Movie: "Get Smart"
Year: 2008
Rated: PG-13
Genre: Comedy
Directed by: Peter Segal
Writing credits: Tom J. Astle, Matt Ember

Reviewer: Protoclown
Posted: 6/29/2008

Plot: New and somewhat inept CONTROL Agent Maxwell Smart teams up with Agent 99 in an attempt to stop a KAOS plot against the President.

Review: Let me just get this out of the way, first: I never really watched the Get Smart TV show (unfortunately), so I'm judging this movie solely based on its own merits, and not how closely it captures the feel of the series. I'd seen plenty or reviews saying that this movie wasn't very funny, so I didn't know what to expect going in, but being a big fan of Steve Carell and Dwayne Johnson, both of whom are very funny actors with impeccable comedic timing, I knew I had to check it out for myself. And I'm glad to report that the negative reviews are full of shit, because this is one of the most enjoyable comedies I've seen all year.

The filmmakers here were smart in not making this a total spoof movie in the vein of Austin Powers, but rather having a serious plot (with actual threatening villains), within which the characters find themselves in funny situations. Carell is very good at taking a normal situation and turning it into something humorous, so this is an approach that is perfectly suited to his brand of humor. The rest of the cast does a great job and it's evident when you watch them together that they had a great time making this movie. There are also some fun cameos by James Caan, Patrick Warburton, and Bill Murray, who has the best one, because he is inside a tree.

Despite having directed some shitty comedies in the past, Peter Segal delivers plenty of laughs here and is a surprisingly competent action director. Even without the jokes, the movie would still be entertaining to watch as a spy thriller, but as the jokes almost never fall flat, the movie is fun to watch on both levels. Humor is probably the most subjective form of entertainment there is--you either laugh at something or you don't, and it's very difficult to hide your honest reaction when it comes to comedy, so I'm glad to say that the audience seemed to enjoy this movie as much as I did. Pay no attention to the reviews (except mine, of course), because this movie doesn't disappoint at all.

Overall rating:
(Scored on a 0.5 - 5 pickles rating: 0.5 being the worst and 5 being the best)