I saw the new Get Smart movie last night. (Why, yes, I am a Very Important Person who gets to see movies before you hoi polloi. And I don’t pay for them, either. Nyah, nyah. It opens for you peons this Friday.)
It’s great! I laughed nonstop for two hours. It’s been ages since I saw the original TV show, but I felt that Steve Carrell and Anne Hathaway both put their unique stamps on the 86 and 99 characters without aping Don Adams and Barbara Feldman. The rest of the casting is just perfect, too, with Alan Arkin as the Chief and Terence Stamp as Siegfried.
There are a few great cameos that I won’t give away, and they are cast perfectly, too.
The film plays on lots of the old Get Smart gags and all the old catch phrases turn up. So if you loved the old show, you’ll love the film. If you never saw the old show, you may miss some of the inside jokes, but assuming you have a pulse, you’ll enjoy it.
One little non-spoiler spoiler. We stuck to the bitter end, around thinking there might be a stinger gag at the end of the credits. But no.
I’m glad to hear this. I’d like to see it when it opens here, but I’ve been keeping my expectations low because remakes of classics are usually so dreadful.
Seriously, thanks for the brief review. I’ll put it on my “must-see” list–I loved the original series when it aired (and when it was rerun), and I was somewhat disappointed by the 1980 film. I’m looking forward to this one now!
Saw it at a screening in DC last Thursday, and did the same. Nothing at the end of the credits, and this is the type of movie that’s just made for a gag.
I thought about starting a thread, but was just too lazy. I’ll agree with commasense’s assessment: great casting, funny movie, well worth watching whether you’re a fan of the show (as I am) or not (as my friend who came along was not).
It’s worth putting on a new line: The movie plays on the jokes of the tv show, without falling into self-referential fan-service. It’s done with love, and it’s done right. Other adaptation and big-budget sequel movies would do well to learn a lesson from Get Smart.
One minor spoiler for the show fans that seems like a shining point of light in the otherwise chilling prospect of a Get Smart (dare we guess it’s called “Get Smarter”?) sequel:
Patrick Warburton has a cameo at the end of the first movie…as Hymie the robot. It’s perfect casting, and if written well in the inevitable sequel, will be hilarious.
I have been simultaneously psyched and filled with dread when it comes to this movie. Get Smart is one of my favorite shows of all time – so many delightful childhood memories spring from staying up and watching 86 and 99 on Nick at Nite after I was supposed to have gone to bed. I’m so, so glad it’s getting favorable Doper reviews!
Oh, I’m glad to hear these reviews. I really would like a solid laugh this weekend. I liked the show when I watched it on Nick at Nite years ago and hoped they would do it justice, and it sounds like they have.
I have been utterly terrified at the prospect of a Get Smart movie, it being one of my two favorite shows as a kid.
If it sucked, I’d have to pretend it didn’t exist, while secretly mourning inside, and dying a little death every time I saw it on the discount rack at Target.
Very very glad to see good reviews. Maybe I’ll go see it with my nephew next week.
Well, I’m somewhat relieved. I read a bit about it on WouldYouBelieve.com (an awesome Get Smart resource) and he made it seem like a travesty to the source material. I guess there’s more to the film than Maxwell Smart being an ex-fat guy who still can’t control his urges for food and an Austin Powers-style “groaning in a bathroom” joke (which takes place on a Yarmy Airlines flight).
There’s also going to be a direct-to-DVD spinoff film, Bruce and Lloyd Out of CONTROL, featuring two minor characters from the film (one of whom is Masi Oka) in their own adventure.
The trailers seem to be focussing on slapstick. I know there was a slapstick element to the original, but it was not (for me) the primary source of the funny. So I’m asking you, please, to tell me that the movie itself does not focus on slapstick.
I have never seen the show but if i had to pick out someone to turn the show (from what i understand of it) into a film it would definitely be Steve Carell
In their big make-out scene, Anne Hathaway infected Steve Carell with conjunctivitis and felt awful about it later. I can think of much viler viruses I wouldn’t mind getting from her.
