Starsky and Hutch

Starsky and Hutch are the grooviest detectives ever to drive a souped up Gran Torino, man! That is just what this great comedy about the disco-era cop team is all about… and more. You can’t really say this is strict 1970s, and you won’t go away saying this gave me goose bumps because it was so nostalgic, holding true to the original TV show (1975-1979). You will not leave the theatre noting how much time director Todd Phillips took paying attention to detail. These characters are not the original “Starsky and Hutch.” About the only thing close to real 70s are the clothes and, oh my, that beautiful red Gran Torino! What you will come away with is the overwhelming knowledge that you have just experienced Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson at their comedic-duo best. They make a great team in and of themselves and could pull off any “buddy” movie about any “buddies” because they have such great charisma and timing—playing off each other wonderfully.

As the story begins, the really bad guy Reese Feldman (played to the hilt with slime by Vince Vaughn) is relaxing with a couple of his “associates” on his yacht. During the conversation we are made aware that these guys have done him wrong and with no second thoughts, he blows one of these poor shmucks away. This happens within the first five minutes and is intended to let the audience know, without any doubts, that this guy, Feldman, is one BAD man. Hey, it worked for me. It also slightly reminded me of the way lots of crime/drama TV shows used to start with the “hook” so you wouldn’t change the channel until you found out how the hero (or heroes, in this case) would finally bring down the criminal element in the end.

Fade to Captain Doby’s (Fred Williamson) office where he is reprimanding Detective Ken Hutchinson (played with laid back charm by Owen Wilson) for his not so by-the-book cop style—and with frustration, lets him know that there are deals that have gone down that were NOT in the undercover cop’s manual.

Enter Hutch’s polar opposite, David Starsky (an enjoyably absurd Ben Stiller) who shows, in no uncertain terms, his life IS the force. There is nothing he wouldn’t do for copdome short of arresting a would-be criminal for short-changing a gumball machine. There is no crime too small for Starsky. Because Captain Doby isn’t impressed with either of these guy’s cop-style, his ultimate decision is to pair these two—figuring they “deserve each other”—and now we all wait for the fireworks to commence.

Feldman is ready to boost his bank account by orchestrating a multi-million dollar cocaine deal with his “new and improved” powder. As he holds a business conference with some of Bay City’s elite drug dealers, he introduces a top of the line cocaine that is virtually undetectable by taste or by the trained nose of the police dog. A mega-deal has just been cinched.

Starsky and Hutch are put on this case, and we sit back and have fun watching them “find the bad guys and bring ’em down.”

Enter now, the illustrious red Gran Torino. This moment is one of the best in the film. It introduced with all the hoopla benefitting the famous Red Tomato: screeching tires, rumbling sideways turns, and engine purring confidently under the hood—Starsky’s pride and joy. There is no way these guys are going to hunt down bad guys in anything else!

The next great comedic scene is at Huggy Bear’s diggs (played with non-winking cool by Snoop Dogg). Hutch uses Huggy as his informant and brings in Starsky as “extra fuzz.” When Starsky finds out that all the guys in the room are carrying unlicenced firearms, it is a hoot to behold the ultra-serious Starsky try to get these lawless hustlers to hand ’em over. Without giving too much away, Huggy’s pet iguana has his tail shot off—and there is a guy in their midst who is a walking book of knowledge and has an educated, eloquent explanation for all involved. Don’t worry folks, the tail will grow back.

From this point, we are taken through “the investigation” and “interrogation” stuff cops go through to corner and ultimately catch the bad guys in the act and bring them to justice. It is the comic ride you take getting there that makes this slightly tongue-in-cheek, cheesy, rollicking farce fun to watch. During the process Starsky and Hutch become real friends. Positive elements that ring out loud and clear include going out of the way to admit when you are wrong, apologizing when you’ve done something to hurt someone, and the idea that everyone deserves a second chance.

Surprisingly enough, this film shies away from the expected bathroom humor. Starsky’s “Saturday Night Fever” disco-dance, the “Easy Rider” take off and undercover biker bar spoof, along with the aforementioned scene at Huggy Bear’s are gems that aim squarely at our funny bones through our throwback knowledge of the 70s. You will be pleased that this film doesn’t come off as a campy put down, but as an enjoyable subdued tribute to the original Starsky and Hutch.

Never the less, there are points in the movie that left me feeling very uncomfortable as a Christian. Hutch’s character steals money from the wallet of a dead man, without showing any kind of repentance for this detestable act. I felt it was wrong and not very funny, although they were trying to say something about the character’s unrestrained morals. Both characters engage in womanizing and, to some degree, treat women as playthings—although Starsky’s character tries to be the more gentlemanly of the two.

NUDITY AND SEXUAL THEMES—There is a scene where they are questioning a witness (which happens to be a cheerleader) in a locker room while she disrobes. Her body is shown nude from the back and partial breast. This is NOT suitable for children. Even the implication that the male characters are enjoying this, even though Starsky is trying to be the most professional, and that a woman would even DO that sort of thing in front of two men she doesn’t know, is sending a stark message to us of how numb we have become as a society to sexual themes. NOT for children. Also, Hutch makes out with two cheerleaders who kiss him and then each other which implies the threesome go further off camera. What for? Also, NOT for children.

Gay humor abounds through the film. The detectives are implied to have put on a display for an informant with homoerotic fetishes so that they can extract much needed information from him to break the case. (We need to show understanding and compassion to all God’s children who have these unnatural sexual desires and steer them to Scriptures which point out the horrible harm this can be to their eternal salvation, not condone these acts by poking fun at them or treating them as if they were “OK.”)

Drugs are the key theme to the plot and for the movie to work thematically, it is relevant. Understand, though, the Starsky character accidentally consumes some of the cocaine which allows him to “loosen up,” and it is implied this helps him to become a happier more uninhibited person.

There is a lot of foul language sprinkled throughout this film. Profane use of the Lord’s Name is uttered several times. The f-word pops out at least twice along with a_ _ h _ _ _ _ twice, s.o.b. at least once with milder profanities bringing the grand total to 75. Unfortunately, some of these profanities and near crudities are uttered by a child and a pre-teen character.

There is violent content, included for the most part for comedic effect, but still some are disturbing and not so funny. Two scenes that stand out are the opening murder scene, and the dead body scene where Hutch steals the cash from the wallet. There is a scene where they storm into a man’s apartment and are greeted by a hail of kitchen knives being thrown by a pre-teen, several lodge in the back and leg of Starsky (as in Looney Tunes cartoons, no one is hurt and he comes back in the next scene as if nothing happened, but this could be send the message to children that it’s an OK, “funny” thing to do to someone).

For all these issues and implications, I feel the PG-13 rating is borderline.

My bottom line: This movie was fun to watch. The upside is that nothing was meant to be serious. The characters were not intended to be the Starsky and Hutch we all remember from the TV show. The comedians in this film are first rate and are the best at their craft in this generation. The downside is just that. This generation. It is a real shame that the comedy of this age has to be in your face all the time to get a laugh. Stiller and Wilson could be the Hope and Crosby duo of today, if not for that fact. They effortlessly switch from slapstick to verbal riffing and kept me laughing.

Spiritually speaking, I felt most uncomfortable, not with the laughs so much, as the depiction of sex, drug use, and violence that seems MUST take place in comedy today to get the audience’s attention. What a shame, because ultimately Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, and Vince Vaughn are extremely gifted comedic actors without all the extra additives. What a pity the secular world has no clue to what they are feeding on. Go to a worldly friend, open Scripture and help him learn that God laughs, that God has created us in His image and a sense of humor most definitely is part of that image. Yet, putting other god’s on a pedestal, such as sex, drug use, and material things, are not any part of God’s plan and are nothing to laugh about.

When viewing any movie consider this: If it leads to good, it is of God. If it leads to sin, it is of the Devil. Period.

Finally, I truly enjoyed the ending where the real treasures of Starsky and Hutch come into play, which are cameos by Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul. I was impressed with the fact that they are having fun with their image in these characters and that they held up that image with grace and personality plus!

P.S. — The red 1974 Ford Gran Torino looks just like it did, and I will go right out and get the CD soundtrack—“Starsky and Hutch.” They’re The Man! (Umm… did I mention the car enough?).

Violence: Moderate | Profanity: Heavy | Sex/Nudity: Heavy