Customer Reviews

Starsky and Hutch (Widescreen)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I have to say I enjoyed the movie. I'm glad Todd Phillips didn't try to do this one straight up. Ben Stiller was an inspired choice for Starsky, and Owen Wilson offered a pleasant twist to Hutch. I hoped for more from Snoop as Huggy Bear, but he had his moment on the links. The movie struggled at times trying to squeeze humor out of the situations, but in the end it came together.

Phillips borrowed liberally from the late 60's and early 70's, even tipping his hat to "Easy Rider." Vince Vaughn was convincing as the drug dealer, Reese Feldman. Carmen Electra made a fetching Bay City cheerleader. But it was kind of sad to see David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser looking so old. Hard to believe it was that long ago that they were tearing up the streets of LA in their red Gran Torino, which once again was the star of the show. Don't expect too much from this movie, just go along for the ride.

Based on the television series that ran from 1975 to 1979, Starsky and Hutch follows the undercover detectives on their first assignment together as they attempt to crack a cocaine ring. Rather than updating the story to the 21st century -- or plopping the characters in a world that has progressed without them as in The Brady Bunch features -- the creators have wisely set the film in the 1970's.

Director Todd Phillips has also stayed away from the trendy crime films of recent years, renouncing high-tech gadgetry and superhuman acrobatics. Our heroes, therefore, must rely solely on their (sometimes bumbling) wit and savvy.

Ben Stiller as Dave Starsky and Owen Wilson as Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson make a dynamic team; then again, Wilson seems capable of making any pairing work, be it Eddie Murphy in I Spy or Jackie Chan in Shanghai Noon/Knights. Wilson's boyishness and nonchalant style are appealing, and make the perfect foil for the angst-ridden Stiller. Their rapport is vintage comedy.

Unfortunately, there are few hard laughs to be found. Although every scene is relevant, the formulaic script plays like episodic television and offers but a handful of clever moments. Nevertheless, the subtle art direction and costuming give the film an abundance of atmosphere, making one nostalgic for the simpler times of the disco-era. Yet, what could have been a groovy soundtrack seems poorly planned and laid down as an afterthought.

So, too, does the pathetic appearance by original duo Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul -- most of the target audience will be too young to recognize them anyway. Lanky rapper Snoop Dogg plays the flamboyant police informant, Huggy Bear, but his performance is forced and flimsy. Juliette Lewis is no better as the mistress of villain Vince Vaughn; both seem to have accepted their roles merely for the cash. Only Will Ferrell as a gay convict with a dragon fetish makes any effort to create a memorable character.

Overall, Starsky and Hutch is a flawed film that fails to zoom ahead like Starsky's beloved red-and-white Ford Torino. Ultimately, this buddy-cop movie will be remembered as yet another poor attempt to mine gold from television's past. Rating: 4 out of 10.

Worth a chuckle if on TV late at night, but that's about it. Not a huge let down, but you expect more. Just not "zany" as it wants to be. The DVD extras are fairly lame as well, as most DVD supplements are becoming. If you really want it... buy it used from some rental outlet.

Could they have picked any 2 worse actors in america?...Ben Stiller isnt funny at all...EVER and neither is Owen Wilson but yet they both try so hard. These two losers are a joke and this movie sucks. I only gave this stupid sh*t one star because I had to and simply because a lower rate isnt available, BUT it should be. Dont watch this movie these two arent funny and Snoop Dogg man I like ya my man but do us all a favor and just stick to the rap game. Acting isnt your thing nor was it ever

STARSKY AND HUTCH IS A VERY GOOD MOVIE. LOL FUNNY.I THINK IT WAS COLL TO HAVE SNOOP DOG PLAY HUGGY BEAR.I WOULD GIVE THIS MOVIE 5 STARS BECAUSE IT'S A GOOD MOVIE FOR ANY BODY.(BUY THIS MOVIE)

It has its moments. Problem is, they are kind of few and far between. This movie is right along the same lines as something like Joe Dirt - it's something to watch when you have nothing else to watch. Also, the retro 70's thing is getting a little old.

Not as good as it should have been. I've been anticipating this one for some time (and I'm sure it went through many incarnations before it came to be what it is at the moment). In any case I'm happy that it came out the way it did. Still... there's been a lot of films playing off the 70s of late and I thought that this film took a lot of easy jokes that I've seen before in films that we're frankly much better (check out "undercover Brother" and the much overlooked independent release "Shafted!" that seemed to predate much of the current wave of 1970s nostalgia). In any case, a good effort and I hope they make a sequel that takes it up a notch.

The movie was boring in the beginning, then it started getting funny in the middle to the end of it.

Snoop! Stick to rapping, this has got to be the worst acting ever made from the Doggfather. What's with the golf clothes?
Next thing you'll hear his latest album called Snoop Golfy Dogg and latest single, "Ima Give Ya A Hole In One b33ach!"

Sorry pony lovers, you don't want to watch this movie, if you can't stand a pony getting blasted by a bunch of bullets.

Props to Owen Wilson! You da man! Carmen Electra and that one blonde chick from Roadtrip-You should've made it to be Paris Hilton & Carmen instead.

Overall, it will leave with you a few laughs.

When I was dragged to the theatre to see "Starsky and Hutch" with a few friends of mine, I expected the worst. I was sure I would be rolling my eyes and cringing throughout the whole movie. Well, I would find myself cringing a few times (simply from a few scenes of embarrasing humor), but would only roll my eyes once, the ending. Now, normally if a movie has a bad ending, I'd slam it, because the end of a movie normally makes or breaks a film, but not in S&H's case, this is actually a very enjoyable, good humoured, and even at times uproarious comedy.

There is one scene in this movie that for me, goes down in the history books for one of the funniest comedic sequences of all time. Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson come barging in an apartment to catch a sniper. The apartment is occupied by an older man and his son. They grab the father as the kid does cartwheels and flips out of the room and behind the kitchen counter. From there, knives come flying out from behind the counter, wreaking havoc in the room and as Wilson and Stiller try to dodge the flying cutlery, the father eggs his son on, speaking in Chinese (I think) telling him to throw more of what and when. It brought tears to my eyes.

The first half of this movie, though distinctly slap-stick, is generally enjoyable and even funny at times, however, the nearer you get to the end of the movie the worse things become. As usual, in the ridiculously goofy action/comedy flicks that Hollywood makes, there's an amazingly overblown finale that is not fun, interesting, realistic, funny, and without any of those qualities, it fails miserably short of being enjoyable. Oh well, it could have been worse. It could have been much worse. This movie had the potential to be genuinely painful to sit through, but amazingly, I found myself having fun and getting the first decent laugh I'd had in a long time.

SUMMARY
This movie is really worthy of ***1/2 stars, but I've given it the benefit of the doubt with four stars, because in all honesty and against every ounce of my better judgement, I like this movie! I don't normally like slap-stick humor of any kind, and I'm not an Owen Wilson fan either, but "Starsky and Hutch" managed to make itself fun for even me, so, I suppose that's the sign of at least a decent movie.

Please listen to me this is a very funny and it is as funny (well almost as funny) as There's Something About Mary. I guarntee it will have you laughing so hard that you'll fall out of your seat or you can complain to me by writing your review that's against me, but I know you will not do that. Now don't think I just like this movie because, yes, it had a scene where Amy Smart and Carmen Electra made out and, yes, that did win an MTV Movie Award for best kiss. I'm telling you go out and see this movie and thank me later (not for that scene that won an MTV Movie Award), but for the super funny jokes and the laughs you'll be making during the movie. If you don't believe me, check what the critics said. If you watched the television series back when it was on, even better. Now go out and run on July 20, 2004 and get or rent your copy.