"Starsky & Hutch is guilty pleasure fun that just rolls along having a grand old time." Bob Bloom JOURNAL AND COURIER "All in all, the film has a certain authenticity, capturing the spirit of the series." Joe Baltake SACRAMENTO BEE "It will warm your funny bone if given half a chance." Paul Clinton CNN "A surprisingly funny movie." Roger Ebert CHICAGO SUN-TIMES "A bit of amusing 70’s nostalgia that is a good vehicle for its stars." Robin Clifford REELING REVIEWS

What The Critics Say

"A really good not-great movie, the kind that would be classified as a guilty pleasure were it not executed with guilt-free honesty and good nature." Ann Hornaday WASHINGTON POST "Much like the big-screen adaptation of Charlie's Angels, Starksy & Hutch manages to play its cheeseball aspects with a perfect balance of sincerity and irony, cleverness and idiocy." Phoebe Flowers SOUTH FLORIDA SUN-SENTINEL "you won’t go more than a minute or two without a laugh" Jesse Hassenger FILMCRITIC.COM "I can honestly say it’s the funniest movie I’ve seen this year, and a great reminder of what dumb, fun movies are supposed to really be about." Todd Gilchrist FILMSTEW.COM

At A Glance

"Starsky & Hutch performs the miracle of making fun from, rather than of, one of its most popular cop shows." ........ Bruce Newman SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS

Come on, hands up all those that remember the TV show "Starsky & Hutch". Don't be shy. I know your giving your age away. But come on, be honest. It was a lot of fun wasn't it? Featuring David soul and Paul Michael Glaser, "Starsky & Hutch" was a big departure from your regular cop shows. Prior to September 1975, TV cop shows featured by the book cops and by the book police methods. Until "Starsky & Hutch". No regulation stuff here. The guys drove a flashy tow door Ford Gran Torino, they mixed with the crims and informers like the streetwise Huggy Bear; they had the clothes, the looks and a real sense of humour. It proved to be a very popular show running from September 1975 through to August 1979. Now thanks to Producerd Alan Riche and Tony Ludwig a whole new generation of fans will be born. "Starsky & Hutch" is back. No, not on the television. It's on the big screen. Lucky for us, Riche and Ludwig came up with the idea to revive the show. It was back in 1988 that they came up with the idea to bring the former smash hit TV show to the big screen.
"I was a fan of the show," Alan Riche recalls. "I thought it had heart and soul, and it was very much of the time, it wasn’t fluff. I always liked the relationship between Starsky and Hutch and felt that it could translate into a movie relationship. It’s classic movie yin-yang: you’ve got crazy and intense Starsky and more laconic, laid back Hutch. Each has value in terms of their own persona, but put them together and one plus one equals three. You really enjoy hanging out with these guys." There was one big hurdle to overcome in getting "Starsky & Hutch" to the big screen. Convincing the show’s creator William Blinn who held the motion picture rights. Others had tried, without success. William Blinn admits to being approached "but had never been inclined to do it." So what made him change his mind? "It wasn’t until I met with Alan and Tony that it seemed to take on some reality," he said. "Their enthusiasm really turned me around." Adding he "felt they had a fresh perspective and was eager to work with them." The next step was to convince one of the studios to take on the project.
Forming a partnership, the three took their project to Warner Bros Pictures. Here Akiva Goldsman became involved. "The funny thing about Starsky & Hutch is that like a lot of the TV shows from when I was a child, it evoked a set of memories that are different than what you might feel today if you watched the show," reflects Goldsman. "Whatever Starsky & Hutch engendered in our imagination when we were kids was sufficiently delicious that you look back on it and you think, ‘Wow, they were kind of funny and serious at the same time and they were really kind of cool.’ There’s a genuineness to their friendship, which we’re definitely screwing around with in a good way in this movie." When actor Ben Stiller heard that Warner Bros Pictures had picked up the rights, he made it known he wanted in. "I used to play Starsky & Hutch when I was a kid," Stiller explained, "so I thought, why not do it as an adult? I mean, there are actually a lot of reasons why you shouldn’t do it as an adult, but I chose to ignore them and go forward with the project." Alan Ritchie picked up that there was a lot of Starsky in Stiller. "It amazes me how much Ben is truly reminiscent of Paul Glaser," Riche marvels. "He is a very dedicated artist, and he had this amazing passion to do Starsky. So we were lucky that we got Ben, and from there found the right director and the right partner in Owen." Stiller was very enthusiastic about having Owen Wilson as his onscreen partner. After all they had teamed up on six previous occassions. "It seemed a natural choice because we do have a friendship and the basis of Starsky and Hutch’s whole relationship was that they liked and trusted each other. Now, I don’t trust Owen, not for a second, but I do like him and I find him entertaining, so really, minus the trust thing, it’s a very similar sort of relationship." So was their anything else he liked about Wilson for the role? "Owen’s blonde, too," he noted, "so that was another factor in the casting." Besides everything else thats good about "Starsky & Hutch", the teaming of Stiller & Wilson is perfect. Producer Stuart Cornfeld explains. "Both of them are really terrific at improvisational comedy, at picking up on what the other one is doing," he says of the duo. "Their core creative and comedic energies are very complementary; Ben is extremely present and Owen is the other side of the coin, a little more off in his own world. It’s that clash of the guy who’s way too there and the guy who’s not quite there that’s a really good combination. They’re both very smart guys and talented writers who have a tremendous amount of respect for each other."
What does Wilson think about that? "I think Ben had the idea that I would be good for Hutch because I have blond hair,” he recounts. "I don’t think it was anything more complicated than that." Unless you count their excellent working partnership, that is. "When I’m in a scene with Ben I just get a feeling, when we’re playing it back and forth, if it’s working or not." The obvious question to ask is, was he a fan of the show? . "It was the first show I remember being into," he says. "It was that, then Magnum P.I. and then Miami Vice." Now there's a couple of shows that could be revived. If this version of "Starsky & Hutch" is a success, nothing would surprise me when it comes to reviving some of those great, small screen, golden oldies. We'll just have to wait and see. Cast & Crew Bytes "Starsky & Hutch" was directed by Todd Phillip ["Frat House", "Bittersweet Motel" and "Road Trip"], Executive Produced by Gilbert Adler ["Ghost Ship", "Thirteen Ghosts", "House on Haunted Hill" and "Demon Knight"] and Ben Stiller ["Keeping the Faith", "Permanent Midnight" and "There’s Something About Mary"], edited by Leslie Jones ["The Thin Red Line", "Woman On Top" and "Punch-Drunk Love"], costume design by Louise Mingenbach ["Punk", "The Usual Suspects", "X-Men 2" and "Welcome To The Jungle"], with original music by Theodore Shapiro ["Old School", "Heist", "State and Main" and "Along Came Polly"], cinematograhpy by Barry Peterson ["Mustard Bath", "Zoolander" and "Hollywood Homicide"] and is based on characters created by William Blinn [TV's "Gunsmoke", "Rawhide", "The Big Valley" and "Bonanza"].
"Starsky & Hutch" stars Ben Stiller ["Meet The Parents", "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "Along Came Polly"], Owen Wilson ["I Spy", "Behind Enemy Lines", "Zoolander" and "Shanghai Knights"], Snoop Dogg ["Half Baked", "Baby Boy", "Training Day" and "The Wash"], Vince Vaughn ["Swingers", "Made", "Clay Pigeons" and "Old School"], Juliette Lewis ["Cape Fear", "What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?" and "Natural Born Killers"], Jason Bateman ["Love Stinks", "Sol Goode" and "The Sweetest Thing"] with Fred Williamson ["Hammer", "The Big Score", "State Of Mind" and "On the Edge"] as Captain Doby and Amy Smart ["Varsity Blues", "Road Trip", "Rat Race" and "The Butterfly Effect"] and Carmen Electra ["Starstruck", "Sol Goode", "Rent Control" and "Whacked!"] as the cheergirls. The Story

"Starsky and Hutch is a rarity: a big-screen parody of an old television series that's actually pretty good." ...... Timothy Knight REEL.COM

Detective David Starsky is a by the book cop. He doesn't know any other way. Everything has to be by the book. He's a cop 24 hours a day and never off the job. Living in the shadow of his legendary police officer mother has contributed to his over zelous approach to undercover work. And he can't keep a partner for long. Then there's Detective Ken Hutchinson. "Hutch" is the complete opposite to Starsky. In fact, Captain Doby hasn't heard from him for months. Hutch has been running with a gang, pulling off holdups regularly and making friends with crims like the notorious black, gang leader Huggy Bear. He prefers to work on his own. That way nobody knows what he's up to. But Captain Doby has had enough. Called in to account for their pathetic performances on the job, Doby decides the best option is to make them partners. After all, they deserve each other. But can the laid back Hutch and the no nonsense Starsky really make an effective team? It doesn't seem likely. And, it's not long before their in trouble. Investigating a suspected murder brings them into contact with high profile businessman Reese Feldman. Feldman's business is drugs and meeting him will mean nothing but trouble. They're about to be called into Captain Dolby's office again. Their inglorious careers are on the line. The Verdict Everything about "Starsky & Hutch" is 70's. From the red and white Gran Torino, the clothes and hairstyles it's step back in time. Those who can remember the TV show will be looking forward to seeing if this version meets their expectations. The answer is simple. It does. Stiller and Wilson make a great team as "Starsky & Hutch". And, like their predecessors David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser, Stiller and Wilson are fun to watch. All the ingredients are there; the car, the crims, the women, a wicked soundtrack and of course, the humour. Well worth taking in." The Cast

Ben Stiller Owen Wilson Snoop Dogg Fred Williamson Vince Vaughn Juliette Lewis Jason Bateman Amy Smart Carmen Electra George Kee Cheung Chris Penn Brande Roderick Molly Sims Matt Walsh G.T. Holme Jeffrey Lorenzo Sean Tillmann Patton Oswalt Brigette Romanek Paul Michael Glaser David Soul Dan Finnerty

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David Starsky Ken Hutchinson Huggy Bear Captain Doby Reese Feldman Kitty Friday Holly Staci Chau Manetti Heather Mrs Feldman Eddie Bartender Willis Dancin' Rick Disco DJ Banquet Singer Original Starsky Original Hutch Bat Mitzvah Singer

The Crew Directed by Todd Phillips Story by Stevie Long and John O'Brien Screenplay by John O'Brien/Todd Phillips/Scot Armstrong Produced by William Blinn/Stuart Cornfeld/Akiva Goldsman/Tony Ludwig/Alan Riche Executive Producers Gilbert Adler & Ben Stiller Original Music by Theodore Shapiro Cinematography by Barry Peterson Film Editing by Leslie Jones Casting by Juel Bestrop/Blythe Cappello/Jeanne McCarthy Production Design by Ed Verreaux Art Direction by Greg Papalia Set Decoration by Kate J Sullivan Costume Design by Louise Mingenbach Production Manager David Siegel Run Time 100 minutes Rated M15+ [AUST] Copyright ©2004 - Warner Bros Entertainment Inc & Miramax Film Corp - All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2004 - The Movie Pages & Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved