Contour At The Movies

Overall Impression — At first I was embarrassed at how much I liked this movie, and then I realized that I had nothing to be ashamed about!

THE FOUR QUESTIONS

Who’s your main character? — Maxwell Smart.

What’s he trying to accomplish? — Prove that he’s a capable field agent, impress Agent 99, and save the city of Los Angeles.

Who’s trying to stop him? — Siegfried of KAOS.

What happens if he fails? — The city of Los Angeles will be destroyed by a bomb

THE FOUR ARCHETYPES

Orphan — Max is a highly regarded analyst but has failed the field agent test a number of times.  When he finally passes the test he still isn’t promoted because he’s too valuable at the office.  People think he’s a joke, he lives alone, and gets no respect from most of the other agents.

Wanderer — Max gets his big break, is partnered with Agent 99, and starts to pursue leads — all the while trying to figure out how to get 99 to open up to him and like him.

Warrior — In a brilliant switch over from wanderer to warrior, Max takes the “fight” to 99 and during a battle for supremacy on a ballroom dance floor.  She begins to respect him and they start bonding while getting closer to KAOS.

Martyr — Max is willing to sacrifice himself and his career (he’s been branded a double agent) in order to save the city.

AND, IN THE END…

I think the thing I like most about this movie was that the filmmakers didn’t take the easy (i.e. stoopid) way out.  It would have been too simple to make Max a total fool.  Instead, he’s a perceptive agent with great instincts (really heroic qualities) but lousy luck!  This makes him a perfect comic leading man.  We’re able to laugh with Max and sometimes at him, but without ever feeling guilty or cruel.

Philosopher Henri Bergson famously said that comedy requires “a momentary anesthesia of the heart”, which is true to an extent in GET SMART.  It’s easy to feel superior to a comic, inept character and it requires us to park our humanity for a short while to enjoy watching the pie hit the face.  Thanks to some deft character work all around, the anesthesia required to watch Max is more of a mild sedative.

Overall Impression — A sweet movie with a great cast.  

THE FOUR QUESTIONS

Who’s the main character? – Steve Carell’s Dan Burns.

What’s he trying to accomplish? – He’s trying find love…and unfortunately for him the object of  his affection is his brother’s new girlfriend (Juliette Binoche).

Who’s trying to stop him? – Everyone!  The family thinks she’s great, his brother’s a jerk, she’s clearly getting interested in him…but stealing your brother’s girlfriend is wrong, Wrong, WRONG!

What happens if he fails? – The girl of his dreams will leave forever, or worse, marry his brother which will mean a lifetime of torture for Dan.

THE FOUR ARCHETYPES

Orphan –  Dan’s a widower, who has all but given up on finding a woman as wonderful as his dead wife.

Wanderer –Dan travels to a family reunion where he cute-meets a great girl, only to discover that she’s his brother’s new girlfriend.   He tries avoiding her, avoiding his feelings, but eventually realizes that he can’t, so he goes…

Warrior – …negative on her!  He tells her that whenever he thinks about her, he’s going to think about her flaws.  He even goes out on a date with a wildly inappropriate local girl to make Marie think he’s not interested in her (which just serves to make her more interested in him!)

Martyr – A little weak, here.  As I recall, Dan only gives up his reluctance to tell Marie how he feels.  This leads to a fight with his brother, Marie leaving, and ultimately…getting back together again.  More pointedly, he does give up on not allowing his daughter to drive (he lost his license and now needs her to drive him to the city to find Marie) but this is thin.

AND IN THE END…

Dying is easy…comedy is hard.  And romantic comedy is hardest of all. DAN IN REAL LIFE does a great job but falls a little short in the “martyr” beats.  Not a lot short, only a little.  Still, a nice story, well acted and well told.