by MATTHEW HAYS

Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson's appearance on Sunday night's Oscar telecast just about summed up this year's Academy Awards. In what must be the dullest, surprise-starved ceremony in decades, Wilson and Stiller mugged their way through some tired shtick about Stiller's goofy outfit.

Starsky & Hutch, the latest TV-to-big-screen adaptation, isn't quite that bad, thankfully. It has its funny moments, without a doubt, but isn't side-splittingly funny, by any means. I suppose you could say Starsky & Hutch lives up (or down) to expectations: this is a decidedly mediocre film. It does essentially what it promises to do: revisits a beloved old cop-buddy series, makes fun of the '70s outfits and attitudes, ogles some sexy gals and offers some obligatory car crashes. You get what you pay for.

On a revival level, Starsky & Hutch doesn't tank like The Mod Squad did. The best bits are supplied by Stiller, who is utterly hilarious as Starsky. He plays a temperamental cop, pissed about the fact that he's often the butt of jokes made by other cops on the force. And there's his disco dancing competition, one he brazenly enters after mistakenly using massive amounts of cocaine as coffee sweetener. It's as stupid as it sounds, but Stiller, a perfect pitch of dumb and endearing, makes it work. Wilson is his straight man, left to play smart to Stiller's stupidity. It's a thankless role - Wilson is here primarily to look good for the camera, which he does.

Though this retro comedy does not approach Brady greatness, it does offer one genuinely pleasing surprise. Snoop Dogg actually turns in a funny and nutty performance as Starsky and Hutch's informant buddy, Huggy Bear. Wearing ludicrous blaxploitation-inspired outfits, turning up at just the right moments in the movie (like when things start sagging), Dogg summons up a big-screen presence, believe it or not.

Dogg, along with Stiller's high jinks, can't quite redeem S&H. Despite that fact, however, I'm only too aware that this film has enough attractive elements that it might still translate into a box-office success. Better luck with the sequel.

Starsky & Hutch opens Friday, March 5

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