I was a huge fan of the TV show when it ran on Nick and Nite back in the day, I just love spoofs. I have a place in my heart for comedies like Naked Gun, Hot Shots, Airplane, and Spaceballs, and I think Get Smart, as a TV show, is right up there with those classics. I remember sitting down with my mom and dad and watching and laughing at Don Adams, who plays Maxwell Smart, and all of his hijinks, and thinking that he was very unassuming, he didn’t try too much to outplay or outshine Agent 99.

Being that I was out of town all week last week, I sent ToC’s South Texas Correspondent “Scotto” to the advanced screening and this is what he had to say…

“I never saw the TV show, other than a clip here or there. I have to say that I went into the movie with extreme caution not knowing what to think or what to expect. I think that it helped that I had low expectations.

Best parts of the movie for me….the “dance off” and the run in with the swordfish!”

We here at ToC would like to thank Scotto for his willingness to share what he thought about the film, and for allowing us to publish his thoughts and opinions.

The movie never really took off for me. The romance nor the pain never reached the point of engaging my interest enough to really care about it. I really like Greg Kinnear as an actor and love most, if not all, of his movies, and so it was real hard to see him in this one, especially as the hated “heartbreaker.” I couldn’t help but think of him in the quirky, funny, genius way that I normally do, so I didn’t buy him as the bad guy, even though the movie would want you to hate him, I secretly loved him. I actually like when movies feature actors in a much different role than what the American audience is used to seeing them in, but with Greg Kinnear, it didn’t work for me. The script wasn’t strong enough to make me hate him, I mean, come on, did you see Little Miss Sunshine?

I do have to honestly admit that I am a small closet Ashley Judd fan and I know that may cause some of you to question my credibility (like you don’t already do that), but as for an emotional actress, she can REALLY bring on the tears. I really liked her in Where the Heart Is with Natalie Portman, I thought she played that white-trash-on-the-outside-yet-high-class-on-the-inside very well and honestly. She did have a few highlight scenes that I may have giggled about out loud, 1 being the cheer scene when the “other woman” walks out of the bedroom wearing only a sheet, and the other being the scene in the hospital with her sister as she comforts her; both scenes showed her range of humility and vulnerability, which totally defines her roles.

Hugh Jackman turns in a typical “sexist” role and doesn’t ever really grab me with anything. It was a little refreshing to see him open up and expose a softer side when he talks about his breakup, but it was for only a second and then it was quickly covered up by him walking around his loft wearing only boxer briefs…good grief.

This was a movie that I’m sure was forgotten when it came out because of its predictability and its cookie-cutter formulaic approach to the romantic comedy genre.

Content Warning: Rated PG-13 for sexual content including dialogue, and for some language. There’s not much to worry about in this movie, but say for a couple of scenes that quickly show Hugh Jackman without a shirt and wearing only boxer briefs.

Here is a movie that when I first saw the trailer for it, I was immediately on-board with due to the opportunities for greatness that I could see for Disney if they crafted the movie the right way….

…but, I was greatly disappointed. Disney could have made such a MUCH BETTER film if they would have actually stopped and thought about the possibilities of making fun of themselves in their own movie. I mean, think about it, you start out with a complete cliche cartoon of a movie, totally riding on the coat tails of every other Disney cartoon that has been made, and then you take that naive and vulnerable cartoon character and stick them right in the middle of real-life New York city and watch them learn how to be a human….that is revolutionary!

Yet, what did Disney do? They tried to achieve that level of greatness through cliche situations, chemistry-less romantic story lines that ended formulaic, characters that rarely showed any signs of real growth, and all of that combined with a cast that really left a lot to the imagination in terms of believability. There was just so much left on the cutting room floor, maybe even the pre-production floor, in terms of story and pace and character development that I was left with an abundance of over-flattery and fluff.

Though I was not impressed by the movie and at best, it was “cute” in its most basic form, one of the highlights was the acting of James Marsden as “Prince Edwards.” I really thought he did a decent job of “over-acting” his part as the chivalry inspired “good guy” in this film and if I laughed at all, it was from his performance. He seemed to have that tongue-in-cheek personality down very well and actually succeeded in providing me with mild humor.

In the end, it was another Disney let down that could have been so great…which I think a lot of modern-day-Disney movies have become lately. Movies that are hyped to be something out of the ordinary, something innovative, yet always fail and ultimately default to cheap humor and washed up and overplayed situation.

Content Warning: Rated PG for some scary images and mild innuendo. It’s Disney, so it’s pretty clean.

…my expectations were RIGHT ON! This movie was cheese to the max! From the very start of the movie as the main character, played very averagely by newcomer Nikki Blonsky, is walking or running or skipping (I’m still not sure which mode she used) to school, she breaks out into song the entire way to the bus stop (which she of course misses due to her incessant singing). Who sings while going to school? Most teenagers I know are sleeping on their way to school. The one positive note from the first scene is that the song is sung very well by Nikki and the harmonies are catchy and poppy and in fact, though sad to say, I found myself singing “Good Morning Baltimore” at work on Monday morning.

It’s not a movie I am going to remember or even want to see again. Throughout the entire movie, I could not get over the fact that John Travolta was playing a woman in a fat-suit the whole time. That thought creeped me out every time I would hear him/her (argghh) speak, which by the way, was a very odd Baltimore accent. It sounded almost like Lily Tomlin channeling Ed Sullivan through very restrictive prosthetics. If that character didn’t exist, I might have liked the movie more. Why?! Just find a plus-sized lady to fulfill that role, why do you have to use a man in a woman suit??

I think the cynic inside of me is fighting to write a scathing review of such a mainstream bubble-gum movie-musical and although I wouldn’t ever watch it again, I can’t say I hated every minute of it. The songs are catchy and poppy, the colors are bright and bold, and it is nice to see a “plus-sized” actress get the lead and actually come out the heroine without having to debase herself too much. Overall, I was mildly entertained for a Sunday afternoon movie. It’s not one that I would pay for again, or even brag about seeing, but if my wife wants to watch again with me, I will.

Content Warning: This movie is rated PG for language, some suggestive content and momentary teen smoking. This movie, although bubbly and innocent, has some pretty intense sexual innuendos. The young ones won’t get it and will enjoy the songs and colors, but if you are a teenager, you will definitely understand the sexual undertones. That was a very surprising element to the movie.

**SPOILER ALERT**
If you don’t want to know what happens in this movie, then please just read the front page summary. There are plot details revealed in this review.

I love to watch a movie where the child actor steals the movie. It just warms me when a little child (male or female) can deliver a performance that totally outshines their adult counterparts. Those child actors are why I loved Jerry Maguire (Jonathan Lipnicki), Man on Fire and War of the Worlds (Dakota Fanning), and as of late Signs, Little Miss Sunshine and No Reservations (all with Abigail Breslin). There’s just something authentic and innocent about them that really engages me and forces me to follow along the movie to discover how the world around these children changes because of them.

In this movie we find Catherine Zeta-Jones, a high powered chef in an upscale New York restaurant, having to deal with losing her sister in a car accident and becoming a new parent of her niece Zoe, played wonderfully and emotionally by Abigail Breslin. The story is kind of a cookie-cutter pattern to the typical (independent adult who after life altering circumstances has to take care of a kid who eventually softens their heart and shows them the true meaning of closeness) and at times feels like just your average romantic comedy. The romance part comes in when Catherine Zeta-Jones’ boss hires Aaron Eckhart to be the sous-chef, after Catherine is forced to see a therapist and kind of freaks out because of the loss of her sister.

Naturally, Aaron is a polar opposite to Catherine, he’s free and likes opera, he wears 80’s MC Hammer pants when he cooks, sings in the kitchen, all of the things opposite to Catherine who is strict, stern, structured, and works like a machine…classic opposites-attract scenario that you will find in MANY romantic comedies. Again, if that’s all the movie was, I would not have liked it, I would have probably reviewed it like, “It was just eh” but because of Abigail’s performance, I must say that I at least enjoyed HER.

She’s just great! From the moment you meet her on screen, you can just feel like something bad is about to happen. Her odd and quirky little face reveals so much character and personality when she acts. You can really feel her pain when she is lying in the hospital and realizes that her mom has passed away. I didn’t buy into any of the other actors emotions throughout the movie like I did with Abigail. She sold me.

I realize this review is very one-sided and it’s not actually a review of the movie, it’s more of a review of Abigail Breslin. The movie was ok. I never really felt the chemistry between Aaron and Catherine, and I truly didn’t feel, apart from 1 breakdown scene in the freezer at the restaurant, like Catherine mourned that much over her sister. It was a slower progressing romantic comedy than I’m used to, and in the end, I really think it was less about the romance between Aaron and Catherine as it was about the relationship between Abigail and Catherine. Abigail made this movie watchable for me.

I wouldn’t have paid money to see this in the theaters, and it would have garnished a pretty low spot in my Netflix queue. It’s a movie that you watch with family, when a lot of people are around…but don’t miss Abigail’s performance.

Content Warning: This movie is rated PG for some sensuality and language. There’s some intense kissing between Catherine and Aaron, but that’s it. The movie is actually pretty clean and it’s quite surprising that a romantic comedy would actually make it as a PG movie.

I can remember watching Mystery Men in college and spending hours on the floor laughing my guts out…this time around, almost 8 years later, I found myself giggling a few times and for the most part, scratching my head in curiosity as to why I thought this was so funny. I still think it’s one of the most underrated Ben Stiller comedies out there, but still, it didn’t blow me away comedic wise. The characters are probably the funniest part of the movie, with their distinguishable “powers” and individualistic takes on the anti-heroes they were. I really love The Simpsons’ Hank Azaria as The Blue Raja, a mid-30’s-still-living-at-home-with-mom nerd who takes on a British accent and is the master of forks. Genius! Greg Kinnear as Captain Amazing was a great role as well, portraying the over-the-top Superman-ish good guy, yet who was so much into his image that he attained sponsors that he wore like Nascar racers on his costume…brilliant!

If it comes on TV on a Saturday afternoon with nothing else to do, I’d probably watch it again, but it’s not worth the money for a rental, and it may only foster a low spot on your Netflix queue.

Content Warning: It’s a pretty clean movie, PG-13 for comic violence and some crude humor involving flatulence. In today’s standards, that’s a pretty clean movie.