For better or for worse, boys will always be boys, and Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson will always be Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson. When they're on, they're two of the funniest men in show business, but when they're off, it hurts, and everyone feels it. In their latest joint venture, Starsky & Hutch, they're right in between, forsaking their occasional highbrow comedy for their box-office banking situational humor.

The film is a big-screen adaptation of the goofy 1970s buddy cop show of the same name. Stiller is the over-emphatic and straight-laced Starsky, while Wilson plays the role of cocaine-testing, menage a trois-engaging Hutch. Unwillingly partnered together, the two investigate the case of a body washed ashore, which eventually leads them to a cocaine ring led by a sinister '70s baddie, played by Vince Vaughn.

The easy way out would've been to make this film an all-out parody of the original series, but surprisingly, the film's humor is rather self-contained without taking many cheap shots at the show or even the decade as a whole. In actuality, the film nails a very genuine '70s aesthetic. Only Stiller's Starsky seems to be satirical in nature, and anyone can see it as merely the actor's attempt to ham it up for the camera.

No one can deny the chemistry between Stiller and Wilson. Having acted together in six films, the two play off each other with precision, timing and effect. At points, the film comes off similar to the second half of the Lethal Weapon series, with the duo trading jokes amidst the action. Although it took the Lethal Weapon series a few movies to build up this kind of rapport with the audience, Stiller and Wilson get away scott free, having bantered with each other in past films, such as Zoolander and The Royal Tenenbaums.

Scene by scene, Starsky & Hutch has plenty of comical moments. Toss Stiller and Wilson into a cheerleader locker room, a crime boss' lair or a child's bat mitzvah, and the two will find a way to make it funny. The humor is entertaining in small doses, but doesn't add up to much in the long-term, however.

The supporting cast lends a big helping hand in the situational comedy as well. Snoop Dogg plays Huggy Bear, an informant who doles out his knowledge of the crime world to Hutch while doling out his knowledge of "grass" to the enemy. Will Ferrell cameos as a prison inmate with peculiar sexual needs, while superbabes Carmen Elektra and Amy Smart fulfill the film's prerequisite eye candy.

If this Starsky & Hutch had come out a few years ago when the lead duo were new to the silver screen, I would've enjoyed it a great deal better, but I've seen them play these roles before, and they don't bring anything new to the table here. Yes, we get it, Ben, you're an uptight, cynical go-getter, and yes, Owen, you're the carefree surfer dude without a clue.

If you're a diehard fan of these guys, by all means, enjoy Starsky & Hutch. You will. However, this is like an "A" student turning in a "C" paper. I'll expect more from these two next time.