Get Smart

Director: Peter Segal
Year Released: 2008
Rating: 0.5

Pitifully unfunny adaptation of the Don Adams TV show I liked to watch on occasion as a kid - the humor in this is flat and desperate and the big action scenes betray the simple and dorky but charming qualities of the original. Steve Carell's clueless act has been better served in some other comedies he's done (though like all shticks it is wearing thin) and those frequent shots of Anne Hathaway's legs are unable to distract from her complete lack of comedic timing. Even a Bill Murray cameo - as a tree - is wasted, which is so egregious a violation of cinematic policy someone should be fined or whipped. If Hollywood has any class or dignity - I'm sorry, I was laughing as I typed that - I'd accuse it of artistic bankruptcy for continuously milking Nick at Nite/TV Land and comic strips and video games and web videos for source material, but it's been doing this for years and will no doubt continue the trend - there are, after all, a few more shows they're missing (Green Acres, anyone? How about Happy Days?) and I'm quite positive some overpaid executive will hire some cut-rate screenwriters to turn out more of the same (since it's not like they're losing money). Let them eat crud!