THIS JERK SAYS

I had a rather interesting day yesterday, one that involved me being the only driver during the busiest shift of the week, getting hit with a rock that flew at me seemingly from nowhere, and unexpectedly helping a friend move into his new house. Afterwards, the gang and I decided on a movie, with two big comedies coming out this weekend. As much as I would love to get a good solid article on why the fall of Mike Myers the most disappointing thing to happen to comedy in years, the verdict was against The Love Guru, since we had liked that one better the first time it came out–back when it was called Austin Powers.

Instead, we went to go see the film adaptation of Mel Brooks’ classic 1960s TV show Get Smart. So, after being brought out of retirement and given a shiny 21-century makeover, does this spy still love you?

To find out, I’m bringing in a special guest reviewer for this one, who’ll give me his two cents so we can add up to four cents and almost have a nickel. Anywho, alongside the Jerk today is my buddy Ryan Hanley, aka ‘The Gent.’

PLOT:

Maxwell Smart, the best pencil-pusher for the super spy organization Control, gets called up to the big leagues after they’re attacked by the terrorist group KAOS. Teamed with the no-nonsense Agent 99, Smart has to find the terrorist leaders and stop their evil plot and so on and so forth. Much more hilarity ensues than the brief synopsis implies.

STYLE:

The Jerk-Peter Segal’s style is very Michael-Bay-ish, but with tongue planted firmly in cheek to remind everyone of just how ridiculous Michael Bay is. The abrupt swings between lighthearted spoof and balls-to-the-wall action thriller can be a little jarring, but don’t really detract from the film. The dialogue is very cleverly written, and balanced with just enough easy slapstick to not turn off average viewers. In short, the idea was to make the movie both funny and cool, and for the most part it succeeded.

The Gent-Just like the series of old, Get Smart attempts to get away with a stylish yet irreverent, silly humor throughout the movie. The style part comes in when every once in a while the audience is reminded that Smart is actually a secret agent and not totally incompetent. What the movie seems to have done right is that director Peter Segal understands that Maxwell Smart is in fact book smart when it comes to being a secret agent and that the humor is showing how he lacks what he can’t learn. The old formula of all technique yet no taste still proves useful, as does the old formula for the show itself. The jokes are new (excluding the old catch phrases) but the delivery is the same. Thankfully that delivery still holds up today.

ACTING:

The Jerk-Steve Carrell could have just channeled the spirit of Don Adams in the famous role of Maxwell Smart, but instead really made the character his own. He does his usual awkward-pause or brazenly-confident-about-the-wrong-statement routines to start off, but is still fairly believable when he starts to act like a proper hero. I usually don’t like when classic characters are brought back specifically as a vehicle for contemporary stars, but Carrell provided a thoroughly likeable character who I was really happy to root for.

Anne Hatheway shows some pretty nice character progression as Agent 99, going from a sarcastic and dismissive ice queen, to eventually warming up to Max, to finally falling in love with him. Comedy legend Alan Arkin is fun to watch as the Chief, but never does quite have the same presence as Edward Platt from the 60s show. The rest of the Control crew features Dwayne Johnson (who always comes off to me as rather bland as a legit actor, but maybe that’s because I miss his loud Muhammad Ali-esque antics as the Rock), Masi Oka (who’s pretty fun as one half of the geeky, Q-style duo along with Nate Torrence), and David Koechner (who basically just plays Champ from Anchorman again)

The villains’ side of things brings Terrance Stamp back into the limelight as the smartass KAOS leader Siegfried, and is the most fun he’s been on the screen since playing General Zod way back in Superman II. Ken Davitian plays his lackey Shtarker, and gets to deliver some pretty amusing asides. Throw in a couple of fun cameos who I‘ll allow to remain nameless so you can still be all like “hey, it‘s that guy!,” and you’ve got yourself a pretty solid cast.

The Gent-What makes me happy with Steve Carell’s performance is that he thankfully uses what he actually has rather than tries to do his best Don Adams impression. This silly yet subtle style of comedy has always worked in his favor and thankfully the movie went in this direction, although I don’t see it actually being able to go in any other direction. Fellow cast members Alan Arkin, Dwayne Johnson, and Anne Hathaway all hold there own surprisingly well, especially when Carell’s antics could be a bit distracting. Everyone has a very different style of comedy within their own characters and everything blends rather nicely. To top it all off this movie has cameos, cameos, and more cameos! In fact these were some of my favorite cameos that I’ve seen in any movie and I am fighting the urge to name names. Then again, IMDb has named them for me if you are interested. 

ACTION:

The Jerk-For a spoff movie, this one has a surprising amount of kickass behind it. Plenty of shootouts, your standard evil-lair-rigged-with-explosives bit, and a pretty fun skydiving fight sequence. It can really catch you off guard when Max has one of his big goof-up moments, then suddenly becomes Jason Bourne and levels a bad guy before you even realize what happened. Even if you removed all the comedy bits, it would stand on its own as a pretty entertaining (though not particularly original) action flick.

The Gent-Once again, Get Smart has always been about spies, thrills, and action. The movie does throw in a great deal of it and I was pleasantly surprised to see how well it was delivered. Steve Carell may not be anyone’s first choice as an action star, but he appropriately jumps in as Maxwell Smart can. Like the creativity in the humor, I found there was an equal amount of creativity in the action, which is good because the movie doesn’t come across as a huge style mess. Some might see the action as a little over-the-top at times, especially towards the end, but this is also Get Smart we are talking about. What about it isn’t over-the-top?

ROMANCE/T&A:

The Jerk-The relationship between Max and 99 gets put on fast-forward in the movie, since they have to cover it in two hours instead of five years, but it still works extremely well. Carrell and Hatheway have some very good chemistry together, and you really do see the two characters grow to like each other as the movie goes on. It’s very rare that this sort of thing is pulled off without feeling forced, so that was nice to see.

Also…oh my God, Anne Hatheway is freaking beautiful. Like, holy crap.

The Gent-All I can really say is that Anne Hathaway can infiltrate my secret base any day (apologies to the girlfriend). I don’t recall if the old series had any romance between 86 and 99, but what I do know is that they were definitely a team. If anything, Carell and Hathaway make a good team. Yes, the age difference might make the romantic interest a little weird, but it’s the differences between them that make their comedy work. As far as their romantic chemistry, I think one of the key helping points is that they are playing two recognizable characters who always looked good together 

FAITHFULNESS TO THE ORIGINAL:

The Jerk-While the movie was updated and modernized, it still kept very much to the spirit of the original series. And it did make a few nods to the old show, showing all of the classic gadgets (like the shoe-phone and Max’s old suit and car), and having some of the old side-characters like Agent 13 and Hymie show up. While it doesn’t try to just emulate the series, they did a better job of updating it than, say, replacing the gung-ho Dukes of Hazzard with the guys from Dude, Where’s My Car? and Jackass.

(Fun Fact: when the original Get Smart aired, the writers were actually contacted by the CIA, saying they wanted to get their own versions of some of the gadgets from the show.  Life imitates art, my friends)

GRIPES:

The Jerk-Like I said earlier, the swings between pure comedy and straight action flick can really throw you off, especially when Max is the one doing the ass-kicking. It’s not that big of a deal, really, but it does detract from the whole “bumbling hero in a situation way too big for him” motif. Also, I think they really missed the boat by not doing more with Agent 13 instead of just having him show up in only one scene. Still, those are pretty minor.

The Gent-Speaking of the romance, one of my biggest problems was how they tried to justify the age difference between Hathaway and Carell. While I won’t get into details, I thought that the justification of ultimately choosing a younger Agent 99 was not only unnecessary but a little too much. It felt like the writers were pulling at straws a bit. My other major problem was the resolution between Smart and henchman Dalip, played by pro-wrestler Dalip Singh. I suppose it played on the character of Max Smart, but I think there could have been a better ending for that fight and still used Smart’s once-in-a-while cleverness. Once more they still could have taken Dalip in the direction that they took.

OVERALL:

The Jerk-Get Smart isn’t really covering any new ground, but what it does, it does well. It’s got some really great laughs, some pretty rockin’ action, and a very cool feel to it that sets it apart from other movies in the same vein (which pretty much just consists of this movie and Austin Powers) Thus far, it’s the most fun comedy I’ve seen this year.

This jerk’s thumb…is UP.

The Gent-I personally enjoyed Get Smart a great deal. Even with only having very vague memories of the show, I was still able to go in and enjoy myself. The comedy was the right kind of silly without being too juvenile and it was in all the right places. What was nice about the movie was being able to just really let loose and laugh. I don’t know about Andy and if he will let me co-review The Dark Knight, but I may also have to send him a guest review for Get Smart’s Bruce and Lloyd: Out of Control when it hits DVD stands in July.

This gent’s thumb…is UP.

*****

So there you have it, folks! Both the Jerk and the Gent approve of the movie, which means if you don’t enjoy it, you are wrong. Plain, straight, factually wrong. And also probably a terrorist…you evil, heartless bastard! What does it take to get you to enjoy a good movie?! I mean, really, what kind of wrong-headed monster are you?! I’ll never forgive you for this! NEVER! From this day forth, I swear to wreak my righteous vengeance down upon you! I’ll fight you to the ends of the Earth, you demonic husk of a man! I’ll rally against you with everything I am and everything I stand for! You’ll never take me alive, you, you–

….sorry, I kinda lost my train of thought.

Anyway, go see Get Smart. ‘s fun.

(oh, and by the by, Gent, I’m already reserving my seats for Dark Knight. You’re more than welcome to team up for another co-review, but you have to be the sidekick)