Not smart, but there’s mindless mirth

(Published June 30, PDI-Entertainment)

By Oliver M. Pulumbarit
Contributor

Deliberately dumb and shallow, the super-spy parody “Get Smart” is nonetheless funny and feelgood, due largely to the involvement of charismatic comic talent Steve Carell. The actor has exhibited comedic versatility in films like “40-Year Old Virgin,” “Little Miss Sunshine,” “Evan Almighty” and the ongoing sitcom “The Office.” They’ve given Carell different opportunities to be funny without really resorting to slapstick humor.

But he gets to do less witty situational humor and more mindless mirth in “Get Smart,” based on Mel Brooks’ 1960s TV series. Carell plays the dorky but dedicated covert agency analyst Max Smart, who gets activated as a field agent after his group CONTROL barely survives an attack by its old nemesis organization KAOS.

The klutzy but well-meaning Smart almost bungles missions single-handedly, and sometimes suffers from smarting backfires of his super-secret weaponry.

While the bumbling spy or law enforcer concept has practically been bled dry through the years in movie and TV spoofs, Max Smart is still a welcome addition to that special roster of stumblebum heroes. He’s exceptionally attuned to observe and decode cryptic details, but he’s not exactly what you’d call the traditional dashing spy guy. That’s Agent 23 (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson), who protects him from bullies in the high school-like atmosphere of the hidden CONTROL base.

Still, embarrassment is just something to endure and ignore, as Agent Smart does his best to prove his value in the field. He’s partnered with one of the most efficient spies, Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway), a bombshell brunette whose reluctance in trusting him might just cost them dearly. That is, if Smart’s inexperience, over-eagerness and klutziness don’t get them horribly killed first.

“Get Smart” is nowhere near as hilarious as the French parody of James Bond, “OS 117,” nor as zany as the campy, colorful world of “Austin Powers.” But it works as its own caricature of the secret agent, a simple romp that pokes fun at the ridiculousness of its high-stakes world. From the offbeat gadgetry, to the stealth-dependent situations, there’s fun to be had. There’s the obvious but cute sexual tension between Smart and 99, too.

But there’s not much of a story here: the newbie is introduced into a world rampant with double-crosses; his loyalty is questioned; he has to prove his innocence. It’s sort of like a regular hour and a half of Jack Bauer’s daylong schedule in “24,” except it doesn’t feel like the world’s ending. It’s utterly devoid of narrative surprises.

But it doesn’t truly matter in this instance, and you just have to giggle when the goofiness unfolds early on. There are moments to enjoy, such as the part where Terence Stamp’s diabolical villain manages to contact some government officials and gets dismissed a la Dr. Evil. The film caters to the escapist who needs a quick, easy laugh. There’s nothing really clever--or really smart--about it.