The main reason I wanted to see the film was because of Dwayne “Don’t call me The Rock” Johnson. Obviously The Artist Formerly Known as The Rock has more than a few underperforming movies under his belt as well, but I typically enjoy his roles regardless. Thankfully Johnson came through with a solid performance as Agent 23. But it was Masi Oka and Nate Torrence as techies Bruce and Lloyd who really stole the film. Their scenes were the most consistently funny part of the movie and were the best parts of an otherwise unmemorable movie.
Honestly though, I really can’t understand why the movie wasn’t funnier. On paper the cast was a strong comedic ensemble and surprise appearances by Bill Murray and Patrick Warburton were stellar. But in the end, the movie was just OK and the best line wasn’t even uttered by Carell or co-star Anne Hathaway. Instead it was by Alan Arkin’s The Chief before he was almost accidentally killed by Carell’s Maxwell Smart. Don’t worry, I won’t ruin the movie for those of you who still haven’t seen the film and still eventually plan to.
While I didn’t leave the theater disappointed, I definitely recommend waiting for the movie to come out on DVD. What’s really scary to me, is that if Get Smart was the best comedy to open last weekend, how horrible must The Love Guru be!?! I really expected more from the two most talked about comedies of the summer.
Oh yeah, be on the look out for Get Smart’s Bruce and Lloyd Out Of Control, the straight to DVD Get Smart sequel starring Oka and Torrence, in stores on July 1st. Bruce and Lloyd were such great characters that there’s a reasonable chance this movie is at least as good as, if not better, than Get Smart.
