Get Smart: How to be a Mystery That’s Funny!

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Remakes once were, and still seem to be, a popular box office fixture. Over ten years ago, they invited us to again enjoy the (mis)adventures of Maxwell Smart in the comedy, Get Smart (2008).

Get Smart (2008) Film Review

As a dedicated agent of the super-secret agency, Control, Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell) walks into work today with confidence. He’s an agent with a meticulous eye and ear for detail, but he’s also only a desk agent. Today, this will all change. Today, Max determines he’ll have passed his field test, and on his way to being a cool kid. Even the agency’s best spy, Agent 23 (Dwayne Johnson) seems to offer him encouragement.

Then, things go from good to bad when Control is broken into. This coincides with the return of Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway), a spy who crossed lines on her last mission. Now, with only a small group of people to trust, Max and 99 will have to discover who’s behind the breech, all while stopping a sinister threat.

You know those movies that don’t have much to them when it comes to a plot, but you love them anyway? I feel like this is one of those to wear this crown – and it wears it very well. With its fun plot line, and great cast, it’s easily one of those films you can unplug and enjoy.

Steve Carell has never been an actor who’s on my must-see-every-movie-he’s-in list. Despite this, what I have seen him in, I like. In Get Smart (2008), he’s perfectly cast as the bumbling “idiot” who’s actually got more spy smarts than anyone credits him with. Of course, for all of us who know Anne Hathaway from Princess Diaries, her role as a spy is quite different, but also not so much. She’s a fantastic comedy actress, and I’ve realized, she does roles with physical comedy pretty darn well.

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Now in the #MovieReview Archives. Enjoy a re-watch of Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway's fun popcorn flick Get Smart (2008) - How to be a Mystery That's Funny! Share on X

To make the characters work better, she and Carell share a great sense of camaraderie that is shadowed by the possibility of a traitor. You’ll also see Alan Arkin, and Hawaii Five-O’s very own Masi Oka in the film. I do think the film runs a little overlong for this kind of genre, but it moves its two characters from locale to locale, which keeps the pace up.

I never have seen a single episode of the show. But from what I see of its promotional material or read of its story, this Peter Segal directed film seems to pay homage to its inspiration. Some of the references or scenes are likely in honor of the 60s serial. Even as someone who didn’t watch the show, I appreciate this. It makes the experience more fun for those who like the show.

When you want a good laugh, you’d best ‘get smart’ and consider this ridiculous, but completely likable comedy. It certainly knows how to have a good time, and because of this, so do we.

Content: mostly this one rates PG13 for violence and crude humor. There’s some innuendo, and profanity, but fortunately it all keeps within its MPAA rating.

Photos: Warner Bros.