Get Smart
Directed by Peter Segal
Starring Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson, Alan Arkin
Rated PG-13
Release date: June 20, 2008
“Compared to Clouseau, Attila the Hun was a Red Cross volunteer!” — Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfuss from The Return Of The Pink Panther
“They ought to put you in Missing Persons. You know everybody.” — Joe Friday from Dragnet (1987)
“A good agent doesn’t need gadgets. The only gadgets I’ve ever needed are a sharp eye, sensitive hearing and a whole bunch of bigger brains.” — Johnny English from Johnny English
Steve Carell Is In Control
Don Adams will always be Maxwell Smart, Agent 86, from the classic, subversive, and sarcastic 1960’s television series, Get Smart. I grew up watching the television series in reruns in the 1970s. It would be much later realized that the show was a clever satire written by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry. I would expect nothing less from these two comic heavyweights. The show was a response to the intelligence craze in pop culture at the time when James Bond dominated the landscape. There were plenty of spoofs to go around such as the Matt Helm films starring Dean Martin, the Derek Flint films starring James Coburn, and of course, the ultimate James Bond spoof, the original 1967 Casino Royale. Think of these films as the Austin Powers of their day– Mike Myers was deeply influenced by Casino Royale. Henry and Brooks created a television series which was a response to the intelligence blunders of their times — specifically, the Vietnam War. The other great benefit of the show was the wonderful cast featuring Don Adams, Barbara Feldon, and Edward Platt. They worked very well together. The show holds up remarkably well.
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