Get Smart

Don't forget; the original 'Get Smart'T.V. series scripts were written by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry. That's a tough combination to beat and a very good reason to remain consistent with a full length feature film.

If one's idea of good cinema is limited to films like Gone With The Wind and Casablanca, then they are likely to pan this one, as so many narrow-minded critics have. No huge belly laughs, but a lot of fun to be had by anyone who is capable of having fun.

Unfortunately, too many professional critics are so wrapped up in themselves and their stuffy notions that they are unable to fairly review a film that is designed to entertain the masses without becoming a timeless classic. The only way to please those stuffy critics with a film like this would have been to totally revamp the roles to be what they could call "fresh" and "hip". Perhaps Smart and Larabee teamed up as effeminate gays, 99 as Chief so as to put a female in charge, and multicultural casting, so as to make sure Control looks like America? Instead of foreign-sounding CHAOS agents, make them right-wing fascists seeking to control the world through global warming. Then I'm sure we'd see the stuffy critics applaud.

Get Smart neatly accomplishes what it set out to do. It is a big screen remake of a TV classic. That is a huge undertaking that it all too easy to botch. Take a look at the messes that were made of Beverly Hillbillies, and Car 54 Where Are You, for example.

Steve Carell was excellently cast as Maxwell Smart. His portrayal is not a weak imitation of Don Adams (which one of the professional reviewer laments in that it was not an "homage" to Adams!). It was his own take. Given the roles that he has played in the past, the role as Smart doesn't stretch his dramatic range. It didn't need to, he is perfect in the role. Yes, he tried to put "his stamp" on the role another person created. Isn't that what he was hired to do? Or should have have muddled through the role with nasally Don Adams impersonations?

Smart is a luckly bumbler, who says and does stupid things, yet manages to luck into successful outcomes. That he makes an occasional politically incorrect remark is befitting the role rather than a reason to lambast the film.

Unlike other TV recreations, this film remained true to the original. Updated to fit the geopolitics of today, but without letting an attempt to bring a "fresh" approach to a beloved sitcom ruin a a good thing.

Fans of the old TV show will not be disappointed, nor will anyone who enjoys a good farce and outrageously unbelievable action scenes. Those whose idea of a great time at the movies includes Bridges of Madison County would be well advised to skip.