Video Review: 'Starsky & Hutch'

'Starsky & Hutch' (PG-13) Whether or not you're a fan of original series, you're sure to get busted-up with laughs by "Starsky & Hutch" -- a groovy big-screen version of the classic '70s cop television show.

Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson star as the dynamic big screen duo of David Starsky and Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson, based on the original series that starred Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul.

The interesting thing about "Starsky & Hutch" is that it's not a remake or re-interpretation of the series, but a prequel that takes us back to the beginning of David Starsky's (Stiller) and Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson's (Wilson) partnership.

Stiller plays Starsky as an uptight neurotic who's trying to live up the reputation of his late detective mother, while Wilson's Hutch comes off as a well-intentioned slacker who walks the fine line between his job and crime in order to get close to his cases.

Thrown together on a case for the first time, the mismatched pair of cops tries to derail a major cocaine operation headed by a seemingly upstanding community leader (Vince Vaughn) -- and become good friends, as well as partners, in the process. Rapper Snoop Dogg fits comfortably into the iconic role of their informant, Huggy Bear.

As they've proven before in a few scenes together in "Meet the Parents" and on a much larger scale with "Zoolander," Stiller and Wilson have a wonderful sense of comedic chemistry for "Starsky & Hutch."

While the original series had its share of comedic moments, the humor is obviously deliberate in this version of "Starsky & Hutch." The great thing is, Stiller and Wilson aren't poking fun at the original series or Glaser or Soul - they're are poking fun at themselves. The movie isn't necessarily a parody, but more about a couple of guys who are playing it straight for laughs -- and their timing is impeccable.

Naturally, the 70s setting automatically provides some great visual gags, but most of the film's humor comes from the antics of Stiller and Wilson. Among the film's funnier moments are Wilson's turn at singing David Soul's hit '70s hit "Don't Give Up On Us, Baby," and Stiller's frantic moves on a disco dance floor after he mistakenly becomes hopped up on some crime evidence.

The movie, of course, has several homages to the original series, including some groovy costumes, a prominent role for Starsky's Gran Torino and a cameo by Glaser and Soul themselves. It provides one of the many feel-good moments that add up to a feel-great movie. As a child of the '70s, I dug it baby, yeah!

DVD Features: Commentary by director Todd Phillips, deleted scenes, outtakes, Huggy Bear's Fashion Fa Shizzle and more. The standout feature is a hilarious "Last Look" mockumentary, where instead of an "it was great to work with" love fest, the cast and crewmembers take shots at each other. (Warner Home Video).

TV On DVD: Not to be outdone, the original "Starsky & Hutch" take another spin on DVD with the release of "The Complete Second Season" (Columbia Tri-Star Home Entertainment), a five-disc set. "The X-Files" creator Chris Carter's second foray into the paranormal, "Millennium" (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) also debuts on DVD. The six-disc set features 22 episodes about profiler, Frank Black (Lance Henriksen) who has the ability to look into the minds of killers. Among the bonus features in the set is commentary from Carter on the pilot episode.

The wonderful world of Sid & Marty Krofft comes to us on DVD with the release of the complete first season of the Saturday morning kids show "The Land of the Lost," about the Marshall family (headed by Spencer Milligan) that falls in a time portal that brings them back to Prehistoric times. The three-disc set features include 10 commentary tracks featuring actors Wesley Eure (Will Marshall), Kathy Coleman Bell (Holly Marshall) and Phil Paley (Cha-Ka), interviews and more. (Rhino Home Video).