Get
Smart
Starring:
Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson
Directed by: Peter Segal (“The Longest Yard”)
Written by: Tom J. Astle (“Failure to Launch”)
and Matt Ember (“Failure to Launch”)
By Kiko
Martinez
Mel
Brooks is an acquired taste, even more so in 2008.
Coming into
the production of the film version of “Get Smart” as an
advisor with fellow TV series writer Buck Henry, the duo
attempt to inject some of the old show’s spirit into
only the second feature of Tom Astle and Matt Ember’s
screenwriting career.
While the
dryness and silliness are there for the most part, some
of the jokes sink fast on the big screen as people think
back and wonder if “Blazing Saddles” is really as funny
as every one says it is.
Brooks is a
comedy auteur, and well he should be. No one was making
films like “Young Frankenstein” and “Spaceballs” during
their time and his enthusiasm for emulating peculiar
characters in his own way was both creative and absurd.
But now, the comedy feels worn out. It’s proved so in
2005’s “The Producers,” when the film wasn’t as
well-received as the Broadway show or the 1968 film of
the same name directed and written by Brooks.
In “Get
Smart,” Brooks’ characters are revived for an adventure
in the 21st century after the original show
ended 38 years ago. Like other TV shows of that era that
have also been updated for a new generation (“The
Beverly Hillbillies,” “Bewitched,” “I Spy”), “Get Smart”
has a rough time translating over.
Although
cast well (Steve Carell is the perfect to replace Don
Adams as secret agent Maxwell Smart), the script falters
as it plays out more like an episode of “Mr. Bean” than
a bumbling “James Bond.” It’s a nicely constructed cast
with Anne Hathaway taking Barbara Feldon’s role as Agent
99 and an addition of Agent 23 played by the always
suave Dwayne Johnson.
For
something filled with so much deadpan humor, “Get Smart”
gets more laughs than the reimagining of Steve Martin’s
new “Pink Panther” shtick, but only gets as far as the
dry wit takes it. In this case, slapstick and action
sequences get most of the screen time and in turn ruins
what the original show was all about. Grade: C
