Review: Get Smart Worth a Sunday Matinee
The main thing Get Smart has going for it is that it's not The Love Guru. Whatever else you hear on this site, know that Guru has pee and poop jokes by the bushel and is worthy of only our scorn and derision. That film IS not good news for fans of comedy, but it IS good news for a little title named Get Smart. After all, they've proven that attractiveness isn't based upon anything more than who you're surrounded by. This is why I normally travel around with a pack of gargoyles. You should too.
Get Smart was a TV show back in the '60s! Are you at all aware of this? Actually, this is one of those "Catch-22s" Heller talked about back in the day. If you're aware of it, I shouldn't have told you; but if you weren't, you probably don't care to know anyway. Curses. Luckily, I get paid by the word. Moving on, it seems to me that fans of the original show should be happy enough here. The film isn't a remake in terms of tone but it has similar elements fo' sho'. If the TV program were an octopus then the movie is calamari. You get the idea. You know, I'm not even sure a rabid fan of the original still exists. I mean, it was fine, but c'mon it was on air 40 years ago and it only went 138 episodes anyway. We're not talking Knight Rider here. (Note: that was a joke, I promise. Long live The Hoff.)
I'm a Steve Carell fan. Unabashedly. No bash about it. I'm also becoming a bigger fan of Anne Hathaway, though every time I mention her people say, in unison, "Egh." I don't know what about her turns the people off, but I personally found her lovely throughout the movie. She and Steve have nice chemistry together too; I could definitely see a few more spins out of this yarn. Why not? It has laughs throughout its running time.
Let's wrap this up on a low note! The one thing Get Smart is missing is the hilarious factor. The stomach hurting, the tears-streaming-sort-of-comedy that Superbad nailed. Actually, let's just list my good and bad comedies so you can aptly judge if my opinion is worth a damn:
Good
Bad
So there you go. If you liked that last group then we aren't like-minded souls. Get Smart, for its part, is really in neither of these groups. It's a passable comedy for a rainy afternoon. You shouldn't make time to see it, but if you wander in you won't be irate.
Grade: B-
