Theater Excursions: Starsky & Hutch

Starring Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, and Vince Vaungh
Also Starring Snoop Dogg, Fred Williamson, and Juliette Lewis
Story by Stevie Long and John O'Brien
Screenplay by John O'Brien and Todd Phillips & Scot Armstrong
Directed by Todd Phillips

I went to see this movie purely on the strength of Roger Ebert's review. I was torn between this, in which I had no interest, and Hidalgo, in which I had minor interest based entirely on the presence of Omar Sharif. Ebert gave each film three stars, but it was clear to me from his review that I would love this and hate Hidalgo.

So, despite the fact that I am by no means a fan of director Todd Phillips, and that I usually try to avoid films where the writing credit has both an 'and' and an ampersand, I went to see this film. And my boldness was rewarded. This was the funniest film I've seen since Bad Santa. I didn't laugh through the whole thing, but when I wasn't laughing, I was smiling and having a good time anyway. This movie is both funny and just straight out fun, and it also has a real story to carry the action forward. Like any good comedy (and this is one), it is both funny and well-constructed. If it weren't funny, it would still be a decent pastiche of its genre.

Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson get the greatest share of the credit for this. While their characterizations are familiar to those who know their work, they still manage to inject a tremendous amount of freshness into this partnership. They have something of an "odd couple" relationshp, reminiscent of 1987's Dragnet, but there is no straight man in this duo (and you can take that however you want it). Both actors contribute a lot of comedy, and even their characters warm to each other very quickly, without even seeming to realize it.

One of the most interesting choices in the script is that it goes out of its way to stay focused on the relationship of the two main characters. They aren't merely vessels from which the comedy should come forth, they are actual people. Ridiculous people, to be sure, but people nevertheless. Each one has a surprising depth for your standard dumb comedy TV remake.

The only wrong move on the part of the script is an awkward cameo by the original "Starsky and Hutch" stars, which completely shatters the fourth wall without making for a particularly funny scene. It was nice, however, that this film decided to do the obligatory cameos right out in the open, instead of leaving it as a sly in-joke for the fanboys. In Hulk, for instance, Stan Lee and Lou Ferrigno have a nice walk on part, and Jay and I both appreciated seeing them. But in Starsky & Hutch, Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul are impossible to miss, even by people like me who have never seen the original show (or, frankly, heard of either of those people).

Another small disappointment to me was Snoop Dogg. I always thought that Snoop had tremendous comic potential, especially having seen his show on MTV. But to date, nothing I've seen of him in film has managed to follow through on his original promise. Snoop's performance as "Huggy Bear" was good for some laughs, and you can't help but love the character, but I was hoping Starsky & Hutch would signal Snoop's "arrival" as a comic actor, and it did not.

The only previous Todd Phillips directed film that I've seen was Old School, which I hated. There are four types of comedies: funny and good (very rare), funny but not good (common), good but not funny (very rare), and neither good nor funny (extremely common). Old School fell into the fourth category, but a lot of people seem to put it in the second. I can't explain it. The story was mindless and incoherent, and the comedy was working too hard for too little payoff. Starsky & Hutch couldn't be more different. It was dumb, yes, but not mindless, and the story was totally coherent. Not terribly original, granted, but it worked. The comedy came easily, and so did the laughs. Even Will Ferrell managed not to go too over-the-top (though his character as written was, admittedly, another rare weakness in an otherwise quality script). [Todd Phillips also directed Road Trip, which I have never and will never see because I refuse to support, in any way shape or form, the career of Tom Green. It's rare that I ban actors, but this ban has protected me from some pretty awful movies, apparently, so I'm keeping it.]

Oh yeah, one last thing: Vince Vaughn sucks. Deal with it. He doesn't take anything away from the movie, but he does suck. And Juliette Lewis is totally wasted in this movie. Again, you can take that however you want it.