Starsky & Hutch (2004)

Director:

Todd Phillips

Writers (WGA):

William Blinn (characters)
Stevie Long (story) ...

Release Date:

5 March 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

They're the man.

Plot:

Two streetwise cops bust criminals in their red-and-white Ford Torino with the help of police snitch called Huggy Bear.

Plot Keywords:

Cocaine | Police | Police Detective | Hazing | 1970s

Awards:

3 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Ben Stiller	...	David Starsky
Owen Wilson	...	Ken Hutchinson
Snoop Dogg	...	Huggy Bear
Fred Williamson	...	Captain Doby
Vince Vaughn	...	Reese Feldman
Juliette Lewis	...	Kitty
Jason Bateman	...	Kevin
Amy Smart	...	Holly
Carmen Electra	...	Staci
George Cheung	...	Chau (as George Kee Cheung)
Chris Penn	...	Manetti
Brande Roderick	...	Heather
Molly Sims	...	Mrs. Feldman
Matt Walsh	...	Eddie
G.T. Holme	...	Bartender

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for drug content, sexual situations, partial nudity, language and some violence.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Korean

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Ireland:15 | South Korea:12 | Brazil:14 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Canada:14A | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Peru:PT | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:M18 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #40613) | Malaysia:18PL

Filming Locations:

Dockweiler Beach, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Dimension Films

Trivia:

Will Ferrell did all of his scenes in one day.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the disco, the DJ/Announcer uses a Shure Beta58 microphone, distinguished by the blue band around the windscreen and the grey color of the body. The Beta58 was first introduced in 1989.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Kitty: Don't stress. Just relax.
Reese Feldman: I don't understand man, I don't understand. You can lose keys, ya know, you can lose your wallet. How... how do you lose a plane?
Terrence Meyers: Reese, come on. What do you want me to do? You got three out of four planes in. That's still a lot of coke.
Reese Feldman: Now, see that? That's the kind of winning attitude that's gonna take this enterprise straight to the top.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Song of the South (1946)

Soundtrack:

Easin' In

A really fun buddy cop flick with a lot of laughs

Starsky and Hutch was a film I was really looking forward to. 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. The bad news for me however was the fact this film was being directed by the guy who made road trip & old school, Todd Phillips. I didn't really care for neither one of them per say. But I was willing to give him a chance with this film. And as it turned out, I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome of Starsky and Hutch.

So tonight I caught the sneak preview of Starsky and Hutch at 7:30pm. The movie was packed to the gills. Yours truly had to sit in the front row, which I wasn't thrilled about. But there was nothing else at the theater to see so I figured what the hell I will make my neck suffer for the next two hours. 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. The movie is pretty much the same thing. 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. They are both two funny guys who work great as a team. Vince Vaughn was very good here as the villain in the film. He had the whole rich playboy thing going, it was very entertaining. Snoop Dog was also very enjoyable as Huggy Bear. He delivered a nice sum of laughs and for once wasn't a completely pointless character. Amy Smart who played Holly in the film along with Carmen Electra who played Staci where both good as Starsky & Hutch's love interests. 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. John O'Brien who wrote Cradle 2 the Grave with DMX & Jet Li, Todd Phillips who wrote road trip & old school, and Scot Armstrong who also wrote road trip & old school wrote the film as a team. As I said earlier I am quite surprised that the film turned out so well. I must actually applaud all of the three men who wrote this film. There were some really clever and classic moments in the film. The dialog was very good and the characters were very well formed. I enjoyed the script a lot.

Thank you Todd Phillips for proving me wrong. I was really scared at first that I wasn't going to like the film. I have to apologize to Mr. Phillips because I never thought I would see the day that I would come out of one of his movies and be very satisfied. The man wrote and directed a really good movie here. He delivered the laughs. The settings he chose for the movie were great. He filmed the whole thing in Bay City. I felt for the characters, I really liked the characters. I just overall really enjoyed what he did with the film and here's hoping for a part 2.

So I was very surprised with Starsky and Hutch. I had my doubts at first but they are now gone. I walked out of the film with a big smile on my face. There were lots of funny and classic scenes in the film. I really enjoyed how the film itself seemed to be a spoof of the original series. It was very clever by doing that. And I know I really liked this film to because when I sit in the front row to watch a movie, the movie better be good otherwise I will pan it even more for breaking my neck to watch it. Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson are the perfect comedy team in this funny and interesting buddy cop film. I highly recommend it to all. Just turn off your thinking cap and you will be set for a real fun ride. My final rating for Starsky and Hutch is an 8/10.