Perhaps it’s easiest to describe Get Smart by explaining what it’s not. It’s not a randy parody like the Austin Powers spy movie send-ups. It doesn’t make a mockery of its 1970s era source material like recent remakes of The Dukes of Hazzard or Starsky and Hutch. It’s not a complete spoof like Leslie Nielson’s Naked Gun films. And it certainly doesn’t follow in the path of Judd Apatow and his troupe of filmmaking friends, where humor seems to be judged by how gratuitously crude subject matter is presented.

This is not to say that Get Smart is completely clear of vulgar moments and sexual double entendres. It’s not. But such things are ancillary as opposed to the focus of the film. Director Peter Segal and his team poke fun at a silly TV show without making you feel like an idiot for having enjoyed it while it was running. Many of the show’s trademark elements make an appearance seamlessly into the movie:  the many reinforced doors Max walks through to get to CONTROL, the "cone of silence," the infamous Maxwell line "missed it by THAT much”… even the legendary shoe-phone has a role in this film. We have both an updated feel to an idea formed during the Cold War era, and a fun bit of nostalgia in an expectedly funny film. Get Smart will likely be the surprise comedic hit of the summer.

CAUTIONS:

• Drugs/Alcohol:  None.
• Language/Profanity:  About a dozen profanities. The Lord’s name taken in vain once. Several crude comments and sexual euphemisms played for laughs. One woman flips her middle finger to some other women who are tormenting her.
• Sex/Nudity:  In several scenes women show cleavage. Agent 99 rips the skirt off of an already revealing dress to make it easier to make it through a room secured by laser beams. She then asks Max if he is staring at her backside. Agent 99 apparently undresses then redresses an unconscious Max (offscreen) in his disguise for the evening. The conversation that follow centers around swapping out his briefs for boxers. Agent 99 is shown briefly in skimpy underwear. Max gets into a fight with a male KAOS agent that turns in a bit of a wrestling match that looks like the two of them are having sex. Passersby gawk at them. Max kisses a male agent he is fighting to surprise him and gain the advantage in the fight. Max exposes his bare backside bowing to a large audience, unaware that the seat of his pants has ripped away. Discussion of “aging” Agent 99’s “dried up” uterus and waning reproductive abilities.
• Violence:  A great deal of slapstick violence and a lot of generally bloodless action sequences. Several scenes where people are shot or shot at. Many fistfights and brawls. An agent staples a memo to another agent’s head. Max gets confused and clocks his boss in the head with a fire extinguisher. Max accidentally shoots himself in the face several times with mini-crossbow arrows while trying to shoot off handcuffs. A man is hit by a bus. Max has one of the most cringe-worthy vomit scenes in recent film history as he takes a ride in a fighter plane. Max is singed several times by the lasers of a security system.
• Worldview:  Nothing particularly profound in the worldview of this film; the standard good versus evil setup of such movies is spoofed a bit. There is a bit of discussion about appearance and weight issues due to 99’s recent plastic surgery and Max’s weight loss (overweight Max loses 100 pounds so that he can pass his agent training.). Max is wrongfully accused of being a double agent and escapes from prison to vindicate himself.