Stiller and Wilson, Starsky and Hutch

It’s the chemistry that counts in Starsky and Hutch, the feature-length comedy remake of the classic 1970’s “buddy cop” television series of the same name from director Todd Phillips, whose previous projects include Road Trip and Old School. While old fanatics of the original show may rush to the theaters in a mix of nostalgic excitement and careful curiosity to see their favorite quirky cops reunited, younger audiences will be drawn in to see the principal Ben Stiller-Owen Wilson duo—the comedic force responsible for the recent hits Meet The Parents and Zoolander—do it again.

The actors lend their distinctive comedic talents to play their characters for laughs—Stiller as the extremely anal-retentive Detective David Starsky and Wilson as the overly laid-back Detective Ken “Hutch” Hutchinson. Together the pair is a special brand of comedy—Stiller and Wilson as much as Starsky and Hutch, both starkly contrasting and strongly complimentary in their attitudes on work and life. But the movie is no spoof. In an interview with the stars in a college conference call organized by Warner Bros., it became clear that these two take their work pretty seriously (perhaps not to the extreme of Stiller’s type-a Starsky). Of course, the hope is that audiences will not.

The movie’s plot revolves around the core relationship between Starsky and Hutch, the mismatched police partners who are linked together against their own will to fight crime on the streets of Bay City, California.

“The TV series was such a phenomenon because [Paul Michael] Glaser and [David] Soul, the original Starsky and Hutch, have this natural chemistry,” Wilson explains. “Hopefully the fact that we’re friends in real life helped [with our portrayal of the relationship].”

While lying at opposite ends of the spectrum, the two are equally unorthodox—Starsky is the overzealous “bad cop,” always on the job to make sure no crime goes unpunished, while Hutch is the carefree “good cop,” but not too good to bend the law for a quick buck or two.  In the movie the officers are brought together for the first time on a mission to find and stop the homicidal drug baron Reese Feldman, the somewhat charismatic villain played by actor Vince Vaughn. Amidst killing his adversaries, juggling his lovers, and planning his daughter’s bat mitzvah, Feldman is about to bank out on his biggest deal yet with an undetectable strain of coke. With the help of Hutch’s street-smart, illicit informant Huggy Bear (aptly played by Hip-Hop and rap star Snoop Dogg), Starsky and Hutch go to all lengths—ludicrous disguises aplenty—to catch the crook. In the process the police partners develop their distinctively lasting dynamic, an enduring icon of 1970’s disco era television.  “The basis of show was their chemistry,” Stiller explains, “and that’s what we were trying to recreate.”

Starsky and Hutch marks the sixth collaboration between Stiller and Wilson in a film. “You’re trying to find like-minded people, especially when you’re trying to do funny or dramatic stuff,” Wilson says. “I met Ben the first year that I came to Los Angeles, and I continue to work with him, my brothers and Wes Anderson a lot.” Stiller simply states, “I can’t find anyone else to work with. I’ve tried.”

One wonders whether Snoop Dogg, who vibes particularly well with the duo while playing their illegal informant, will be joining the family.

“Snoop was great to work with,” says Wilson. “When Snoop was working you can look forward to fun day.”

“Snoop was great,” Stiller agrees. “He enjoys a totally different lifestyle. He’s totally comfortable in his own skin, a very warm guy. And he was great in the part.”

A certain onscreen/off-screen parallel can be drawn between Starsky and Hutch and Stiller and Wilson. “I think Owen is a laid back guy in real life,” says Stiller. “I don’t know, am I like Starsky?” he asks Wilson.

“You’re not as anal-retentive as Starsky is,” Wilson replies.

“I think both of us try to bring a little of our natural vibe to the characters,” Stiller continues.

The actors’ natural onscreen chemistry is certainly the most impressive aspect of the character-driven comedy, which is funny, but neither matches the all-too-relatable humor of Meet The Parents nor the unprecedented, out-there hilarity of Zoolander. The movie has several memorable moments—including a surprise cameo appearance by another famous comedian—but it is mostly the crazy characters and the vibrant, laidback ’70s atmosphere that garners real laughter.

For Wilson, the visual effects weren’t always so funny. “It was a little nightmarish to have to see Ben wearing those tight jeans everyday,” he says.

In recreating the characters and the atmosphere of the original series, Stiller and Wilson integrated aspects of their real lives into the structure of the television show, creating their own distinct brand of the classic camaraderie. “I don’t think [we] were as delineated as the characters on the show,” says Stiller. “Owen and I are different, so we wanted to do what we thought would work best for us playing the parts. At the end we become the Starsky and Hutch team as if it’s us playing them. They were both very free with women. It’s that loose ’70’s attitude that what we wanted to keep.”

When asked what draws them to their roles, Wilson replies, “What I look for in scripts is who’s gonna be involved. And then the character—if it’s funny and believable.”

“You told me you’d do it if you can do a three-way kiss scene,” Stiller interjects. At one point on the mission, while an accidentally drugged Starsky is asleep, Hutch successfully charms two cheerleaders, played by Carmen Electra and Amy Smart, into a ménage-a-trois. Wilson reconsiders.  “Well there’s that too,” he jokes.

Also in keeping with the spirit of the ’70’s, at one point Starsky engages in a disco dance-off, perhaps perpetuating the trend that started with the infamous Zoolander walk-off scene. “It was just coincidence,” says Stiller. “Just those last two.”

And audiences, both old and new, won’t soon forget the car—Starsky’s red and white striped, souped-up 1974 Ford Gran Torino, a visual icon of the era from the original series. In the movie, when Starsky gets behind the wheel of his beloved car, his uptight intensity lets loose, literally hurling his character—as well as Hutch—to wild extremes. “I did take driving classes and I got to do a couple of peel outs and skid stops,” Stiller states. “Owen wasn’t too comfortable about driving with me though.”

“That was the worst part of working on the movie,” Wilson says, “driving with Ben.”

—Staff writer Christine Ajudua can be reached at cajudua@fas.harvard.edu