Get Smart

Growing up I have vague memories of the television show "Get Smart" as it was in reruns on TV Land for a little while. While I don't remember the show too well, I do remember that it was funny and a comic spoof of James Bond type movies. Steve Carrell brings the classic show to the big screen for a modern day update. The main character is Maxwell Smart and Carrell plays him as a cross between Detective Clouseau of the Pink Panther series and James Bond. Max is a interpreter for a group called Control who is essentially the good guys. The opposite faction is called Kaos who are based in Russia and are your "quest for world domination" type.

Kaos infiltrates Control's HQ and uncovers the identities of their undercover agents and its soon up to Maxwell Smart to save the world. The plot is very thrown together but obviously in a movie like this you don't focus too much on story anyways. Steve Carrell does a great job as Max Smart bringing a little bit of Michael Scott (The Office) into his role as well as a little bit of his character from 40 Year Old Virgin. Anne Hathaway was surprisingly good as Agent 99 and I think she was a little into her role in the Devil Wears Prada as she was walking around wearing giant white chanel sunglasses and expensive jackets and designer clothes. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson plays Agent 23 and is your ideal secret agent as the girls love him and the guys want to be him.

Every actor in this movie really plays their parts very well. Alan Arkin does a great job as the chief and even the Great Khali (Dalip Singh) has a pretty big role in the movie as hired mercenary. Also Ken Davitian (Borat) is funny as an evil henchmen. Unfortunately the quality acting just doesn't save a bad plot and too many of the jokes fall flat. There is a dance sequence which gets a few laughs and some of Carrell's throw away lines and reactions got the audience chuckling but overall the film just dropped the ball on too many opportunities for great comedy. There are some things this film does right, such as paying tribute to the old tv show and there's even a cameo by Bill Murray but the cluttered story and twist at the end make it a little hard to follow.

The movie also feels like it runs a little too long as it nearly clocks in at 2 hours. There is some fluff that could have certainly been cut out and the references to Max previously being fat or Agent 99 having an old identity trys to achieve a deeper meaning in the film that just isn't necessary. I don't even know if I could consider it safe for children as there are a few adult oriented jokes. Then again the PG-13 rating has a different meaning than it did 15 years ago. This is a movie you should probably wait for a DVD release on. It's a sub par movie that may keep you mildly entertained for 2 hours, but will not be something for repeat viewings. Dwayne Johnson may extend his acting gig a bit longer as he proves he has a bit more depth than people originally thought. Though Steve Carrell really needs a solid hit to follow up because between this and Evan Almighty, his stock may be plummeting in the modern day world of Apatow comedies.

6.5/10