I went to see Get Smart the other day. Judging by the box office numbers, I wasn't alone. Of course, I was curious about how one of my favorite TV shows from the '60s would be translated to the big screen. Would it be an inventive retelling in the tradition of The Fugitive, Maverick and The Addam's Family, or would it make me want to weep in horror like the dreadful I Spy, Bewitched, The Wild, Wild West and The Avengers? (And that's only the tip of the awful iceberg).

Would you believe it if I told you Get Smart falls somewhere in between? I could use the line many other reviewers have copped; you know, "The new Get Smart missed it by that much." Yes, well, it's true. Get Smart is not great on the big screen. It's okay. Nothing too shameful, but neither is it that inspired or wickedly built on the premise of the original situation comedy.
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Fresh off his Supporting Actor Oscar win for Little Miss Sunshine, Alan Arkin has been cast in the new movie version of Get Smart, which Adam first mentioned last fall. Arkin has been signed to play the Chief of CONTROL, the spy agency for which Maxwell Smart and Agent 99 work. The Chief was played by Edward Platt in the classic TV version of the show, and having the grouchy Arkin play the role of Max's exasperated boss seems like a good fit.