Cop caper cruises comedy beat ****
Starring Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Snoop Dogg, Carmen Electra, Amy Smart and Vince Vaughn. Directed by Todd Phillips. Opens tomorrow.
"Starsky and Hutch" - the new movie based on the 1970s television show in which two charismatic, and definitely hilarious, undercover cops are paired up to fight crime in Bay City - is one of the funniest movies you will ever see. Ben Stiller plays David Starsky, a tightly wound detective set on keeping order at all costs, who is assigned a new partner, Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson, an easygoing, fun-loving guy played by Owen Wilson. This contrast in personalities makes for some hilarity, but the situations these two detectives get themselves into make for the most laughs.
With Stiller and Wilson back together again, "Starsky and Hutch" is "Meet the Parents" gone 1970s-cops. Although the duo is in it together, most of the hilarity comes from the mishaps of Ben Stiller's character, and situations arise in much the same way as they do in "Meet the Parents." In one scene Starsky accidentally gets high off the cocaine the dealers he is looking for are selling, and finds himself in a dance contest. These random situations, in addition to plot twists and the image of Ben Stiller in retro attire, make this movie laugh-out-loud funny.
After finding a body tossed in a river, Starsky and Hutch take on a case to catch some suspected cocaine dealers. While trying to catch these dealers, they are constantly duped and made to look like idiots, but with the help of their ultra-chill street buddy, Huggy Bear (Snoop Dogg), they are able to save face and chase down the criminals.
Aside from the comedic aspect, the movie also features some of the smooth moves and fast action expected from a cop film. Starsky is suited with some hot wheels, which in some ways seems to contrast his personality. Every time the crime-fighting team sprints off in Starsky's car, the impression is that these guys could actually be cops.
Overall, this is a pretty funny movie with a good plot. It's fairly short, but definitely worth seeing.
Stiller and Wilson are partners in comedy
Like their characters in "Starsky and Hutch," Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson are becoming a dynamic duo. This movie marks their sixth film together, and they're still going strong as a team.
"I think it's trying to find like-minded people and especially when you're doing funny stuff, or even dramatic stuff, you want people that you believe in," Wilsonsaid of his relationship with Stiller.
This relationship was partially played out in "Starsky and Hutch." Both actors adapted their characters to their personal style because they didn't have to stay close to the original show.
The two compare their relationship to that of the original "Starsky and Hutch."
"I think that the reason why that TV series seems to have been such a phenomenon is that David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser had this sort of great give and take, and this kind of natural chemistry," Wilson said. "Hopefully the fact that Ben and I have worked together a lot and that we're friends in real life, hopefully we kind of have our rapport that'll help the movie."
Aside from liking the cast of this movie, both Stiller and Wilson enjoyed doing this movie because they could have fun with it.
"I think it was fun, the not politically correct attitude those guys had back then," Stiller said. "You could just be a cop and be a tough guy, and not worry about offending anybody. That's kind of who they were. It's fun to try to be like that."
Wilson agrees.
"I think what I look for in scripts is, a lot of time, who is going to be involved, if it's people that I think are good, and then the character that I'm going to play, if it's something that I could do, make funny, or be believable in," he said.
Both actors were happy with the turnout of the movie, and plan to work together again in the future. Hopefully their movies will contain the same energy as seen in recent movies that they've done together, including "Meet the Parents" and "Zoolander"
