Geekshow

To Make Or Remake: Get Smart

The television series Get Smart made famous by Don Adams from 1965 to 1970 was last year retooled and made into a new feature film starring Steve Carrell. With so many years between the two incarnations, did the movie possibly miss the mark by that much? 

The first fear of course would be that it completely flopped. The television series was so beloved over the years, both during its original run and for many like myself, in the numerous years it has run and continues to run in syndication. 

To be sure, by modern standards the show is a little bit campy and has some extreme moments of lameness. But despite this there is a real heart to the show that makes it not only watchable but completely draws you into this world of KAOS and CONTROL. I think without a doubt that that pull comes directly from the main characters Maxwell Smart (aka Agent 86) and Agent 99. There is something about their chemistry as a juxtaposed pair of competence and incompetence that is entertaining to behold. 

Undoubtedly, Maxwell Smart is an idiot. At times watching the old television episodes is just aggravating. Surely a buffoon such as Max couldn’t soundly function in the world?! With the plethora of dangerous KAOS agents around him all the time it truly is a wonder that none of them have shot him to death out of mere annoyance and frustration with his density and ineptitude. 

But beneath all that there is an incredible heart to the character. He really values the security of his country, is highly dedicated to each and every mission, and genuinely believes that he will get himself and/or 99 out of whatever predicament they find themselves in. The most remarkable thing is that he actually does it, against the odds, time and time again! Usually it’s by dumb luck and the inevitable stuff ups of those against him that give Max the small window of opportunity he needs to foil their plots and save the day.  And of course who can resist rooting for the underdog – even if said underdog is often aided by an actual dog that is in some ways more capable at the job than he. 

Another part of what made Get Smart so iconic as a series was its use of prop and sight gags, matched marvellously with a slew of one-line catchphrases and punch lines. The most notable of these being: “Missed it by that much”, “Would you believe?”, “Sorry about that, Chief”, “Oh, Max” and “I request the Cone of Silence”. Don Adams had such a wonderful delivery of these lines that coupled nicely with his mastery of physical and slapstick humour. 

So bearing all these things in mind we come to the 2008 feature film and Steve Carrell’s portrayal of Max. 

This film is a modern Maxwell Smart and a modern CONTROL. The Cold War is over, yet CONTROL lives on, despite the cover that it disbanded years ago. There are no more agents hidden in precarious and ridiculous places (although there is that one nostalgic scene with Bill Murray in a tree doing things “old school spy”); these CONTROL agents have contemporary gadgets, listen to terrorist chatter on iPods, and have a holographic Cone of Silence that ironically still doesn’t work for all its futuristic bells and whistles. 

Steve Carrell’s portrayal of Max is markedly different than that establish by Don Adams in the series. Probably a part of the writing but the contribution of Carrell cannot be denied. A great physical and verbal comedian in his own right, Carrell brings something fresh to the character that pays suitable homage to Adams but also stamps the role as one of his own. Instead of the oblivious blunderer who stumbles upon good fortune to help him save the day, Carrell plays Max in quite the opposite way. The Maxwell Smart of 2008 is highly aware of his foibles yet somehow it seems he is merely the victim of incredible bad luck that constantly undermines all his best efforts at success. 

Like Adams’ Max, Carrell’s is simple, yet not simple minded. He is a man of basic pleasures and isn’t afraid to merely be a man just trying to humbly make a difference in a, pardon the pun, chaotic world. Like in the television series, the affection Max has for 99 is genuine despite her initial resistance and abhorrence towards it. 

This is something I really like about the film. In the television show 99 would always dote on Max in a way that was regularly well, unfeminist, inexplicable, naïve and downright annoying. How could an agent and indeed a woman who seemed as capable as she did habitually defer to such a dunderhead and even fall hopelessly in love with him? 

Well, maybe that’s the magic of television but in today’s world for me that just doesn’t fly. By resetting their relationship at the start of the film to one of aggravation and friction, especially on 99’s part, the viewer has the pleasure of witnessing their formation of a mutual understanding, friendship and indeed by the end of it all, a genuine romantic relationship. 

The addition of the character Agent 23 is another good move on the part of the feature to bring Max into a fuller flesh as the lead of the story. Juxtaposed with Agent 23 Max is the same old Agent 86 we all remember and loved, but in a way he is also more real. Max isn’t the big action hero, like 23, he’s just doing the best he can at the job before him. The gadgets are cool and help him out but it’s still the same old Max pulling them out and inevitably getting himself into trouble thru his misuse of them, for example, his accidental ejection from an airplane handcuffed and without a parachute. 

So coming back to my original question, did the remade movie miss the mark established by the television series by that much? 

To some extent yes and no. All the little hints, motifs and callbacks to the original series are there in the movie. From the cars Max drives, the telephone booth entrance, the series of doors, the shoe phone, the one liners, the regular enemies and old time friends like Fang the dog (aka Agent K-13 in the original series), and of course the infamous Cone of Silence there is no doubt to the educated viewer that this is the world of Get Smart. And any seasoned fan of the series should indeed be endeared enough to at least give it a go if not fall madly in love with this latest incarnation. 

Having said that, however, there just is no substitute for the original gem that made a mark on its time and on future generations of viewers to come after. So charming and ridiculously funny, Get Smart is a one of a kind story that any attempt to recreate it after the fact will only ever be in my opinion, second best. Though I cannot deny that I simply loved the film and was chuckling in my seat to the point of tears. Oh Max!