Movie Review: Get Smart - Santa Clara Weekly

Rated PG-13 for adult humor, language and violence
Reviewed by Karl Scott

Instead of making Get Smart, the movie, exactly like Get Smart the TV show, they got smart and skipped the bad gags in the TV show and copied good ones from a whole host of films.

The original series ran from 1965 to 1970 for a total of 137 episodes. If this movie is popular, plan to see all 137 episodes on DVD real soon. A little known fact is that Barbara Feldon (Agent 99) was a couple inches taller than Don Adams. She had to wear flat healed shoes and occasionally he stood on a box to make himself appear taller than her.

This movie is as much homage to James Bond and the more recent action films as it is to Get Smart, which is pretty smart when it comes to simple entertainment. Steve Carell plays Maxwell Smart a little different than Don Adams on TV. He is not the buffoon but actually a smart guy. He does run into a little misfortune which causes physical mishaps and a little slapstick humor.

Anne Hathaway is Agent 99. Both look quite a bit like their TV counterparts. Alan Arkin is The Chief and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is Agent 23 a less blundering super agent.

Terrence Stamp is the main bad guy except for the BIG SURPRISE bad guy revealed during the big chase scene at films end. It’s about as big a surprise as going to the lumberyard and finding wood for sale.

Shot in Washington DC and at CONTROL HQ; the Smithsonian Museum. L.A. figures prominently in the big finale with the Disney Music Hall being the center for action along with locales near the Port of LA and the local train depot. Moscow scenes were apparently shot in Canada but it sure looks like Moscow to me. Small cameos include James Caan and Bill Murray.

In the film The Three Amigos (1986), one of the funniest moments came when the Amigos had to confront a singing bush. In Get Smart, Bill Murray plays a talking tree.

Part action thriller, part comedy, part send-up of all spy films and TV shows, Get Smarts parts add up to a pretty entertaining 100 minutes. Get Smart. Check it out.

Rated 4.5 out of 007 or 58 out of 86 or 71 out of 99 depending on your favorite agent.