I asked you not to tell me that!

It's a fun and funny film.

The script was set in the present, with a post Cold War CONTROL that had been around, but had not had a Maxwell Smart or Agent 99 back in the 1960s. This freed Steve Carrell and Anne Hathaway to put more of their own mark on their characters, instead of imitating Don Adams and Barbara Feldon's versions -- which would have been a mistake.

They put in plenty of references to recurring gags from the classic TV show, and I was especially glad to see a great update of the cone of silence, but they didn't overdo it. The only one of the cliché gags I noticed being used twice in the film was "missed it by that much", and there was at least one classic line that I don't think they used at all... maybe two. I may have to check more carefully when it's out on DVD. In fact, there was a lot going on, and there were many quick and subtle jokes and references to the old show, so I'm sure I missed quite a bit and I'm looking forward to catching what I missed when the DVD is out.

The film definitely wasn't just a reflection of the old show. There was more physical comedy, and there's a lot more action then they could have ever done on TV, and a good bit of the comedy is in a very different style than the show. They really couldn't have sustained a 90 minute film without doing that.. They do go for lowbrow jokes in a couple of cases, but it's not excessive and it works.

Alan Arkin comes close to stealing the show.as the Chief. He definitely gets the best line in the film, cued by a swordfish in the middle of a chase scene. There's also a brief scene in the White House situation room that was particularly funny.

Highly recommended, expecially if you were a fan of the original show, but my younger daughter who has seen only a handful of old Get Smart re-runs enjoyed it as much as I did.

P.S. I know I haven't been blogging much lately. I'm hoping that I'll be finding more time available for it over the coming weeks/months.

1. Philip Storry07/02/2008 04:17:28 AM
Homepage: http://www.not-so-rapid.com

Would you believe that it's one of my favourite comedy shows of that era?
Well then would you believe I enjoyed a couple of episodes?
That I saw a couple of episodes?



Looking forward to its release in Blighty... In August!

2. Curt Stone07/02/2008 08:47:59 AM
Homepage: http://www.curtsisland.com

Thanks for the review. I love Steve Carrell and Get Smart. Good tip for the upcoming holiday weekend.