Nostalgia is a powerful tool, and it’s one of the driving forces behind the new, feature film adaptation of the ’60s spy spoof TV series, “Get Smart.” Rather than totally reinvent the show (Mission: Impossible), slavishly re-create it (The Addams Family) or completely lampoon it (The Brady Bunch Movie), the makers of this action comedy chose to pay tribute to the original by cramming in as many in-jokes, guest cameos and familiar characters as possible.
 Still a cut-up: Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway) stands by her bumbling man, Maxwell Smart (Steve Carrell), in a Get Smart that sticks a little too close to the original. |
The original TV series, which ran from 1965 to 1970, was created by funnymen Mel Brooks and Buck Henry. (Neither of whom, sadly, are employed here.) The show was a slapstick-filled spoof on the then-popular James Bond film franchise. Decades of syndication, Nick at Nite reruns and the ever-reliable TV Land marathons have kept the show in the public consciousness long past its expiration date. Hence, even young viewers popped out of the womb long after 1970 are likely to get a lot of the references woven throughout this new iteration.
Popular comic actor Steve Carell (The 40-Year-Old Virgin) seems as good a substitute as any for the late, great Don Adams. The 2008 version of Maxwell Smart is a bit different, though. Instead of the overconfident boob of the ’60s, today’s Agent 86 is a surprisingly competent analyst working for the secret government spy agency CONTROL. Bored with his desk job, Max dreams of becoming a field agent like his idol, the supremely capable superspy Agent 23 (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson). Unfortunately, Max is too good at his job as a data miner and the Chief (Alan Arkin) wants to keep Max right where he is. However, an untimely attack on CONTROL headquarters by the evil international criminal organization KAOS leaves the spy agency short on spies. Max is quickly promoted and teamed with sexy spitfire Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway) to help stop KAOS’ mad scheme.
| Trailer for Get Smart. |
The plot (some “24”-inspired nonsense about nuking the President) is a slim excuse to string together a few comic vignettes, most borrowed from other, more serious films (the “agents’ identities have been compromised” gimmick from Mission: Impossible, the “limbo under deadly lasers” sequence from Entrapment). Honestly, 1980’s long-forgotten “Get Smart” feature, The Nude Bomb, had a more intricate plot.
Most of the laughs here come from nod-and-a-wink references to the old series. Maxwell Smart’s catchphrases get recycled. There are a couple clever cameos. And even some of the show’s iconic props get their day in the sun. (“Cone of Silence,” anyone?) Most of this isn’t enough to raise more than a knowing chuckle, but it’s consistently fun to watch and see what will crop up next.
The only major complaint about this new Get Smart effort is that all involved seem a little too concerned with paying tribute to the source material. While it’s great fan service to see robotic CONTROL agent Hymie make a late appearance, for example, there’s no real reason for him to be in the film. Most of the people on screen, in fact, aren’t really given much to do. Techie agents Bruce and Lloyd (Masi Oka and Nate Torrence) basically stand around waiting for their chance to headline the soon-to-be-released direct-to-DVD sequel, GS: Get Bruce and Lloyd.
While it’s reassuring to see the reverence Get Smart has for “Get Smart,” a little more effort could have been put into crafting a more solid framework around which to hang all these loving references. Get Smart is entertaining—but, in the immortal words of Agent 86, the filmmakers “missed it by that much.”