Never having seen the original Starsky and Hutch TV show, I cannot respond to the film in terms of an adaptation of its original, but this version of Starsky and Hutch is a buddy comedy that barely rises above the old Chris Farley / David Spade movies. Starsky (Ben Stiller) is an anal cop while Hutch (Owen Wilson) is the care free, fun loving cop. There’s not a whole lot to their characters beyond that.

Reese Feldman (Vince Vaughn) is the slimy drug dealer, Captain Doby (Fred Williamson) is the tight fisted police chief, and Huggy Bear (Snoop Dogg) is the cool snitch. The whole thing feels like some 70’s cop show, which is admirable considering it’s trying to replicate one. The props, costumes and settings are all appropriately – and humorously – period. The problem is that it doesn’t just take the conventions of the genre and make a good film out of it – it just replicates it. On the other hand, to the extent that it actually feels like you’re watching some early 80’s B-action movie, it’s kind of fun.

Starsky and Hutch would be entirely void of humor were it not for Stiller and Wilson, who bring their traditional screen personalities into their characters, which allows us to immediately understand and enjoy their humor. Even still, Stiller and Wilson have done better. Snoop Dogg feels silly in his role and only Vince Vaughn feels remotely genuine.

As in all buddy comedies, the originally conflicting duo learn to like each other and successfully accomplish their goals with each other’s help. The whole idea behind Starsky and Hutch is a fun one and it could have been really funny with some better writing. The thing is, Stiller and Wilson know better. They know good comedy. It feels like there was some plain old slacking off on this one.

Year: