khaosworks (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
khaosworks) wrote2008-06-26 01:55 pm
khaosworks) wrote2008-06-26 01:55 pm
Would you believe?
Watched the Get Smart movie last night. I actually found it quite entertaining – and I'm not a big Steve Carrell fan, myself. He was pretty good in The Daily Show, but I found The Office too close to reality to be really comfortable watching or laughing at it, and I hated Evan Almighty from the trailer alone. Now, I do like Anne Hathaway, but that aside, I wanted to watch Get Smart because I have fond memories of the series, which were recently refreshed by getting the complete series on DVD from Time-Life.
I've come to the conclusion that a number of the negative reviews about the film are down to movie critics just dying to use "Missed It By That Much" as a tagline. I've read complaints about how the television show was so much better, how Max should have been more like Don Adams played him, and I'm wondering whether these critics watched the same movie I did.
I approached the movie cautiously, I admit. Watching several episodes of Get Smart in a row shows up both the genius and the flaws of the television show: its reliance on catch-phrase humour, the repeated gags, the slapstick (all of which are present, in moderation, in the movie). Max is certainly capable in the show when he gets going, but he's also a repeated bungler that gets a lot of bystanders killed in the process, and occasionally his cluenessness about his own shortcomings comes off as callousness. The movie version is a lot less buffoonish and a lot cleverer and more competent. While some have derided the movie Max's self-awareness of his shortcomings, this lends Max a depth that you never got to see in the sitcom.
The truth of the matter is, the movie isn't the television series. The historical and cultural context is different, and even the expectations of modern comedy are different. A straight import of the television show to the big screen would have been a disaster, catering only to a small segment of those who remember the original and would probably be happier watching the DVDs anyway. As it was, the little sight gags, allusions to and repeats of the catch phrases, all already pander to those who can recognise them... and perhaps a bit too much, like the appearance of a beloved recurring character in the last few minutes of the movie that, while welcome, seems a little superfluous. Catch phrase humour doesn't really fly anymore, with a post-modern audience. And for Steve Carrell to ape Don Adams, or Anne Hathaway to channel Barbara Feldon would have invited even more comparison and criticism. They take the characters and make it their own, which is probably for the best.
I think of this way: this is Get Smart in sorta kinda the same way that Ronald D. Moore's Battlestar Galactica was when compared to the original Battlestar Galactica. It takes the general spirit of the series, keeps the names, some of the trappings, and changes everything else. It's a reboot, an homage more than a "movie version". As with Max, these rebooted characters certainly have more depth than they ever did in the show (which isn't saying much to be sure, as they were pretty two-dimensional in the original), with the possible exception of Terence Stamp's Siegfried, which was a wasted opportunity and too generic and flat a villain.
Which is not to say it's without its flaws. The pacing kind of sags in the middle, the traitor's motivations are never made clear, and while Alan Arkin as the Chief has the best line in the entire movie, you never really feel the same connection between him and Max as was present between Ed Platt and Don Adams. The action sequences are perfunctory, and in the end, it's a good popcorn movie. It's not deep and it's not meant to be. It may be formulaic, but then consider the source material. If you want travesties, look at what Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson did with I Spy. Get Smart actually has affection for its sire and hews much closer to the feel of the original show, and that alone brings it up in my estimation.
The people who have criticised the movie for not being the television show are right: but in this case, it might actually be a good thing. Get Smart the movie divests itself of a lot of the outmoded comedy baggage and it has a degree of heart, which is more than you can say for most remakes these days. It won't win any awards, but it's worth a watch.
I've come to the conclusion that a number of the negative reviews about the film are down to movie critics just dying to use "Missed It By That Much" as a tagline. I've read complaints about how the television show was so much better, how Max should have been more like Don Adams played him, and I'm wondering whether these critics watched the same movie I did.
I approached the movie cautiously, I admit. Watching several episodes of Get Smart in a row shows up both the genius and the flaws of the television show: its reliance on catch-phrase humour, the repeated gags, the slapstick (all of which are present, in moderation, in the movie). Max is certainly capable in the show when he gets going, but he's also a repeated bungler that gets a lot of bystanders killed in the process, and occasionally his cluenessness about his own shortcomings comes off as callousness. The movie version is a lot less buffoonish and a lot cleverer and more competent. While some have derided the movie Max's self-awareness of his shortcomings, this lends Max a depth that you never got to see in the sitcom.
The truth of the matter is, the movie isn't the television series. The historical and cultural context is different, and even the expectations of modern comedy are different. A straight import of the television show to the big screen would have been a disaster, catering only to a small segment of those who remember the original and would probably be happier watching the DVDs anyway. As it was, the little sight gags, allusions to and repeats of the catch phrases, all already pander to those who can recognise them... and perhaps a bit too much, like the appearance of a beloved recurring character in the last few minutes of the movie that, while welcome, seems a little superfluous. Catch phrase humour doesn't really fly anymore, with a post-modern audience. And for Steve Carrell to ape Don Adams, or Anne Hathaway to channel Barbara Feldon would have invited even more comparison and criticism. They take the characters and make it their own, which is probably for the best.
I think of this way: this is Get Smart in sorta kinda the same way that Ronald D. Moore's Battlestar Galactica was when compared to the original Battlestar Galactica. It takes the general spirit of the series, keeps the names, some of the trappings, and changes everything else. It's a reboot, an homage more than a "movie version". As with Max, these rebooted characters certainly have more depth than they ever did in the show (which isn't saying much to be sure, as they were pretty two-dimensional in the original), with the possible exception of Terence Stamp's Siegfried, which was a wasted opportunity and too generic and flat a villain.
Which is not to say it's without its flaws. The pacing kind of sags in the middle, the traitor's motivations are never made clear, and while Alan Arkin as the Chief has the best line in the entire movie, you never really feel the same connection between him and Max as was present between Ed Platt and Don Adams. The action sequences are perfunctory, and in the end, it's a good popcorn movie. It's not deep and it's not meant to be. It may be formulaic, but then consider the source material. If you want travesties, look at what Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson did with I Spy. Get Smart actually has affection for its sire and hews much closer to the feel of the original show, and that alone brings it up in my estimation.
The people who have criticised the movie for not being the television show are right: but in this case, it might actually be a good thing. Get Smart the movie divests itself of a lot of the outmoded comedy baggage and it has a degree of heart, which is more than you can say for most remakes these days. It won't win any awards, but it's worth a watch.