Review of Get Smart (2008) by Kurt H — 28 Apr 2012

Okay, I disregarded what the critics said because I love Mel Brooks and Buck Henry (whom I met in Dallas), and I was a fan of the original Get Smart TV series (Barbara Feldon...yow!).

I would love to say the critics were wrong, but this was two hours of my life I wish I could get back. I am also a fan of Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway is stunning eye-candy. When I saw the trailer for this, I thought it was going to be a sure hit. Whre it fell short was in the screenplay. The writing reduced these great casting choices to boring characters that left me wishing there was someone to care about in the film. Even Alan Arkin, who sounded like a perfect Chief, ends up being written in as dumb as Max.

The occasional reference to the original was okay for a chuckle, but this is a new time and frankly the jokes were very stale and not as funny as they were in the original series. I also think Don Adams defined the role in the same way that William Shatner defiined Kirk in Star Trek so maybe they were better off leaving this franchise alone. Where were Mel and Buck when this got the green light?! This movie was a turkey any way you slice it. Not as bad as Hudson hawk (probably my least favorite film ever), but you're still better off going bowling than watching Get Smart.