Honestly, if you haven’t seen the 2004 movie Starsky & Hutch in a while, you probably forgot about 80% of the plot. You remember the red and white Ford Torino. You definitely remember Snoop Dogg as Huggy Bear. But there is one specific scene that lives rent-free in the back of everyone's mind, and it involves Will Ferrell in Starsky and Hutch wearing a hairnet.
It’s the prison scene.
Will Ferrell plays a character named Big Earl. He isn’t the main villain—that’s Vince Vaughn’s Reese Feldman. He isn’t a sidekick. He’s just a guy in a jail cell with a very specific, very unsettling hobby: embroidery.
Who Is Big Earl?
Most people don't realize that Will Ferrell’s role was actually uncredited. He showed up as a favor to director Todd Phillips, who had just directed him in Old School a year prior. At the time, Ferrell was exploding into superstardom, yet here he was, playing a convict with a dragon obsession.
Big Earl is the quintessential "gatekeeper" character. Starsky (Ben Stiller) and Hutch (Owen Wilson) need information about a new, undetectable cocaine. To get it, they have to visit Big Earl in the Bay City Correctional Facility.
What follows is five minutes of pure, unadulterated Ferrell improv.
The Dragon Fetish
The scene is built on a single, bizarre premise. Big Earl will only give up the goods if Hutch "shows him some love." And by love, he means acting like a dragon.
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It’s uncomfortable. It’s hilarious. It’s exactly what made 2000s comedies feel so chaotic.
Ferrell leans into the role with terrifying commitment. He asks Hutch to do a "slow spin" and "look back at me... mean, like a dragon." He even has a weird thing about belly buttons. You can actually see Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller struggling to keep a straight face. They’re professional actors, but Ferrell is a force of nature in a jumpsuit.
The Easy Rider Connection
Before they even get to the prison, there’s a great setup. Huggy Bear tells them that a jacket found on a dead pusher was made by Big Earl. This leads the duo to go undercover at a biker bar.
They dress up as Captain America and Billy from Easy Rider.
It’s a terrible disguise. Starsky calls himself "Kansas" and Hutch is "Toto." The irony is that while they're trying to look like tough outlaws, the man they're looking for is actually a master of needlepoint.
This contrast is the engine of the movie’s humor. You have these two cops trying to be "gritty 70s detectives," but they keep running into people like Will Ferrell in Starsky and Hutch who are playing a completely different game.
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Why the Cameo Works
The early 2000s were the era of the "Frat Pack." This was the loose group of comedic actors—Stiller, Wilson, Ferrell, Vaughn, Jack Black—who appeared in each other's movies constantly.
Starsky & Hutch is basically a Frat Pack reunion.
Ferrell’s appearance works because it’s a tonal shift. Up until the prison scene, the movie is a fairly standard (if silly) buddy-cop parody. When Big Earl appears, it veers into the surreal.
- The Hairnet: A small detail, but it makes him look 50% more ridiculous.
- The Embroidery: He isn’t just a tough guy; he’s an artist.
- The Intensity: Ferrell plays it totally straight. He isn't winking at the camera. He genuinely wants to see Owen Wilson act like a mythical lizard.
Behind the Scenes Facts
If you look closely at the outtakes, you'll see just how much of that scene was improvised. Ferrell was notorious for changing his lines every take to see if he could break his co-stars.
In the final cut, when Big Earl asks to see Hutch's belly button, the look of genuine confusion on Owen Wilson's face isn't just acting. It’s the look of a man wondering what he signed up for.
Todd Phillips later mentioned in interviews that they shot hours of footage for that one sequence. They could have probably released a 20-minute short film just of Big Earl's prison ramblings.
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Critical Reception of the Role
Even though the movie got mixed reviews—some critics felt it was a bit too "kitschy"—almost every reviewer singled out the Will Ferrell cameo as a highlight. Killer Movie Reviews actually called his scenes a "shining oasis" in the film.
It’s a masterclass in how to make an impact with very little screen time.
How to Watch It Today
If you’re looking to revisit this specific brand of comedy, Starsky & Hutch is usually available on major streaming platforms like Max or for rent on Amazon.
It hasn't aged perfectly—some of the humor is definitely "of its time"—but Ferrell’s performance remains untouchable. It’s a reminder of a period when comedy movies weren’t afraid to be completely, unapologetically weird.
To get the most out of your rewatch, pay attention to the background of the prison cell. The "art" Big Earl has created is actually impressive in a very disturbing way. It really rounds out the character of a man who has clearly spent way too much time alone with his thoughts and a needle.
If you want to dive deeper into this era of comedy, look for the "making of" featurettes on the original DVD. They show the cast breaking character during the dragon scene, and it’s arguably funnier than the movie itself. You can also track down the Old School and Zoolander crossovers to see how this specific group of actors built a comedy empire in the mid-2000s.