"Get Smart" gets it right

Returning to my original goal of reviewing anything and everything (i.e. limeade, movies, shows, etc) I've decided to review Get Smart, which I just saw June 29th, before I see Hancock (which I'm seeing July 3rd) and review that. Getting to the point however, I've been dying to see this movie since I saw the commercials and it lives up to the potential created by its previews.

Now, I'll admit, I have never in my life watched an episode of Get Smart, though my parents have and they talk about it now and then. Sorry, I'm just too young and I don't watch TV Land enough which is sad, because Get Smart the television show was created by the incredibly funny Mel Brooks (who happens to be a co-producer for the film itself which should please any die hard show fans). Needless to say, the show did not push me to see the movie because I've never seen it. What pushed me to see the movie is the fact that I generally love Steve Carell and every commercial looked hilarious.

The movie follows Maxwell Smart (Carell), an analyist who translates foreign 'chatter' for the secret spy group CONTROL. Max has always wanted to become a secret agent so he can join the ranks of people like Agent 23 (Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson), but he's failed his test seven times. The movie begins on the day that Max is scheduled to find out the results to his eighth exam. As luck would have it, the chief (Alan Arkin) tells him he passes and he eventually becomes Agent 86. He is then assigned a mission to travel to Russia with Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway) and discover any terrorist links to CONTROL's arch-rival, the terrorist group KAOS. Hilarity ensues as Max and Agent 99 move past lasers, fight Russian terrorists, and find nuclear weapons linked to KAOS. And that's as far as I'm going without giving away the ending.

I thought this movie was excellent. Unlike some recent comedy films (such as almost anything starring Will Ferrell as of late) I found myself laughing more often than not. When there isn't some blatant physical humor, there are one liners and little stupid things that will have you cracking up. Some of this stuff seems to come out of nowhere and hit you in the face until you're laughing so hard you're crying. But that's what Mel Brooks is best at and it comes through in this movie. While some of the good jokes were given away in the commercials, it's not enough to ruin the movie. Unlilke some comedies where every funny bit is given away and you're left with two hours of stupidity, this movie never seems to run out of humor. The plot is interesting as well. It's not just jokes with no substance, you're actually interested in what happens right down to the very end (it's funny to the very end as well). There's a short cameo at the end from Patrick Warburton, who is hilarious, which I really liked. The actors did a fantastic job. The Rock didn't have to do much considering he played a macho idiot. There was some great chemistry between Hathaway and Carrell but my favorite characters had to be Bruce (Masi Oka) and Lloyd (Nate Torrence), the loveable computer geeks who invented much of CONTROL's superior technology and provided added humor, working especially well with Carrell.

Get Smart was, in my opinion, a very worthwhile film. I won't say I was ever skeptical, because I like most film's with Steve Carell, he is a funny guy, but for anyone that is skeptical, I recommend seeing the movie. It's a side-splitting comedy with some outrageously hilarious scenes. The plot is interesting, the comedy is genuinely funny, and the actors work well together. I'd give this movie four and a half out of five stars. It's worth shelling out seven bucks to see this and it has to be better than 'Don't Mess with the Zohan'

-Technophobe-