Get Smart
Maybe it’s because I’m predisposed to laugh when I see Steve Carrell, but I found Get Smart to be the funniest movie I’ve seen in quite some time. While there were a few sequences that fell flat for me, the pace of the movie was fast enough that there were more than enough laugh-out-loud scenes to keep me engaged. The movie does a nice job of updating Maxwell Smart from incompetent ninkompoop (spelling?) to mostly competent ninkompoop. He’s a clutzy, nerdy James Bond instead of an Inspector Clouseau. We can laugh at him without mocking him. Anne Hathaway adds just the right blend of sex appeal to the mix as Agent 99. The supporting cast, in particular Alan Arkin as The Chief, add their share of funny moments to an admittedly goofy and formulaic spy caper. But Carrell’s deadpan and deadly serious demeanor in the midst of Hollywood explosions and chases and his own comical miscues (the one that had me laughing hardest was his attempts to shoot off his handcuffs with a high powered miniature crossbow while inside an airplane lavatory) carry the movie. Mel Brooks and Buck Henry were consultants on this update to the TV series they created in the 60’s, and their comic touch is evident. I’m surprised that this has gotten fairly negative reviews: while I can see that it might miss the mark for some (at times it looks like a movie that is stubbornly refusing to be the farce we’re expecting), I found it genuinely funny.