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 Double 'Hutch' bust A Review By Beth E. Concepción Everything old is new again, at least in Hollywood where producers haven't met a television show they can't exploit: "Mission Impossible," "The Mod Squad," "Scooby Doo," "Inspector Gadget," "Dragnet," "The Flintstones" - the list goes on and on. Some work ("Charlie's Angels") and some don't ("Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle"). "Starsky & Hutch" is the latest in a long line of small-to-silver screen titles and features Ben Stiller as David Starsky and Owen Wilson as "Ken 'Hutch' Hutchinson. Though I was too young for the 1975-1979 series, I was just the right age for its sequel of sorts, "The Dukes of Hazzard" (1979-1985), which also featured a tall blond guy/short brunet guy duo who rode around in a flashy red American muscle car with detailing. Naturally, a movie version of this show also is in the works. (Jessica Simpson as Daisy Duke? I shudder.) At any rate, the verdict on "Starsky & Hutch" the movie is that it is a fairly faithful adaptation, as far as I can tell, and is supposed to be a prequel to the series. Stiller sports the trademark bulky belted cardigan of his predecessor, drives around in a sassy and meticulously maintained 1974 Ford Torino, and carries the chip on his shoulder characteristic of Short Man Syndrome. Owen Wilson is the sensitive, "let's all get along," rule-bending Hutch who sings love songs (the movie contains a big fat nod to original Hutch David Soul's folksinging career when Wilson croons Soul's 1976 single, "Don't Give Up On Us"). Though the detectives were practically joined at the hip in the series, the movie, directed by Todd Phillips ("Road Trip," "Old School"), who also is one of seven screenwriters on the movie, pumps up the homoeroticism a few notches to humorous results. The movie's plot has Starsky and Hutch hot on the trail of a cocaine dealer, Reese Feldman, played with trademark arrogance by Vince Vaughn. They get by with a little help from their friend, informant Huggy Bear, played by Snoop Dogg. Jason Bateman, Carmen Electra, Amy Smart, Juliette Lewis and Will Ferrell show up respectively as Feldman's henchman, Hutch's love interest, Starsky's love interest, Feldman's mistress and a prisoner. The standard angry police captain Harold Dobey is played by Fred Williamson. Looking for the cameo appearances is almost as entertaining as the movie itself. The payoff comes when the original duo shows up (how did Soul get to be so raggedy?). There's nothing really fresh about the interpretation (which could be considered good news to fans of the show), and the acting by Wilson and Stiller is standard-issue (relaxed surfer boy meets uptight prig). They are often overshadowed by the genuinely amusing supporting characters (Dogg, who is remarkable; Ferrell, as always; and Lewis, who is underused). The bottom line is that the movie is a fair attempt at entertainment. It has the ability to hold an audience's interest and provides a few laugh-out-loud moments, but nothing that begs repeat viewings. |
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