**1/2 – Steve Carell takes an extremely bland stab at the classic role of Maxwell Smart – aka Agent 86 – in this modern rehash of the classic 60s spy spoof sitcom. Carell has some funny bits, but most of the biggest laughs come out of the callbacks to the catchphrases and situations that originated with the late Don Adams’ portrayal of the character in the original series. Co-star Anne Hathaway takes on the role of Agent 99 – Smart’s partner/love interest – and while she is an undeniable beauty, she is far from an effective comedienne, and her chemistry with Carell is lukewarm at even their best moments. I generally enjoy Alan Arkin (particularly as the foul-mouthed grandfather in ‘Little Miss Sunshine’), but as The Chief, he seems to struggle with too large of a role and doesn’t have the somewhat antagonistic quality toward Max that Edward Platt imbued the role with. Most of the comedy is pretty broad and silly, but for a comedic movie it seemed like there was an awful lot of emphasis on action. With this being a slapstick-y sort of comedy, having a nearly two hour run time is probably a bit overly ambitious. You have to keep these things around 90 minutes or so. Bill Murray has an ok cameo as a guy disguised as a tree, though.
Get Smart
**1/2 – Steve Carell takes an extremely bland stab at the classic role of Maxwell Smart – aka Agent 86 – in this modern rehash of the classic 60s spy spoof sitcom. Carell has some funny bits, but most of the biggest laughs come out of the callbacks to the catchphrases and situations that originated with the late Don Adams’ portrayal of the character in the original series. Co-star Anne Hathaway takes on the role of Agent 99 – Smart’s partner/love interest – and while she is an undeniable beauty, she is far from an effective comedienne, and her chemistry with Carell is lukewarm at even their best moments. I generally enjoy Alan Arkin (particularly as the foul-mouthed grandfather in ‘Little Miss Sunshine’), but as The Chief, he seems to struggle with too large of a role and doesn’t have the somewhat antagonistic quality toward Max that Edward Platt imbued the role with. Most of the comedy is pretty broad and silly, but for a comedic movie it seemed like there was an awful lot of emphasis on action. With this being a slapstick-y sort of comedy, having a nearly two hour run time is probably a bit overly ambitious. You have to keep these things around 90 minutes or so. Bill Murray has an ok cameo as a guy disguised as a tree, though.
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