Todd Phillips & Scot Armstrong wrote "Old School" and "Road Trip" together). And the characters were created by William Blinn, who made the original TV show.
I like "Starsky & Hutch," it was a pretty funny movie, but I expected to laugh my ass off. Instead, I chuckled a bit, and I smiled during most of the scenes. It's not a hilarious movie, it's an amusing movie, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I dunno, I like the movie, and the cast is great, but I can't help but think that this kinda movie is better off as a DVD rental.
Scale of 1-10: 7