Honeycutt Rips Smart
"Get Smart the movie has precious little to do with Get Smart the iconic TV series from the 1960s, but then again the movie has precious little to do with screen comedy, either," writes Hollywood Reporter critic Kirk Honeycutt.
"This is a slap-dash effort whose producers threw money and stunts onscreen instead of the satirical gags and one-liners that made the old spy spoof so memorable.
"It's hard to see how this lame puppy will gain any boxoffice traction other than by waving the banner of star Steve Carell opening weekend. His younger fans, who wouldn't know Get Smart from Spy, might laugh at the overblown action swirling around their poker-faced hero, but are likely to advise friends to wait for the DVD." No -- the LA to NYC viewing on a 767.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on June 14, 2008 at 10:20 PM
comment #1
D.Z.
says ...
You don't really need to read the review to know it'll suck, but I'll end up seeing it anyway, just because they didn't try to make Andy Dick the star like in that 90s version of the series.
Posted by D.Z.
at June 14, 2008 11:43 PM
comment #2
Spacesheik
says ...
Oh lovely, the American equivalent of Rowan Atkinson's JOHNNY ENGLISH...
Posted by Spacesheik
at June 15, 2008 2:29 AM
comment #3
bdboudreaux
says ...
This movie has one of the worst marketing campaigns I've seen in a while. "Saving the world... and loving it!" What kind of tag line is that for something that sprung from the mind of mid '60s Mel Brooks. That line makes it sound like some kind spy romantic comedy. Or Sex in the City the spy version. Also can some explain to me what the deal is with the posters and having ties, hair, and guns blocking the person next to them. Is that a joke that I just don't get?
Posted by bdboudreaux
at June 15, 2008 4:53 AM
comment #4
jesse
says ...
bddoubdreaux, "... and loving it" was one of the original show's many running catchphrases. I'm a little surprised they think people will remember that (not everyone my age watched the show incessantly on Nick at Nite as children) but it is far from the antithesis of a tag line for something that sprung from mid-60's Mel Brooks (and, further to that point, I don't think Brooks was really heavily involved with the show throughout its five-year run).
Posted by jesse
at June 15, 2008 7:41 AM
comment #5
MDOC
says ...
The buzz has had Get Smart DOA for months. It seems like there is something going on here behind the scenes. I think the ads look funny enough. I like that "underestimate element of surprise joke" with the phone cord. The release date is an issue, going head to head with Love Guru for the same exact audience.
Posted by MDOC
at June 15, 2008 8:23 AM
comment #6
Edward
says ...
(not everyone my age watched the show incessantly on Nick at Nite as children)
Some of us watched the show religiously when it was on network tv when we were kids. Still love the not so politically correct asian villian Claw bit.
Smart-"Ok, Craw..."
Claw-"Craw, not Craw..."
Posted by Edward
at June 15, 2008 9:14 AM
comment #7
berg
says ...
I missed it by that much ... and loving it ... would you believe? ... sorry about that Chief ... wasn't there a robot agent named Hymie?
Posted by berg
at June 15, 2008 9:28 AM
comment #8
Rich S.
says ...
I liked the original show, but "iconic?" They really know how to kick the hyperbole machine into overdrive.
Posted by Rich S.
at June 15, 2008 9:38 AM
comment #9
Terry McCarty
says ...
bdboudreaux wrote:
Also can some explain to me what the deal is with the posters and having ties, hair, and guns blocking the person next to them. Is that a joke that I just don't get?
Just came back from vacation in Scotland. While there, I saw THE INCREDIBLE HULK in Edinburgh Friday afternoon--the Vue cinema chain had GET SMART cardboard ads in the hallway.
Suffice it to say that the hair in face schtick of the US campaign is missing in the UK one--though the phone-throwing motif is common to both.
Posted by Terry McCarty
at June 15, 2008 11:24 AM
comment #10
D.Z.
says ...
Rich: I think the reason it's remembered better than other similar comedy shows was that it wasn't dumb, and it wasn't just another husband-wife/suburban family sitcom.
Posted by D.Z.
at June 15, 2008 11:38 AM
comment #11
CinemaPhreek
says ...
The problem with this is the problem that all comedies suffer from these days: lack of verbal humor.
There isn't an infrastructure anymore that produces really sharp wits. It's why most comedies today depend almost entirely on sight-gags and jokes at the teen level. Because there isn't the sort of training ground that used to exist that produced really sharp wits like Brooks, Buck Henry, Woody Allen, and the like. Look at how much SNL depends upon lame impressions of famous people doing stupid things to drive most of the skits.
And only in irony loving Hollywood where they pile 10 writers onto an action movie would there only be 2 writers listed on a comedy that begs/demands to have a roomful.
Posted by CinemaPhreek
at June 15, 2008 11:58 AM
comment #12
kingofnails
says ...
It would seem to me that director Peter Segal's career is an object lesson in "failing up".
Posted by kingofnails
at June 15, 2008 12:15 PM
comment #13
iamwhoiam
says ...
Yet another Steve Carell garbage.
Posted by iamwhoiam
at June 15, 2008 12:25 PM
comment #14
Rich S.
says ...
I beg to differ with you there, D.Z. The Retro Network shows Get Smart every day, so I've watched it quite a bit in the last three months.
It's funny, sure. But it's also plenty dumb.
Posted by Rich S.
at June 15, 2008 12:29 PM
comment #15
Radewart
says ...
I agree, the tv show was far from something great. Amusing at times, but nothing more. When will studios learn that movies based on old TV shows are duds.
Posted by Radewart
at June 15, 2008 12:41 PM
comment #16
D.Z.
says ...
Rich: It was hokey at times, but not dumb. Gilligan's Island and Gomer Pyle were dumb. Those shows only needed a couple quick one-liners to get through each poorly conceived episode, while Get Smart had to come up with actual set-ups, or the jokes wouldn't work.
Rade: Not always [See the Addams Family and *gritting teeth* The Flintstones (world-wide gross)], just most of the time.
Posted by D.Z.
at June 15, 2008 1:40 PM
comment #17
Luke Y. Thompson
says ...
Technically, The Addams Family was based on editorial cartoons by Charles Addams.
For an example of a TV adaptation that was a critical and commercial hit, The Fugitive stands out.
Posted by Luke Y. Thompson
at June 15, 2008 1:42 PM
comment #18
jany
says ...
Si vous etes interesses par le dossier, ou desirez en savoir plus, contactez-moi par mail, et je vous mettrai en contact.
Best regards,Jane, CEO of high availability clustering
Posted by jany
at April 22, 2011 7:18 AM