Get Smart
Headline: ** Disappointing, with Too Much Off-Color Humor and Obscenities **
Title: GET SMART
Quality: * * * Acceptability: -2
SUBTITLES:
WARNING CODES:
Language: LLL
Violence: VV
Sex: S
Nudity: N
RATING: PG-13
RELEASE: June 20, 2008
TIME: 110 minutes
STARRING: Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Alan Arkin, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Terence Stamp, Ken Davitian, David Koechner, Terry Crews, and James Caan, with cameos by Bill Murray and Patrick Warburton
DIRECTOR: Peter Segal
PRODUCERS: Andrew Lazar, Charles Roven, Alex Gartner, and Michael Ewing
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Peter Segal, Steve Carell, Brent O'Connor, Jimmy Miller, Dana Goldberg, and Bruce Berman
WRITERS: Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember
BASED ON THE TV SERIES CREATED BY: Mel Brooks and Buck Henry
DISTRIBUTOR: Warner Bros. Pictures
CONTENT: (Ro, B, PC, Ho, LLL, VV, S, N, A, M) Light Romantic worldview that humanizes evil, with some moral content and some lazy politically correct humor regarding characters that are supposed to resemble President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, plus hero kisses evil henchman to divert his attention; about 31 obscenities (including four light ones) and 10 light profanities, plus some off-color, scatological humor and dialogue including scene where jet pilot vomits into bag and a minor character gives someone the finger; strong comic, action violence such as fighting, people shot, man hit on head with fire extinguisher, some groin hits, car chase, car crash, man dragged, man tossed out of car into river; some light sexual comments and off-color humor, plus man kisses evil henchman to divert his attention; a joke in one scene about an embarrassing case of rear male nudity; alcohol use; no smoking; and, hero lies at one point, plus stealing and extortion by bad guys.
GENRE: Comedy
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Teenagers and adults
Please address your comments to:
Jeffrey Bewkes, CEO, Time Warner
Barry M. Meyer, Chairman/CEO
Alan Horn, President
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (New Line Cinema)
(A Time Warner company)
4000 Warner Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91522-0001
Phone: (818) 954-6000
Website: www.movies.warnerbros.com
SUMMARY: GET SMART is a modern re-telling of the beloved 1960s TV spy spoof created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, starring Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway as Maxwell Smart and Agent 99, who try to foil a nuclear plot by the evil crime syndicate known as KAOS. GET SMART doesn't quite capture the zany comedy and cherished characters of the originals, and its good laughs are nearly ruined by too much foul language and off-color, scatological humor.
IN BRIEF:
GET SMART is a modern re-telling of the beloved 1960s TV spy spoof created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry. Steve Carell stars as Maxwell Smart, an analyst for CONTROL, a super-secret U.S. spy agency battling KAOS, an evil crime syndicate. Max wants nothing more than to become an agent like his idol, the super-suave Agent 23. KAOS attacks CONTROL's headquarters and learns the identities of all but one of its agents. The Chief, played by Alan Arkin, has no choice but to promote Max and pair him with Agent 99, played by Anne Hathaway. They have to foil a KAOS plot to blackmail the U.S. with nuclear weapons KAOS has stolen. Max has trouble earning 99's respect. Their bickering endangers their mission, especially when they have to go up against unflappable KAOS operative Siegfried, played by Terence Stamp.
GET SMART doesn't quite capture the zany comedy and cherished characters of the originals, but it does have some good laughs that may attract today's young people. Sadly, enjoyment of the movie is almost ruined by too much foul language and off-color dialogue that isn't funny, adds nothing and stalls the plot.
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