Comedies are a hard genre to recommend, one way or the other. What makes one person laugh out loud may be considered dull and prosaic by someone else. Hence the phrase, "Comedy is funny business." Get Smart is a pretty tame affair. With the exception of a few slapstick gags, most of the jokes are done deadpan with a sort of melancholy delivery that would have made Chaplin proud.Steve Carrel stars as Maxwell Smart, a secret agent for CONTROL, who, along with Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway), attempts to stop the evil organization KAOS from taking over the world. Not much of a plot, but the movie is meant as escapist comedy, not social commentary...I hope. Carrel's version of Max Smart is less bumbling and more inexperienced than Don Adams, and his dry delivery of Smart cliches (e.g., "Sorry about that, Chief," "Missed it by that much," and "Would you believe?") turn them more into throw away lines than memorable catch phrases. This characterizes most of the movie, which gives due respect to the original television series without attempting to be a direct imitation of it.
If you are not familiar with the Get Smart of the 1960s, or if you are a die-hard purist, you likely will not enjoy the movie. Even if those don't apply to you, you still may not enjoy the movie. After all, "comedy is a funny business."
Neesha's favorite line:
"Bomb didn't go off."
"Oh, really, bright eyes? What alerted you? Was it not the boom-boom or the lack of a mushroom cloud?"
"It was the mushroom cloud for me."
Mark's favorite line:
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"I don't know. Were you thinking, "Holy shoot, holy shoot, a swordfish almost went through my head?" If so, then yes."
Caleb's favorite line:
"Too bad about all the dead movie stars."
"Yes. What will we do without their razor-sharp political advice?"
Ainsley's favorite line: "Okay, not to keep dwelling on this, but that was some kiss. How did you know that would work? Have you kissed other men who then plummeted to their deaths? "
Rating:
- Buy it now
- Worth $10 at Costco
- Happy we rented it, but also happy we only rented it
- No good at any price
- That numb feeling at the top of your head? That's your cerebral cortex closing up shop
1 comment:
We watched this movie tonight and Bryan and I laughed through the entire thing. I loved it!!!! I have been waiting to read your review until I watched the movie. Loved it!
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