Starsky and Hutch

What's the Plot?

Detective David Starsky (Ben Stiller) is the most dedicated undercover cop in Bay City, California. Always on duty, no crime goes unpunished when he's around. That may be because he has some huge shoes to fill: his mother was a legend on the force and considered one of the best that Bay City has ever had. She never changed partners, but Starsky however has gone through truckloads due to his over zealousness. Detective Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson (Owen Wilson) is something different: an undercover cop who's helped local thugs rip off banks without filing any reports or making any arrests. Captain Dobey (Fred Williamson), at the end of his tether, has an idea: pair the two of them up and put them out on the streets. On their first day, the two become embroiled in a case that goes much more deeper than the washed-up body they discover in the Bay. With the help of Hutch's street-savvy informant, Huggy Bear (Snoop Dogg), the boys find that all the signs point to wealthy businessman Reese Feldman (Vince Vaughn) but what they don't know is that Reese is cooking up the most lucrative drug deal of his career, and of Bay City's history! Now all the boys have to do is work together and bring down the bad guy. Not as easy as it sounds with Starsky and Hutch!

The Review

Just like Charlie's Angels, Starsky And Hutch has undergone an oil change to bring it from the "old small screen" to the "new big screen." Still set in the 70's, the film does the clever trick of "keeping it real," allowing for some great jokes for the 2004 viewers looking back at the music, the clothes and the phrases of 30 years ago. The sixth teaming of Stiller and Wilson (The Cable Guy through to Zoolander) sees the "buddy" team reach a new level of effectiveness. The two seem natural in each other's company, be it riding each other in "dragon" style to gain info from an inmate, through to Wilson looking after Stiller while he comes down from mistakenly taking cocaine on a night out.

Only once does the film flick back to previous outings - a dance off between a coked-up Stiller and competition reeks of Zoolander's catwalk between Stiller and Wilson - otherwise it's good old fun with new laughs, of which there are plenty. A Chinese assassin telling his kid to keep throwing the kitchen knives at the heroes as they try to arrest him; disguising themselves to get into Vaughn's fund raiser; pretending to be bikers, Easy Rider- style, to get info from Big Earl: Starsky And Hutch is a rarity for a modern comedy. It has alot of laughs, and not just the clips that you see in the trailer.

For anyone who remembers the TV show, the attention to detail is frightening; from the obvious - the red and white Torino car - to the less - the outfits are so spot-on it's scary! It also shows that this is a loving and respectful nudge-in-the-ribs to the original and not a slur against it in any way. Whether you're a fan or not, Starsky And Hutch is definitely worth checking out, so, as Detective Starsky says, "...do it. Do it. Do it." It does for the 70's what Austin Powers did for the 60's.

STEVE'S SCORES