The Get Smart (2008) film reminded me of the old Naked Gun series

When I was growing up, I was a huge fan of the old reruns of the 1960s Get Smart television show. Starring Don Adams and Barbara Feldon, and created by Buck Henry and Mel Brooks (never heard of this Mel Brooks guy), I thought it was great. Sharp writing, funny sight gags, what was there not to love?

Peter Segal (of Naked Gun fame) directed this 2008 film remake of the old television show. Steve Carell stars as the modern day Maxwell Smart, a desk-analyst-turned-agent (Agent 86) at CONTROL, a secret U.S. government counter-intelligence agency based in Washington, D.C.  He’s not a good agent by any means, so he’s paired up with Agent 99, played by Anne Hathaway. They are up against KAOS, an international criminal organization devoted to…. evil.

Side note: You know, I originally didn’t think much of Anne Hathaway when she started out. I didn’t watch her early films. I’ve recently seen her in The Dark Knight Rises (ridiculous film, but her Selina Kyle was the best part), Oceans 8 (so-so plot, but good characters like Daphne Kluger), the movie version of Les Misérables (she played Cosette), and now this film. I think she’s really good. I’d gladly watch any of her movies.

Back to the 2008 Get Smart film. The film is basically about Max and Agent 99 being paired up after CONTROL’s office is attacked. They go on the road to stop KAOS from executing whatever they’re up to. The plot is threadbare, but it’s there so they can do sight gags, the supporting cast can make jokes, and I don’t know, it felt a little dated to me.  If it was the Nineties again, then this film would have fit in. It’s very similar to Naked Gun. There are some good bits, but I was only mildly entertained. The kids laughed a lot though.

Get Smart (2008)
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