Jun. 25, 2008 - Issue #662: Eamon McGrath Releases the Wild Dogs

Film Capsules - Get Smart

Now Playing

Get Smart

Directed by Peter Segal

Written by Matt Ember, John Astle

Starring Steve Carrel, Anne Hathaway, 

Dwayne Johnson

SSSS

 

Everyone has seen a bad trailer for a bad movie, or a good trailer for a bad movie, but it’s not often you see a bad trailer for a good movie. Get Smart’s marketing material would have you thinking this was Naked Gun 88 8/9, or worse, another Pink Panther remake. From the trailers, you’d think this was two hours of watching Steve Carrel fall on his ass, botching missions and worsening America’s national security, while his sexy partner, Anne Hathaway, cleans up after him and drops men dead with either her looks or martial arts.
 

For that there is the original Get Smart television show which this is based upon, and the producers thought they were remaking. In tone, this 2008 revision, directed by Peter Segal, adjusts humour for the sensibilities of a crowd which, in the era of Arrested Development and The Office, enjoys subtlety and irreverence.
 

Carrel plays Maxwell Smart, the best damn analyst for “Control” (a notch above CIA, and one below Homeland Security) they’ve ever had. They won’t promote him to field agent like he’s requested because he’s so damn good at intercepting and interpreting chatter between terrorists and warlords. He can take a conversation about decaf and muffins and dissect it for its anti-terrorism intelligence value. When Control is attacked, possibly an inside job (no, Truthers, it’s not what you think—we’re talking double agents), Smart finally gets that promotion. He’s christened Agent 86 and is partnered up with Agent 99 (Hathaway).
 

The duo have fabulous chemistry, remarkable considering the 20-year age gap. They’re both very saucy to each other, but also have a nice buddy connection that’s more realistic of partnerships. Together they attempt to foil a nuclear-bomb aimed at the dipshit, Bush-like President of the US—an unfortunate choice considering how many people nowadays would love to see a Bushie President blown to smithereens.

Get Smart has a great supporting cast of stars (Dwayne Johnson, James Caan, Alan Arkin), could-be stars (Terry Crew, Nate Torrence, Masi Oka), and a huh?-now, ha!-later cameo from Bill Murray, an agent living in a tree. Although the movie is longer than it needs to be, and its twist ending is predictable from the second there is talk of a double agent, Get Smart hardly ever lags, and it’s about as funny as action-comedies are capable of being. V

 

New comments for this entry have been turned off and any existing ones are hidden. We apologize for any inconvenience.