Starsky & Hutch (2004)

 

Anyone else remember when the likes of Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller were a thing? An entire series of throwaway movies with the 'Frat Pack'. Wow! Seems like a lifetime ago.

This movie was the perfect distillation of both the movie adaptation trend of the mid 90's to mid 00's, and the continuous use of said Frat Pack. During this time, it seemed like every TV show ever was going to end up with a movie adaptation, whether it was a good idea or not. Often, it wouldn't be a good idea and would lead to awkward issues due to political correctness clashing with old narratives. In turn this would then lead to changes being made, which obviously ruined the nature of the original TV show.

So, did the iconic cops and robbers TV show need a movie adaptation? No, not really. Was taking it down a more comedic route a good option? Actually probably yes, going by the 'Miami Vice' movie. But was it a good idea to go down the more spoof route with Frat Pack actors, rather than try for a proper comedy with a proper story? I would say no, this could have been a decent cop comedy, the spoof/satire element was not required in my opinion.

And here lies the entire problem with this movie. This isn't a movie, this is essentially a collection of comedy sketches cobbled together into a movie. There is no story here; it's virtually a long TV comedy show that aimlessly trundles along from one sketch to another. Now don't get me wrong, the comedy is good, in places, but as a movie this just feels pointless. The thing is, you already know what the gags are gonna be about (if you know the TV show and the era). Sure enough, one of the first gags we get is about Starsky's (Ben Stiller's) perm, because of course.

Once you get past the fact that both Stiller and Wilson do look good as Starsky and Hutch, their attire is spot on, they do look good with the car, and they are able to recreate the 70's vibe nicely, well that's it. Most of the movie is just recreating or homaging scenes from other movies. Admittedly these scenes do look good: the 'Easy Rider' scene, 'Saturday Night Fever', and of course the Ford Gran Torino is perfectly recreated and looks good in every scene. But that is the entire movie, that's all you get. There is nothing much else on offer here. How many times do we see the 70's era spoofed? Hardly original stuff, even when this was made.

If you like the sophomoric slacker-esque comedy style of the Frat Pack movies, Wilson's laidback style, and Stiller's wide-eyed over-the-top madness, then you'll love this (and that counts for all of their movies). Even if you're too young to know about the original TV show, the ease of Stiller and Wilson's comedy will get you past that problem. Although, you might not get some of the references. Bottom line, this entire gag would work wonders as a quick short, sketch, or half-hour show, but as a movie it's just pure padding with a super generic plot. I mean, if you like car porn, then there are some cheap thrills to be had with the Torino, I guess. In time, was Starsky and Hutch ever more than the iconic car? This movie wasn't, the whole thing virtually hinges on that classic vector stripe and a perm.

4/10