Get Smart
Rated PG-13 for some rude humor, action violence and language.
reviewed by Christopher Lyon
Here's a day of summer indulgence I might have had as a kid many years ago. Get up in the morning and watch a rerun of a "Speed Racer" cartoon. Flip through some "Iron Man" comic books while having a bowl of cereal. Make some progress reading "The Chronicles of Narnia" in the back seat while running errands with mom. Later, catch some reruns of "Get Smart" and "The Incredible Hulk" while flipping channels and sneaking cookie dough from the freezer. And then, if I was really lucky, go catch the latest Indiana Jones movie opening at the theater.
I'm not saying I ever had that specific day, but it feels like I could have. And this summer, Hollywood is trying really hard to give me that day back by recreating every single show, book, and comic I might have seen and kind of liked 20+ years ago. Apparently, original stories are on hold until fall. Of 2086.
Next rewind: the mildly popular spy comedy show "Get Smart."
The Story
Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell) is a competent analyst for the super secret U.S. spy agency CONTROL, but he longs to be a field agent like his hero Agent 23 (Dwayne Johnson). The Chief (Alan Arkin) says he can't spare Max's detailed intelligence-gathering abilities in the office, alongside two genius techies and the rest of the goofball team.
Max finally gets called up when CONTROL is attacked by longtime enemy CHAOS, an all-purpose terrorist organization run by the ruthless Siegfried (Terrance Stamp) and his goofball team. Max, now Agent 86, is teamed with Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway), a deadly beauty with years of experience in the field. She resents being saddled with a klutzy newbie, especially a smug guy she keeps having to save from his own bumbling.
But as the pair secret agent their way toward resolving a CHAOS plot to develop nuclear bombs, Max is both comically inept in crucial moments and impressive when it counts. Eventually, he and 99 develop a chemistry and get their chance to save the free world.
The Verdict
What Works: Steve Carell works. He pretty much saves this otherwise tired comedy from nuclear boredom. Wearing the straightest face ever, Carell cracked me up regularly with his deadpan, earnest delivery of ridiculous lines in absurd situations. The guy has a sincerity that draws you in far enough to hit you unexpectedly.
He is not playing Agent 86 as Don Adams did in the original TV series. Adams' version of 86 was much closer to Carell's manager role on "The Office." On the 60s TV show, 86 believed he was James Bond while in reality being closer to the "Three Stooges." This film plays Max as unexperienced, clumsy, and enthusiastic, but also as an emerging action hero with serious smarts. In a way, he's a lot closer to a comic version of CIA analyst Jack Ryan from "Hunt for Red October" than the original Smart.
Anne Hathaway provides nice support as the tough-on-the-outside 99, building some unlikely chemistry with Carell. It's easy to root for him to win her over.
Director Peter Segal looks to balance the comedy with lots of straight-up action sequences, including a big plane v. car v. train v. ticking bomb finale that's kind of fun. "Kind of fun" might be the best way to describe the whole film.
What Doesn't Work: Both from a legit plot angle and a comic story line, almost everything here feels like it has been done and spoofed and redone and respoofed several times before. By the time we get to the scene where 99 and 86 have to make like Catherine Zeta Jones in that Sean Connery heist movie and contort their way through a series of laser beams, the story begins to smell a little stale.
Content: "Smart" lands in PG-13ville with both slapstick and action violence. Comic sexuality includes rear male nudity, a site gag simulating homosexual sex, as well as lots of shots of Agent 99 (and other ladies) in revealing clothing. Mid-fight, Max once finds his hand on 99's chest and another time with her foot in his pocket. The pair has sex offscreen. Harsh language includes the use of God's name for swearing.
Worldview
"Get Smart" is one of those films way too silly to analyze for worldview content. But that never stops us.
Actually, one kind of nice message of the film comes out of Max's sympathy for foes and friends alike. He's good at gathering intelligence because he really listens to the people he eavesdrops on to understand what they're feeling. He's able to talk his way out of showdown with one bad guy by sympathizing with the guy's marital problems.
He does something similar with 99, giving her the chance to talk about how difficult it must be to have a completely new face (after learning she had cosmetic surgery to hide her identity as an agent). When she says, "I used to look like my mom," it's an unexpectedly tender little moment in a silly film.
The Bible encourages Christians to "bond" with each other in a similar way. (Get it? "Bond?" It's a spy joke.) "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn," Paul wrote in Romans 12:15. Just taking a little time to listen, to understand, and to feel with another person can give them the courage to keep going and do what God's called them to do next.
Questions:
- Have you ever in your life seen the original "Get Smart" TV show? If so, did you like it?
- What's your favorite Steve Carell role? Can you imagine this film being any fun at all without him?
- What is the deal with all the retreads this summer? Do you think Hollywood is done making good original stories -- or do they just go unnoticed in the avalanche of remakes?
- Before you saw the film, did you know "missed it by the much" was a catch phrase from the original series?
- Can you think of a time when someone encouraged you by showing you he or she really understood what you were feeling about something? Can you think of a time when you've done that for someone else?