Starsky & Hutch [M]

David Starsky and Ken Hutchinson are two undercover cops who are as different as they come. After a series of misdemeanours, they find themselves forced to become partners. When a dead body washes up on shore, Starsky is eager to take the case, but soon the simple case of murder snowballs into something much bigger, with Starsky and Hutch smack bang in the middle of it. 

Based on the old TV show, Starsky & Hutch shows Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson give their best performances since Zoolander. Filled with brilliant 70s outfits, memorable characters, fast cars, and plenty of cleverly written references, in our house, it’s made it as a default setting: “we can’t agree on anything to watch… whack on Starsky & Hutch”. 

David Starsky and Ken Hutchinson are two undercover cops who are as different as they come. After a series of misdemeanours, they find themselves forced to become partners with their first case being one of murder, when a body washes up on shore. All too soon, what started out as a simple murder case quickly snowballs into something much bigger with Starsky and Hutch smack band in the middle of it. 

Now I have never seen an episode of the original show, but from what I can gather from my parents’ commentary and other comments from the odd customer, this movie was really clever and very true to the characters, settings, and everything. 

I think what I like about this movie is that it’s not film companies trying to revive the classics and remaking them to appeal to modern audiences like Get Smart or The A Team. No this movie was set in the 70s, a glorious time for fashion I must say, and any interest that young people might have in it is solely sparked by the fact that it stars Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, both of whom delivered memorable performances, that stand out from other films that they have done. The only other film in which they played really different characters was in Zoolander, which is without a doubt the best of all of them. 

Starring Vince Vaughn, Will Ferrell, Snoop Dogg, Carmen Electra, Amy Smart, Jason Bateman, and featuring a classic surprise cameo at the end, Starsky & Hutch is a classic film that’s filled with action, car chases, drug dealing, investigations, memorable characters, and fabulous outfits (particularly Huggy Bear’s, watch out for those). It’s the perfect film for a good night in; perfectly balance, not too heavy and not too light, with something for everyone.