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Directed By
Peter Segal
Written By:
Tom J. Astle, Matt Ember, Mel Brooks, Buck Henry
Cast:
Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Alan Arkin, Terence Stamp, David Koechner, Terry Crews, Ken Davitian, Brad Grunberg, Dwayne Johnson, Masi Oka, Nate Torrence
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Get Smart (2008)
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Movie Review by Jarrod
June 22nd, 2008
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My mother, a child of the 60s, has I believe the entire Get Smart series with Don Adams on DVD; she really loves the show, and she felt that this movie was a faithful adaptation of it. I have to agree with her; I watched a couple of episodes and that was enough to compare it accurately to this film, which is a modern update, yet retains the general feel of the original show, which was created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry. Steve Carell replaces Adams as Maxwell Smart, an agent working for CONTROL, a rival of the CIA. CONTROL's nemesis is its Russian counterpart, KAOS, represented here by Terence Stamp, as the dastardly Siegfried. To call Smart bumbling and incompetent would be a kindness; his astounding cluelessness and supreme self-confidence are a wacky combination. He receives a promotion from his boss, The Chief (Alan Arkin), and is sent on a mission to thwart KAOS's plans to acquire a nuclear weapon and use it to kill the President. Max is teamed up with Agent 99 (Hathaway) and later with the famous Agent 23 (Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock). At its heart, this 'Get Smart' is a wonderfully silly and affectionate parody of James Bond, but what is most surprising is that it has action sequences and gadgets that are as advanced and exciting as what one would find in just about any James Bond flick. Carell is perfect in his deadpan delivery of humorous observations and one-liners, always keeping a straight face, which enhances the comic value. Hathaway is terrific, and while she and Carell never give off any romantic sparks, their chemistry as professional partners is extremely strong. Hathaway would make a good Bond girl; she is certainly pretty enough, and holds her own well during stunts. Carell is 20 years older than Hathaway, so it would have been awkward, at least to me, to see them try to have a personal relationship with one another, not to say it would not have worked, but it would have undermined the overall tone of the endeavor, which is consistently frothy and light-hearted; practically nothing is taken seriously.
Carell and Hathaway are playful and perhaps a little flirtatious, but it hardly goes beyond that. Alan Arkin is a delight, and The Rock has fun spoofing his own action star persona. Stamp makes for a great villain (think Ricardo Montalban from The Naked Gun). Most of the gags are relatively low-key, provoking light chuckles, but there are, I think some major laughs to be had, thanks to Carell and also to Arkin, but also to occasional bouts of situational absurdity, stupid behavior, and mild raunchiness. I am not sure if I would call this a mature comedy, but it is not hopelessly outrageous (as Austin Powers was), and does at least have some semblance of intelligence in the writing, along with an understanding and appreciation of the source material. If Don Adams were not deceased, he probably would have had a cameo of some kind. There is a brief cameo from Bernie Kopell, who originally played Siegfried, but Barbara Feldon is mysteriously absent. Bill Murray's presence is a plus (even if he does not contribute all that much) and Ken Davitian is Siegfried's corpulent sidekick.
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