In ‘Get Smart’ Lifeless Retread, Steve Carell Can’t Fill Don Adams’ Shoe

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 10:23:43 -0700

Rating: 2.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Observing the new “Get Smart” film, which is based on the 1960s TV sitcom of the same name, is to note how much has changed since the Cold War ended.

KAOS and CONTROL – the U.S. and Russian spy agencies that square off in the movie – seem like relics of another era. In this age of homeland security and unlimited government wiretapping, it’s difficult to create fictional comedy that can compete with real-life absurdity.

Anne Hathaway (left) stars as Agent 99 and Steve Carell stars as Maxwell Smart in “Get Smart”.
Photo credit: Tracy Bennett

The film version of “Get Smart” lives up to that truth. Combining dull action-movie elements, badly cast movie stars and an uncomfortable romance, the film has forgotten all about its TV roots and most of the humor.

Played by Steve Carell, Maxwell Smart is a Russian interpreter and communications administrator in the secret government spy agency CONTROL.

The chief (Alan Arkin) wants Smart to stay in the administration even though he longs to join spies like Agent 23 (Dwayne Johnson) and work in the field.

After KAOS – a rival Russian agency – infiltrates and wrecks the CONTROL offices, Smart is promoted to field agent and partnered with super-spy Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway). Their mission is to find out who’s behind KAOS and identify their evil plans.

Steve Carell stars as Maxwell Smart (left) and Anne Hathaway stars as Agent 99 in “Get Smart”.
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

This takes them to the heart of Moscow. Thinking a Russian bakery is a KAOS front for nuclear weapons, Smart and 99 plant explosives and barely escape.

Steve Carell stars as Maxwell Smart in “Get Smart”.
Photo credit: Tracy Bennett

When the wrecked building turns up nothing, the wily Russians then travel to Los Angeles. Following them there, Smart and 99 must confront their rivals one last time and save the world.

Steve Carell is clearly not up to the challenge of filling Don Adams’ phone shoe as Maxwell Smart. The comedy he delivers is mostly cruel and has none of the snap or silliness of Adams’ razor-sharp interpretation.

Hathaway – who was cooler and more subtly amusing in “The Devil Wears Prada” – is completely out of her element when handling weaponry and practicing martial arts. She and Carell have less chemistry than a baking-soda volcano and their age difference is awkwardly apparent when they attempt romance.

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View our full, high-resolution “Get Smart” image gallery.

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It seemed the filmmakers never saw one episode of the TV series when formulating the plot.

The film version tries to shoehorn reminders of several action movies – the James Bond series, “Mission Impossible,” “True Lies,” “Silver Streak” and even “The Man Who Knew Too Much” (among others) – but oddly distances itself from its primary and funnier television source.

This film is just another based-on-a-TV-show miscue that wastes a decent comic opportunity on let’s-blow-things-up trivialities. The legacy of “Get Smart,” audiences everywhere and ultimately the great Don Adams all deserve better.

“Get Smart,” which stars Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson, Alan Arkin, Terence Stamp, Bill Murray and Ryan Seacrest, opened everywhere on June 20, 2008.

By PATRICK McDONALD
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

Dr. Seuss’ ‘Horton Hears a Who!’ Heard Loudly Into Instant Children’s Classic

HollywoodChicago.com — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 19:15:36 -0700

CHICAGO – One of Dr. Seuss’ most famous storybooks has finally been granted life with its self-titled animated feature “Horton Hears a Who!,” which involves a morally righteous elephant, philosophical timbre and Dr. Seuss’ ingenious lyrical rhymes.

A star-studded cast supports this vibrant tale and Dr. Seuss’ ethical elephant and morally slated advice about equality are well represented in this CG-animated adaptation.

“Horton Hears a Who!”.
Photo credit: IMDb

The elephant Horton (Jim Carrey) comes to the rescue of a speck crying for help as it floats by in the colorful jungle of Nool.

When Horton decides to help the speck even though he can’t see the Whos who inhabit it, the famous line “a person’s a person no matter how big or how small” comes into the film and sets the Suessian tone of the tale.

After Horton and the mayor of Whoville (Steve Carell) initiate communication, they work together to help save the planet of Whoville from total destruction.

When Horton discovers the speck, he is confronted by a law-enforcing kangaroo (Carol Burnett) who is a non-believer. She claims anything she can’t hear or see can’t be real.

As Horton’s determination to protect the speck is challenged by banana-shooting military monkeys, a bone-crushing vulture and an angry animal mob, the mayor of Whoville experiences similar mockery in his parallel world.

Isla Fisher in “Horton Hears a Who!”.
Photo credit: IMDb

The film jumps back and forth from the jungle of Nool to Whoville and creates an effective juxtaposition of the different animated cultures.

For instance, in Whoville everything always goes according to plan until their tiny world sets afloat and everything goes awry (with tremors, global warming and backward mishaps aplenty).

Meanwhile, the jungle of Nool starts off as a playful society and transitions into a fearful and angry place.

As the mad animal mob in Nool is about to destroy the speck of Whoville, the mayor of Whoville is able to bring his people together to make enough noise to be heard and save their tiny world.

Carrey and Carell are the star voices of the film and their bubbly wit and humor are perfect matches for their characters. While Carrey at times borders on hyper, writers Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio translate his active energy into entertaining dialogue for the little guys.

Even though roles by Will Arnett, Seth Rogen and Jonah Hills are small, they are uniquely their own and add wonderful color to the film as a whole. Trendy jokes and references about MySpace, cell phones, condos and “I love the smell of bananas in the morning” are sprinkled throughout the film. Though they might go over the heads of kids, they’re not too over the top for adults.

Jonah Hill in “Horton Hears a Who!”.
Photo credit: IMDb

Big life lessons and philosophies are everywhere in this film. They give the movie a moral undertone that so many other children’s movies lack.

The excellent animation and even a sprinkling of japanimation can be credited to the creative directing of Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino.

They managed to not only keep consistency with Seuss’ original illustrations but also created new characters who meshed perfectly with the signature style.

While the crisp CG animations are enough to move this film into the cartoon greats category, also the all-star cast, hilarious wit and virtuous messages have instantly made “Horton Hears a Who!” into a children’s classic.

“Horton Hears a Who!” opens on March 14, 2008.

Click here for our full “Horton Hears a Who!” image gallery!

By ALLISON PITACCIO
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
allee@hollywoodchicago.com