Lacing originality, 'Starsky & Hutch' still an amusing diversion

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By Eric Harrison
Houston Chronicle

Posted: March 5, 2004

Bad movies are like drugs. Experience enough of them, and you become immune to the effects of ordinary badness. You graduate to the hard stuff. It takes the cinematic equivalent of smack to turn your stomach.

It's hard to say, but this probably is why I found "Starsky & Hutch" enjoyable. It should be awful, the same as those other films made from vintage television shows. Owen Wilson, one of the stars, was even in "I Spy" two years ago with Eddie Murphy. That sets up certain — dismally low — expectations.

Surprisingly, "Starsky and Hutch" is a moderately amusing diversion.

Is it really more fun than "The Beverly Hillbillies," "Mod Squad" or that dreadful "Charlie's Angels" sequel, or have I just developed higher tolerance? (Watching it a few hours after a bloody religious snuff film might've had an effect; the inconsequential goofiness of "Starsky & Hutch" acted as a palliative.)

Wilson plays Ken Hutchison, a laid-back detective with unorthodox associates and a blatant disregard for rules. Ben Stiller is David Starsky, his intense, by-the-book partner. Both actors are doing shticks we've seen before, but Stiller — who looks like a diminutive clone of Paul Michael Glaser — has an uncanny ability to provoke laughter merely by walking into a room.

Investigating a murder, the pair stumbles upon a drug-trafficking operation headed by a wealthy businessman (Vince Vaughn). They enlist the aid of Huggy Bear (Snoop Dogg), a flamboyant hood, to crack the case.

Juliette Lewis is also on hand in a small role, though apparently her primary function is to make us wonder what became of her once-promising career.

The TV show, which combined humor with police action, revolved around the relationship between the two detectives. With the help of a brief appearance by Will Farrell, the film pokes fun at the sly gay subtext some viewers saw.

The movie is full of references to the 1970s — miniskirts, leisure suits, afros, disco. There's nothing terribly original here, but who looks for originality in a movie made from a TV show?