Release Date: June 20
Director: Peter Segal
Writers: Tom J. Astle, Matt Ember, Mel Brooks, Buck Henry
Cinematographer: Dean Semler
Starring: Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Alan Arkin, Dwayne Johnson
Studio/Run Time: Warner Bros. Pictures, 110 mins.
He’s baa-aack. I speak not of Maxwell Smart, lead character from the fresh and original 1960s Get Smart television series. I speak of actor Steve Carell, who, after killing us pleasantly in 2005’s The 40 Year Old Virgin, has spent the past few years piddling around with animation (Horton Hears A Who), romantic comedy (Dan in Real Life), supporting roles (Little Miss Sunshine) and underwhelming disasters (Evan Almighty). Fortunately, we’ve had The Office on the small screen all along. But Carell has returned to the film world in all his satirical glory as CONTROL agent Maxwell Smart.
Although CONTROL is supposedly defunct, Max works for the still active but clandestine U.S. spy agency as an intelligence analyst. But he dreams of becoming a field agent like his friend Agent 23 (Dwayne Johnson). When many of the identities of their top agents are revealed to the international crime organization known as KAOS, Max’s chief (Alan Arkin) is forced to send Max on his first assignment, along with seasoned Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway).
The visual comedy that the TV show’s creators Mel Brooks and Buck Henry employed is well represented in the film. But it takes a comic of Carell’s ability to deliver the goods, which he does often. Director Peter Segal made the wise decision not to replicate TV’s Max, but instead infused many of the character’s endearing traits into Carell’s newer but still bumbling interpretation, bringing him closer to paying homage to the great Peter Sellers than anyone before, including Steve Martin. The talent also spreads to Carell’s supporting cast. Hathaway exhibits the dead-on timing she displayed in The Princess Diaries, but in a more mature and alluring demeanor. And Arkin’s deadpan comebacks are understated but not underappreciated. Cameos include Bill Murray, James Caan and Ryan Seacrest, plus the memorable gadgets from the TV show like the shoe phone and the cone of silence.
Much like Sellers did in the ’60s, and Jim Carrey in the ’90s, Carell uses a savvy, comedic intelligence that befits today’s entertainment world. And he does it without bathroom humor, even during a hilarious scene in an airplane restroom. In other words, he’s just plain Smart.