Get Smart

Get Smart is really good stuff. It's constantly funny, and often even hilarious. I wasn't familiar in the least bit with the TV show that the film is based on because I'm 22, but my parents had definitely heard about it and claimed it was a pretty funny show, so it was interesting to figure out whether or not this measured up to that. Regardless of whether you're familiar with the program or not, this is a thoroughly enjoyable comedic experience. The script is very effective at milking ridiculous situations into things that will easily bust a gut, and it is never lame or corny, even though this is the kind of material that could easily veer in that direction. Although several of these gags are things we've seen before, for some reason it feels fresh in Get Smart, and that's a very welcome thing, considering the tripe offered by most of the comedies that hit multiplexes.

Surprisingly, there are some similarities between this film and this year's earlier Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay, even though both films are ostensibly pretty different. One of the more blatant similarities is the situation that Max (Steve Carell) and his partner, Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway) get into when they're on a plane, and Max is taken for a terrorist when he's scraping a piece of gum from his shoe. It doesn't help that the word "gum" sounds a little bit like "bomb" just like it didn't help Harold and Kumar that the word "bong" also sounds like it when they were on a plane as well. What's interesting is that, since both films have been released so close to each other, the filmmakers for both movies obviously came up with the idea individually and this is a mere coincidence. It's just funny, I guess, because for people who saw the Harold and Kumar sequel and go see this, there's no doubt it'll immediately be like "hey, wait a second, they've done that one before". To be fair, the situations aren't exactly similar in how they unfold, and not at all in terms of the outcome either.

Another (perhaps more subtle) similarity between both films is the humorous criticism of the US government and its approach to terrorist threats. Both films have the President as a character, and in both cases he is depicted as an absent-minded fellow who tells people to check with the Vice President on things. In Harold and Kumar 2, he gets high with the title characters and talks about how "Cheney scares the hell out of him". In Get Smart, the President (played by none other than James Caan, in a short, but hilarious turn) mispronounces "nuclear" as "nucular," and he's the only person who is obliviously amused instead of preoccupied when things go awry during a musical performance in which a bomb has been planted in order to get him killed. Just like the Harold and Kumar film aimed its satire at the US government and at the inherent racist stereotypes in American culture, through Rob Corddry's character (who automatically assumes that Harold and Kumar are terrorists because of their ethnicities, and who dumps a load of coins in front of their Jewish friends to try to bribe them), Get Smart doesn't shame away from criticism either; there's a particularly interesting scene in the "War Room", where a meeting takes place between members of the CIA and members of the film's fictional agency (CONTROL) in which much is implied about how lightly terrorist threats are taken. For all the fun they provide, these two films certainly have a good deal of insight, and neither is afraid to share it.

Another comparison to yet another unforgettable comedy comes with a scene that involves Ken Davitian, who played Azamat (the title character's companion of sorts) in Borat. He plays Bruce in Get Smart, and there is a scene in which, much like in Borat, he is involved in a fight with the protagonist that makes it seem as though they are, well, doing something else... THANKFULLY, in this scene in Get Smart, everyone keeps their clothes on (not that the film would've kept its PG-13 rating otherwise). That scene was definitely one of my objections watching Borat; yes, it was outrageous, which was what the filmmakers were constantly going for, but it was unnecessary, disgusting beyond belief, and really not very funny in my opinion. Since it's far more tame in Get Smart (and the moment lasts, oh, about 3 seconds, rather than the excruciating length it lasted in Borat), it works as a humorous moment.

Steve Carell is totally in his element here. He's very funny as the klutzy Max, and you couldn't really expect any less from one of today's best comedic actors. I could go into specific examples of scenes in which he's hilarious, but nothing I'll say will have the effect that you'll get from actually watching the gags that befall Max throughout the film. Anne Hathaway yet again proves her versatility, as this is a very different comedy than The Devil Wears Prada was, but she handles the ludicrous and silly moments perfectly, and does the same during a few serious instances (two in particular in which her character gets emotional), in which we see the resurfacing of the effective dramatic acting that she's always been able to do, and she doesn't miss a beat.

The action sequences in Get Smart don't quite match the success of the film's comedic elements. There's nothing wrong with the stunts, but they're nothing groundbreaking either. A moviegoer who doesn't like to read a synopsis might get confused and think this is strictly an action movie, and if you're looking for that, it may satisfy, but with a film like Wanted showing in the next theater, it may not be the best alternative. Basically, if you're looking for laugh-out-loud fare, Get Smart will certainly get the job done, and if you're looking for thrilling action sequences, Wanted is the better ticket. That said, Get Smart does have a good deal of action (just like Wanted has some comedic moments). Also, the twist at the end of Get Smart and the identity of the traitor are both extremely easy to figure out, and you might even figure them out really early on in the film.

Get Smart is essentially a concoction of funny one-liners and situations in which the plot really isn't all that important. For those seeking a movie that won't fail at making you bust a gut and that is free of the lameness and corniness that plagues most comedies nowadays, this is definitely a good choice.

6/10