A fast blast from the past

This idealized representation of American law enforcement was shattered in the mid-to-late-70s by a blonde, a brunette and a red Grand Torino.

"Starsky and Hutch," a groundbreaking television cop show gave birth to a modern-day embarrassment of television police show riches: From "Law and Order," where the police always observe the rules, to "NYPD Blue," where the cops are willing to cross ethical lines to get the bad guys and to even more extremes such as "The Shield," where all the cops are unabashedly crooked.

It is hard to believe that such a pivotal, seminal show took so long to be re-made for the big screen. But that wait is now over with a movie version of "Starsky and Hutch," starring the oft-paired comedic duo, Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller, a postmodern - if not poor man's - version of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.

Directed by Todd Phillips ("Old School" and "Road Trip"), the movie does a good job of re-creating the pair's adventures in fictional Bay City. To the director's credit, the late 70s era setting looks and feels quite genuine.

Beyond just the obvious and obligatory scene at the disco, we are treated to some very appropriate and accurate accoutrements of that era, disco balls, giant headphones that were precursors to the Walkman, funky clothes and hairstyles and the effervescent, "anything goes" worldview of the general populace.

While the television version was a little more serious (but still unintentionally cheesy due to the medium and its era), the movie adaptation prefers to tap into the comical talents of its lead stars. And despite Phillips' reputation and resume of crass, frat boy humor, he actually displays some semblance of directorial skill and the ability to utilize subtlety to elicit laughs (although Will Ferrell does make a cameo to portray a bizarre criminal who likes to sew). Fortunately, the humor does not overwhelm the movie but rather complements it.

As in most major studio films, the plot is the usual buddy cop fare: Reluctant partners at first, they go through a series of adventures going head to head with some really vicious and amoral criminal type, in this case an ambitious cocaine dealer. Their relationship is tested, and they have an impassioned but temporary falling out. Eventually, of course, against all odds with the deck stacked against them, they triumph over the forces of evil. The bonds of friendship, teamwork, justice (and cliché) eventually win out.

Despite the fact that the original show spawned a host of copycats, this movie version ironically relies on imitating those imitators for its storyline. Luckily, Wilson and Stiller have a harmonious chemistry of raucousness that gives this movie more credibility than it deserves.

Stiller ("Along Came Polly") plays Starsky as the staunch justice-at-all-costs career cop. In a hilarious twist on the old stereotype, he deals with the annoying pressure of having his police accomplishments constantly compared to his dead mother's, who was an incomparable hero on the force before him.

Stiller's anal-retentive shtick is a nice contrast to the more relaxed albeit somewhat flaky Wilson ("The Big Bounce"), who portrays Hutch as a lot more flexible between the not-so stark delineation between cop and bad guy. The eccentrically chic Wilson is likable and charming in the role, despite the fact that he has zero acting range beyond the likable and charming characters he plays in all his movies.

One of the most startlingly revolutionary portrayals in the original TV show was the ongoing appearance of Huggy Bear, a pimp who daylights as an informant for the crime fighters. It was one of the first times that American audiences saw police associating with such people for the benefit of justice. Revolutionary then, pretty conventional now.

Snoop Dogg takes a break from his music empire by playing Huggy Bear with his trademark gangsta persona. He brings his own "shizzle" to the role, originally portrayed with delicious smoothness by Antonio Fargas (father of Oakland Raiders running back Justin).

The rest of the main cast offers nothing special except additional marquee wattage. Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman and a highly dilapidated Juliette Lewis do standard movie villain fare and that's about it.