Starsky & Hutch

Plot synopsis:
The movie takes place in the 1970s. The story centres around two cops who work for the Bay City Police Department. Detective David Starsky (Ben Stiller) is a loud, macho acting cop who loves his Ford Gran Torino, and recklessly pursues people for minor offenses, and Detective Ken 'Hutch' Hutchinson (Owen Wilson), is a cool easy-going cop, who sometimes actually works alongside criminals, claiming to be undercover, to investigate their activity. The two cops are made partners, almost as punishment for their recent shenanigans. Meanwhile, Jewish-American drug kingpin, Reese Feldman (Vince Vaughn), and his partner-in-crime, Kevin (Jason Bateman), are planning to bring in a shipment of drugs worth millions of dollars. They have developed a new type of cocaine which is untraceable in scent and taste. When Feldman finds out that one of his drug pushers failed a drug transport operation, he kills him and leaves the body in the ocean.
Starsky and Hutch are called to the scene where the body of the murdered pusher washes up a few days later. A clue from the dead man leads them to Feldman's house for questioning. Feldman denies any knowledge of the crime and states his regret for the man's death, but his wife mentions that the pusher had been dating a cheerleader. During questioning Hutch admires Feldman's boat, to which Feldman replies "It's a yacht." After meeting cheerleaders, Stacey (Carmen Electra) and Holly (Amy Smart), they learn from another cheerleader, Heather (Brande Roderick), that a jacket worn by the dead pusher was made by Big Earl (Will Ferrell). Their street-wise, underworld contact, Huggy Bear (Snoop Dogg) directs the two to a motorcycle bar operated by Big Earl. Starsky and Hutch go undercover to the bar dressed as the characters "Captain America" and "Billy" from the film Easy Rider. Discovering Big Earl is in jail, they go to the prison to speak with Big Earl, who has connections with Feldman's drug business. Big Earl, who is implied to be gay and has an obsession with dragons, then makes the officers do embarrassing things to get what they want. He gives them a packet of what they think is cocaine. When it is taken to the lab for testing, Doby (Fred Williamson), their captain, angered and humiliated about their interview (which was caught on security camera) tells them it is 'artificial sweetener' and takes them off the floater assignment. The duo invite Stacy and Holly to Starsky's place where Starsky puts the 'sweetener' in his coffee while Hutch sings Don't Give Up on Us (the original of which was actually recorded by David Soul, the original "Hutch"). Starsky, Hutch, Stacey, and Holly go to a disco where Starsky, while suffering the effects of the drug, challenges an arrogant dancer to a dance off, and goes crazy when he loses. Hutch takes him home and proceeds to have a threesome with Holly and Stacey.
Feldman continues to be the main suspect of the duo's investigation, after they are assaulted by an Asian dealer and his knife-throwing son, and the dealer mentions that his boss "had a yacht." Further investigation leads them to believe that Feldman stores drugs in his garage, and during his daughter's Bat Mitzvah, they go undercover as mimes attempting to locate the drugs. After confronting Feldman, Starsky shoots the lock off the garage door, accidentally shooting and killing a pony inside. As a result, Captain Doby indefinitely suspends both of them. Starsky tries to cover for Hutch, but Doby reveals that Starsky had filed a complaint against Hutch weeks ago, right after they first became partners. Starsky tries to explain, but the partners argue, and it leads to a split in their friendship.
Meanwhile, Hutch's young neighbor, Willis (Jeffrey Lorenzo), whom Hutch watches on Wednesdays, is involved in a bomb blast in Hutch's house, and breaks his leg (the bomb was intended for Hutch). Starsky comes to visit Willis in the hospital where a "who's at fault" argument with Hutch, finally leads to reconciliation. They both decide to go after Feldman and put an end to his drug business. With help from Huggy Bear, who grudingly acts as a golf caddie for Reese, they learn that Feldman plans to sell the drugs at a charity ball by hiding them in Volkswagen Karmann Ghias to be given away to preplanned dope pushers.
The disguised duo manage to enter the party and hold up Feldman, pretending to be winners of a car. Upon shooting open the trunk of the car, a large amount of cocaine is found. Feldman takes Hutch hostage, and in Starsky's attempt to rescue him, he accidentally shoots Captain Doby in the shoulder. Hutch covers for Starsky telling Doby that Reese shot him. In the ensuing confusion, Feldman and his girlfriend Kitty (Juliette Lewis) escape outside with the money that was used to buy the drugs. Starsky and Hutch pursue them in a car chase over a golf course.
Feldman and Kitty then take off in his yacht hoping to escape the partners. Not far behind, Starsky and Hutch decide the only way to catch Feldman is to land Starsky's car onto Feldman's yacht, which Starsky is fearful to do. Starsky gets the car up to speed on a pier and then hits a ramp, but jumps way off course and misses the yacht. It slams into the sea and sinks as the partners safely escape. However all is not lost; Huggy, who was hiding in the yacht, knocks out Feldman, with the golf club that Reese had accused him of losing earlier.
In the last scene, at a party celebrating the capture of Feldman, Starsky is still upset about the loss of his car. Huggy surprises him by buying him another Torino from the original Starsky and Hutch duo (David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser). The two happy cops roll out in their new car answering to the police radio.

Tags: comedy, murder, bleak, violence, humor, entertaining

Review:
But what ever the reason, it remained unveiwed.That was 2004 - Xmas 2006 and I get DVD vouchers, so In the January sales off I go to see what I can get, I do quite well, but have £3 remaining, I have 2 or 3 to chose from 2 I have already seen, and Starsky & Hutch.....So I bought it.......yet still it was unwatched until yesterday.......hungover and feeling a little lazy I needed something to pass the time that was easy to watch, funny, and not too taxing.....so on it goes.How surprised was I then when after only a few minutes I was giggling away.
Stiller was actually entertaining and I was enjoying watching him, Mr Wilson was very good and I got the vibe that the characters gelled as the ones in the TV series did.
When they begin investigating a murder that has ties to a prominent millionaire, the best qualities of each just might start influencing the other.Although I always wait to read others' reviews and comments until I've seen a film and written my own review (I do not want to be swayed or influenced in any way by other opinions), I can imagine that quite a few people would not like Starsky and Hutch.
Creating that combination is a difficult feat, but Phillips was largely successful.The combination means that Starsky and Hutch is not aiming to be over-the-top hilarious, and it's also not aiming to be overly consistent with the characters and tone of the original pilot film and series.
The 1970s spoof/homage aspect is far more understated and reverential than you'd normal expect from a Stiller film, but easy to like and understand.Other outstanding supporting roles are played by Vince Vaughn, Snoop Dogg, Will Ferrell and Juliette Lewis, all except Dogg slightly out of character, but just as enjoyable and funny as always, as they're all somewhat faithfully filling traditional 1970s roles.
Grafting their comedy personae onto the Starsky and Hutch characters was more easily done and natural than anyone might have thought, and provides a highly amusing 100 minutes, even if it's a bit of an acquired taste and not likely to be understood quite as well by future generations..
A funny and thoroughly enjoyable spin on the overused cop-buddy formula, "Starsky and Hutch" is one of the most entertaining films of 2004 -- even if it's nothing more than just that.
With a fair share of laugh-out-loud moments, and more than a handful of in-joke references to '70s pop culture (including the original source material: "Starsky and Hutch" the TV show), it also boasts a fine comedic cast with talented performers: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Snoop Dogg, Chris Penn, Amy Smart and some uncredited cameos by the likes of Will Ferrell -- and yes, even the original Starsky and Hutch.
("I get a good vibe from these guys," the younger Hutch exclaims in one of the film's most savory self-referential moments.)The film takes place in Bay City, "sometime during the '70s," when David Starsky (Stiller) -- a by-the-numbers police officer who spends his entire day chasing small-time crooks -- is paired up with a new partner, the reckless Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson (Wilson).
Placed on an assignment involving an alleged drug lord (Vaughn), who has managed to create undetectable cocaine, Starsky and Hutch find themselves in a number of awkward situations: getting a statement by Big Earl (Ferrell), a dragon-obsessed inmate with some major issues; the usual tidbits of information from Huggy Bear (Dogg), a friend and informant of Hutch's; and of course the mandatory romantic subplot involving a pair of sexy cheerleaders.The contrast of Starsky and Hutch is handled deliberately blunt: this comedy isn't as much a victim of the cop-buddy genre as it is a dead-on spoof.
However, he's just using his badge as an excuse to commit crimes -- and get away with them.I asked myself if it was as possible as the film implies, but then the Constantly Yelling and/or Upset Police Captain (another clichéd role that happens to show up in all these movies) tells Hutch that it's the seventh time he's been arrested for robbery, and Hutch tells him that he's undercover -- trying to work his way in through the criminal underground.
The joke, of course, is that we find out the robberies are all totally unrelated and bear no significant to a criminal underground of any kind.There are a few sequences in the movie that deserve a description of their own, such as when Starsky accidentally consumes a large amount of cocaine and works himself into an ultimate-high-frenzy, battling on the disco floor of a nightclub for short-lived glory.
After his opponent is unjustly awarded the gold medal, Starsky pulls out his gun and from there on the entire situation escalates into one of those scenes that -- like parts of Stiller's "There's Something About Mary" -- last on in viewers' minds even after the film itself fades away.
Most of these films always include a sequence where the police captain will suspend the movie's protagonist and frown on him, saying something cheesy like, "Your father, who spent years on the force and was one of the highest-decorated officers, would be ashamed of you!" Instead, the police captain tells Starsky that his mother would be ashamed of him.
And then after being suspended, Starsky takes a visit to his mother's grave and places a glazed donut on the headstone (she was the highly decorated cop in the family, apparently).The film was directed by Todd Phillips, whose resume includes such raunchy efforts at comedy as the crude-but-enjoyable "Road Trip" and surprising "Old School." The latter film starred Ferrell and Vaughn and contained a cameo appearance by Snoop Dogg (as himself), so obviously these guys enjoyed working with Phillips and, I'm sure, agreed to contribute to this movie just for the heck of it.The result is a very goofy, entertaining summer flick that never tries too hard and invariably never falls too hard, either.
Of all the recent buddy-cop movies, released lately this is one of the better ones.Biggest strength of this movie is in the two main characters played by Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson.
The movie is filled with many other great comical talented actors such as; Vince Vaughn as the main villain, Snoop Dogg and Will Ferrell and some smaller roles for famous names such as; Chris Penn, Carmen Electra, Amy Smart and Juliette Lewis.But the movie is more then just an ordinary buddy-movie, it also is a priceless parody of '70's TV-shows in general.
I think Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller have great on screen chemistry and I really liked the last film they did together in 2001 entitled Zoolander.
Ben Stiller & Owen Wilson make a great comedic team so when I heard about Starsky and Hutch starring both of them I was hooked immediately.
Well the movie started about 5 minutes after I got in the theater.Starsky and Hutch as I'm sure everyone knows is based on a buddy cop TV show from the 70s.
Starsky (Ben Stiller) & Hutch (Owen Wilson) are partners who are determined to bust their biggest case ever.
Reese Feldman (Vince Vaughn) is a drug dealer who is planning one huge drug deal but soon Starsky and Hutch are right on his trail thanks to the help of their pal Huggy Bear (Snoop Dog).
A lot of funny mishaps, spoofs of the original TV series, and overall a very enjoyable film ensue.Ben Stiller & Owen Wilson like I mentioned above are a match made in heaven.
Even the original Starsky & Hutch, Paul Michael Glaser & David Soul make an amusing cameo appearance.This film was written by three people and all of which I wouldn't think could create such a funny and interesting script like this.
Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson are the perfect comedy team in this funny and interesting buddy cop film.
Based on the popular 70's action show of the same name, Starsky and Hutch re teams Detectives David Starsky and Ken Hutchinson, this time played by long-time buddies Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson.
The two main characters are ably aided and abetted by Huggy Bear (Snoop Dogg) and, although there is a big-drugs-bust plotline, the movie's main intention seems to be to make a homage to the style and clichés of certain 70s filmmaking (and the original TV show); car chases, for instance, focus on tongue-in-cheek action rather than adrenalin, and the cops' love of empty-headed curvaceous women combined with a homophobia towards each other and gay men is portrayed laughingly as an echo of the attitudes of the times rather than appealing to those sentiments.
Stiller played the "by the book", straight and narrow cop, Starsky, and Owen Wilson played the loose, largely irresponsible, and borderline criminal, Hutch.I never saw the show to have as a reference which I think may have helped me enjoy the movie more.
To complement Stiller's Starsky, we have the equally dreadful, unfunny and charisma-free Owen Wilson as Hutch, whose smugness, cheesy grin and awful voice has allowed him to take over the mantle from Jim Carrey as Hollywood's most annoying (and unfunny) comedy actor.
But while his mom stuck with the same partner throughout her entire career, due to his extremely zealous brand of police work, Starksy burns through partners faster than his beloved Gran Torino goes through spark plugs.Detective Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson (Owen Wilson) is having career issues of his own -- he's a good cop, but his laid back personality and desire for a quick buck don't always get the job done.
Was this supposed to be an action movie or a comedy, cause it failed on both counts,They took 2 super cool cops from the 70's and turned them into idiots, It took all my will power to actually sit through this movie.When I got out and was asked to rate this film by a friend I tried to find some positive points, I found 2, Snoop dogg was actually ok as Huggy Bear and it was not as bad as Cat in the Hat.Its such a pity cause I really wanted to like this film.
Todd Phillips should have known better, seeing that he worked on the show in the 70's.The best bit in the whole movie for me is the cameo appearance at the end by Glaser and Soul.
Ben Stiller does commendable work, Snoop Dogg is good as Huggy Bear, but Owen Wilson is just winging it.
Continuing the recent success of comedies starring Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughan et al "Starsky and Hutch" is an immensely creative, though sometimes annoying, comedy about two cops with totally opposite characters after a rich drug dealer.
Unlike the revival of "Charlie's Angels" in films which pay homage to a popular television series of the 1970s, "Starsky and Hutch" seeks to parody the original, lively buddy cop show, which featured David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser.
But this film was not funny, and it underscored the limitations of Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller as actors.
The film would have been more successful if the writers and producers would have simply trusted the original material and brought back Soul and Glaser to reprise the roles, instead of casting Wilson and Stiller..
The whole movie is just Ben Stiller BS that would be expected as a bridge between scenes but the plot scenes are the bridge between these boring and un funny "comedy" bits.
5/10 cause I expected more from the cast, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Snoop...come on guys.
As Hollywood continues to prove that it has no new original ideas in their arsenal, along comes another remake of a popular 70's television program to the 21st century big screen.On the tails of the critically lauded, but relative box office successes of the Charlie's Angels and S.W.A.T. franchises, comes Warner Brother's new comedy, Starsky & Hutch.
Starsky (Stiller) is a play by the rules cop who gets paired with Hutch (Wilson), an officer not above a few illegal ventures on the side.
Stiller and Wilson do seem to have good chemistry together (and so they should having starred together no less than 3 times in the past 5 years), and Snoop Doggy Dog as Huggy Bear, hits all the right notes playing his character as a farce of the Antonio Fargas television persona.
Finally got a chance to catch up with the recent Starsky and Hutch film today on cable TV - oh dear.Okay I knew that it was going to be a spoof on the original series, I just didn't expect it to be so unfunny.
Todd Phillips, born 1970 therefore too young to appreciate Starsky and Hutch first time around, obviously didn't do his homework properly, so the film has many missed opportunities.Stiller seems to have done his homework on Paul Michael Glaser's characterisation of Dave Starsky, but Wilson just didn't bother, dumping David Soul's original interpretation entirely, for his own bland version.If you're going to come with up with a different version of a well-loved character, at least do what Snoop Dogg did with the Huggy Bear role, make it fresh and fun to watch!
Even the original series had more moments to smile at than this lamentable effort.I've given it 2/10, instead of the zero it truly deserves, only for Snoop Dogg's Huggy Bear and the nostalgic flashbacks seeing that red torino with the white stripes back on the road.Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul, don't worry about these pitiful pretenders, you two will always be - the real Starsky and Hutch!.
It was when the original Starsky and Hutch showed up.I think the problem for me was the direction this movie took.
But the commercials for this film made me laugh, and I love the chemistry between Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson; their bit at the Oscars last week cracked me up.
So any time you mix a Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, Todd Phillips, Wilson brother, and/or Vince Vaughn these days...
Let's get one thing out of the way; 'Starsky & Hutch' is an entertaining movie, boasting two very funny performances by the leads, and if you're unfamiliar with the original television show it should provide some fun.
Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson star in another lame comedy, the previous being "zoolander." the duo have done 7 movies together.
the makers of the film went to the trouble of getting the period detail right such as the car the funky soundtrack and theleering at women but the characters are allwrong ben stiller and owen wilson may look the part but there any resemblance ends.
Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller play the titular character and although not over the top funny they are a good mixture of drama and goofy fun.
Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller play the titular character and although not over the top funny they are a good mixture of drama and goofy fun.
Star-sky and hutch is a remake of the 7os cop show that ran from 1075 - 1979 and starred Paul Micheal Glaser and David soul hear it stars Ben stiller and Owen Wilson is the two cops and to be honest its neither a great nor abysmal film just plain average to be honest .
Overall star-sky and hutch is a pleasant way to spend 95 mins Ben stiller and Owen Wilson are fine as the two cops with stiller being the highlight of the film he exhibits all of g lasers character traits and has all his mannerisms and the look of him you feel that it is someone who could be called Paul Glaser while Owen Wilson just completely through the motions and doing the same Schick he does all time completely ruining a role made by David soul ..
I think that it is a problem that Starsky and Hutch appeared as the same character as an original television series.
I mean, Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson were great in the parts, as for Snoop Dogg, he was brilliant.
Ben Stiller does a funny and classy job as Starsky and Owen Wilson is great as Hutch.
Back in the days when he did sketch comedy on the "The Ben Stiller Show" on HBO shows that he has much better comedic style when he's losing himself in the role rather than trying to be as funny as people think he is.Vince Vaughn probably does the best turn in the movie and Snoop Dogg deserves some respect for what is probably the funniest role, Huggy Bear.
This is now the second time I have seen Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson together and unfortunately, it just doesn't seem to work out.
It was more a spoof or a tongue-in-cheek movie.Sure the actor that plays Starsky resembles him quite a bit, but that's as close to the original series as it gets.Both my husband and I are big Starsky (Paul Michael Glaser) & Hutch (David Soul) fans, but this movie is the biggest disappointment that we've ever seen.At least the Charlie's Angels movies were entertaining.
Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson are so much fun to watch.
At times I was watching Starsky (Ben Stiller) and thinking Zoolander.
The original series that played for five seasons in the late 1970s is just a very thin candy shell of itself as the drama and action of the television program is replaced with moronic comedy and the film-chewing antics of the always annoying tandem of Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson (in the titled roles).
However i thought the film was fantastic, it was cheesy but it was funny all the way through!Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson made a fantastic team and made the, not so great, storyline insignificant compared to the funny scenes and the characters.
This movie, although it didn't resemble the original enough for me (Starsky and Hutch didn't act like these new guys).
If this happens a few times I will then start the movie at the beginning and give it a good viewing.But this never happened with "Starsky and Hutch".