There is action in the new one, and some semblance of a detective plot, but it's mostly a parody of the original and of the cheesy 70s period in which it took place. It's not a great movie, but I think they chose wisely by turning it into a comedy since it's pretty much impossible to look back at the clothing and attitudes of the 70s now without finding them amusing. I don't think it would have been possible to make a hard-boiled buddy cop film about tough guy partners who wore those clothes and drove that ridiculously-flashy red and white Grand Torino car while working undercover.

I did not see the film in theaters, nor did I even vaguely consider doing so, since from the moment I heard of the Starsky and Hutch comedy remake, I assumed it would make an appearance on every critic's worst of the year list. Surprisingly-enough, it was actually pretty well received. Of the 175 reviews now listed on Rotten Tomatoes, 107, or 62% are positive. Where does my score fall?

I'm glad you asked.  (Click here to see these categories explained.)

Starsky and Hutch
Script/Story: 6
Acting/Casting: 7
Action: 5
Humor: 6
Eye Candy: 6
Fun Factor: 6
Replayability: 6
Overall: 6.5

As my scores indicate, I didn't have a real strong opinion about much of anything in the film. I expected it to be abysmally-stupid with a few funny moments, and when it was just frequently-stupid with more than a few funny moments, I hardly knew how to react. My expectations were rock bottom, and the movie exceeded them handily, while not actually being any good. It's not awful, and it's got some funny scenes and the plot more or less holds together, but it's far from a comedy masterpiece, and honestly, I don't think the fact that it was a Starsky and Hutch remake did it any favors. If this were just some silly 70s style cop comedy it would probably be better, since there wouldn't be any lingering baggage or comparisons to the original series.

The plot is utterly irrelevant to the film, and as such I can't be bothered commenting on it. There's a drug dealer, he's got cocaine that doesn't smell like cocaine, he's setting up a huge sale, Starsky and Hutch are the only cops who are on to them and their captain won't believe their story, etc. It's got elements of every other cop buddy picture ever made, and it does a decent job being post modern and spoofing itself and the whole cop buddy genre.

Starsky, the Ben Stiller character, is an incredible tight ass by-the-book cop, of the sort that could only exist in a movie. Hutch, the Owen Wilson character, is basically a stoner slacker cop who spends his time stealing from dead bodies, robbing bookies while pretending to be working undercover, and is generally such a character that you can't for an instant believe he's a real person, much less a cop. Snoop Dogg plays Huggie Bear, a pimp and informant whose role is much increased from the TV show to the film, and who is forgotten 2/3 of the way through, before he plays a major part in the clever surprise ending twist.

There are wacky bad guys, screwy scenarios, lots of bad costumes and disguises, and so on, but honestly, I saw the film two weeks ago and I've already forgotten 80% of it. It's completely disposable and will leave you with absolutely nothing to think about or ponder, but I did more or less enjoy myself while watching it.

See it or don't; it's nothing to me either way, and yes, this is probably the least I've had to say about any movie I've ever reviewed. And honestly, I stretched to have this much to say. If that doesn't tell you just how flavorless and inconsequential this movie is, I don't know what would.