I remember as a kid watching re-runs of the original Get Smart TV show on Nic at Night. I was pretty young and I didn’t really grasp what the show was about or what made it particularly funny. So when this year’s remake staring Steve Carell as Max came out I guess I was in a weird middle-ground of knowing just enough about the show to recognize the nostalgia, yet little enough that some of the humor was bound to be lost in translation.
Let me start out by saying that I’m not really a big fan of Steve Carell’s humor. Yes, 40-Year Old Virgin was hilarious and probably but I really think its success had more to do with Judd Apatow’s filmmaking abilities than Carell’s comedy. I hate The Office (mostly because of Carell’s character) and he’s yet to make a follow-up film that proves that 40-Year Old Virgin wasn’t a fluke. So, sadly most of the blame for why I didn’t enjoy Get Smart more was because of Carell’s character. Carell makes a great Max but the problem is that he’s not even trying. He’s playing exactly the same character he’s played in every other movie he’s starred in and he brings absolutely nothing new to the role here.
The movie itself is predictable summer popcorn comedy. In fact, you could pretty much summarize the entire movie with the word – predictable. It’s your standard Hollywood comedy in a shiny nostalgic wrapper. And yes, Anne Hathaway is in it too but honestly, who cares. She exudes as much sexuality as cactus and the love-story between Carell and her is so forced that they actually go out of their way to explain that she’s actually older than she looks. Why? Because when they share a kiss as the credits roll I’m pretty sure I heard the entire theater cringe. She could easily be his daughter – who’s married – and has a kid.
If there’s one highlight of the film, it’s The Rock’s performance as fellow Control Agent 23. He absolutely steals the movie and owns every scene he’s in. Also stealing the show are Control analysts Bruce and Lloyd. Their turns as a duo of geeky spy gadget engineers is hilarious and apparently so good that a direct to DVD movie starring them was spun off. When a former wrestler and a couple computer nerds in supporting roles steal the movie from a super-popular comedian and his scantily clad co-star, there’s a problem with your movie.
2.5 out of 5
Worth a rental
Not worth buying