Starsky & Hutch

(source: tmdb.org)

The 1970s were not the happiest of times for America and the world, but with the passage of time, they have been viewed through the rosy glasses of nostalgia. Hollywood was quick to capitalize on this phenomenon, and one example of this can be found in Starsky & Hutch, a hugely popular action-oriented crime television series starring Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul. A quarter-century after the last episode, the series received a film adaptation in form of an action comedy directed by Todd Phillips.

The 2004 film serves as the original show's prequel and origin story for the duo of the series' protagonists. Set in 1975, the plot follows detectives Dave Starsky (Ben Stiller) and Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson (Owen Wilson), two police detectives in the fictional Bay City. Two of them are very different in temperament and attitude towards regulations, but they gradually settle their difference and become friends when trying to bring down powerful drug lord Reese Feldman (played by Vince Vaughn).

The film pays homage to the characters, themes, and iconography of the 1970s show, while also exploiting the newly found nostalgia for the era. The film's portrayal of cocaine, a drug that embodied the era, is a particular highlight, with a delightfully irreverent scene featuring Hutch having a threesome with cheerleaders played by Carmen Electra and Amy Smart, illustrating the generally positive and carefree attitude towards sex in the pre-AIDS years.

While the original series is often seen as the model for all other "buddy cop" films, the film version manages to retain its own originality, thanks in large part to the formidable comedic duo of Stiller and Wilson, who had previously shown good chemistry in Zoolander a few years earlier. The rest of the cast is also impressive, with Vince Vaughn delivering a delightfully eccentric performance as the villain, Fred Williamson in a turbo-cliched role as the protagonist's boss, and Snoop Dogg delivering what is likely the best acting performance of his career as the protagonists’ colourful informer, Huggy Bear.

While some of the jokes rely on the audience being familiar with the original show or the 1970s in general, the general impression is very positive. Starsky & Hutch is a surprisingly good film that surpasses Todd Phillips' later, more commercially successful and critically acclaimed works like The Hangover series and Joker. The film manages to find the perfect middle ground between remaining faithful to the source material and giving it a modern, comedic make-over, making it a worthy addition to the buddy cop genre and a delightful throwback to the hedonistic and naive era of the 1970s.

RATING: 7/10 (+++)

Blog in Croatian https://draxblog.com Blog in English https://draxreview.wordpress.com/ InLeo blog https://inleo.io/@drax.leo

Hiveonboard: https://hiveonboard.com?ref=drax Rising Star game: https://www.risingstargame.com?referrer=drax 1Inch: https://1inch.exchange/#/r/0x83823d8CCB74F828148258BB4457642124b1328e

BTC donations: 1EWxiMiP6iiG9rger3NuUSd6HByaxQWafG ETH donations: 0xB305F144323b99e6f8b1d66f5D7DE78B498C32A7 BCH donations: qpvxw0jax79lhmvlgcldkzpqanf03r9cjv8y6gtmk9

Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller haven't acted together in a while, but there was a time that they were seemingly just working together on comedies beause well, i would imagine it made a bunch of money (this one made $170 million.) Zoolander was actually the first time I saw these two work together and much like Zoolander, their performances in Starsky and Hutch worked very well because they have great chemistry on screen.

Starsky-Hutch-Movie-Poster-juliette-lewis-15075235-500-375.jpg

If you are unfamiliar with the movie it is based on a long-running television program from the 70's. I was too young to have ever watched it but it goes like this: David Starsky (Ben Stiller) is a "strictly by the book" cop who exercises and is constantly training to be the best cop he can be

and Ken Hutchinson (Owen Wilson) is more of a renegade in the law-enforcement system. The opening sequence sees his operation that he has been skimming money from get busted by other cops and he reluctantly shows his badge to the gangsters that he has been helping to succeed in breaking the law for a while.

Owen-Wilson-in-Starsky-Hutch-owen-wilson-13794689-500-281.jpg

They end up becoming partners and things don't work out so great at first because they are constantly butting heads on how to handle a case. This begins with them discovering a "floater" (dead body in the water) and Hutch suggests that "these never get solved and there is a lot of paperwork, let's just push it out to sea and let the next precinct handle it."

Through a series of events they end up uncovering a plan on the part of Reese Feldman (Vince Vaughn), a well-known gangster who has discovered a method of smuggling cocaine into the USA. Since both Starsky and Hutch are deep uncercover, they come up with a series of absurd disguises to infiltrate Feldmens' events. Including playing talent-less mimes at his daughter's birthday party

then grizzled bikers infiltrating a biker hangout where the are almost immediately "made" for having fake mustaches

Starsky-and-Hutch-Ben-Stiller-Owen-Wilson-Motorcycles.jpg

Then finally as business moguls (and this one was my favorite) where Stiller has a great backtory of his character "Maury Finkle, founder of Finkle Fixtures, Biggest Lighting Fixture Chain in the Southland."

While this movie isn't exactly groundbreaking and is just another remake of sorts, it was incredibly entertaining and funny. If you haven't seen it, I belive this is probably in my top 20 or maybe even top 10 silly comedies of all time.

Reviews

Comments

1 more review