list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around The Man Who Knew Too Little on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/The_Man_Who_Knew_Too_Little/115851/default.aspx Title: The Man Who Knew Too Little
Year: 1997
Director: Jon Amiel
Plot: Jon Amiel directed this satire on mistaken-identity thrillers and the spy genre, scripted by Robert Farrar, Tim John, and Oliver Butcher from Farrar's unpublished novel, Watch That Man. In the female lead, Joanne Whalley returned to films after a three-year absence, choosing to do so with director Amiel. Farrar's Hitchcockian-style story focuses on naive Blockbuster Video clerk Wallace Ritchie (Bill Murray) who travels from Des Moines, Iowa, to London to celebrate his birthday with his wealthy younger brother, James (Peter Gallagher). When he turns up on the same night that James has plans to attend a high-profile client dinner party (that he hopes will bring him millions from a German investment firm), James needs to keep Wallace away during the evening, so he gives Wallace a ticket to the participatory Theater of Life. The theater game requires Wallace to assume a character and interact with actors portraying people in dramatic situations. At the corner phone booth, the initial call should begin the evening of innocent fun. However, the phone instructions Wallace receives are actually intended for an assassin, part of a scheme to end the current UK regime and revive the Cold War. The real assassin gets the call from the Theater of Life. Blissfully unaware, Wallace walks without fear into a complex web of intrigue involving defense ministers, call girls, and Russian hitmen. For Wallace, all the world's a stage, and he's amazed at the skill of the actors, including beautiful enigmatic Lori (Joanne Whalley) -- while Wallace's pursuers are mystified by their adversary's fearlessness in the face of threats, torture and bullets. Farrar got the idea for this comedy from a chance remark at a party: "The inspiration came from a dinner party, when somebody told me about these strange live theater performances which were all the rage in England in the '80s. The idea was to telephone for instructions if you wanted to take part. My immediate reaction was, 'Wouldn't it be fabulous if somebody got the wrong number, and it all went hopelessly wrong?'" Filming took place in London's East End (Three Mills Studios), at a variety of London locations, and just outside London at the Elstree Film Studios. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 2
Number of Lists: 11
Number of blog posts: 3
Number of discussion threads: 4
SpoutRating: 3
]]>Mon, 08 Dec 2008 20:16:52 GMTThe Man Who Knew Too Little1997Jon AmielJon Amiel directed this satire on mistaken-identity thrillers and the spy genre, scripted by Robert Farrar, Tim John, and Oliver Butcher from Farrar's unpublished novel, Watch That Man. In the female lead, <a href="/players/P____75749/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Joanne Whalley</a> returned to films after a three-year absence, choosing to do so with director Amiel. Farrar's Hitchcockian-style story focuses on naive Blockbuster Video clerk Wallace Ritchie (<a href="/players/P___103861/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Bill Murray</a>) who travels from Des Moines, Iowa, to London to celebrate his birthday with his wealthy younger brother, James (<a href="/players/P____25621/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Peter Gallagher</a>). When he turns up on the same night that James has plans to attend a high-profile client dinner party (that he hopes will bring him millions from a German investment firm), James needs to keep Wallace away during the evening, so he gives Wallace a ticket to the participatory Theater of Life. The theater game requires Wallace to assume a character and interact with actors portraying people in dramatic situations. At the corner phone booth, the initial call should begin the evening of innocent fun. However, the phone instructions Wallace receives are actually intended for an assassin, part of a scheme to end the current UK regime and revive the Cold War. The real assassin gets the call from the Theater of Life. Blissfully unaware, Wallace walks without fear into a complex web of intrigue involving defense ministers, call girls, and Russian hitmen. For Wallace, all the world's a stage, and he's amazed at the skill of the actors, including beautiful enigmatic Lori (<a href="/players/P____75749/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Joanne Whalley</a>) -- while Wallace's pursuers are mystified by their adversary's fearlessness in the face of threats, torture and bullets. Farrar got the idea for this comedy from a chance remark at a party: "The inspiration came from a dinner party, when somebody told me about these strange live theater performances which were all the rage in England in the '80s. The idea was to telephone for instructions if you wanted to take part. My immediate reaction was, 'Wouldn't it be fabulous if somebody got the wrong number, and it all went hopelessly wrong?'" Filming took place in London's East End (Three Mills Studios), at a variety of London locations, and just outside London at the Elstree Film Studios. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide2Slightly Tagged (1-5)11343http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t00462gefih.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/The_Man_Who_Knew_Too_Little/115851/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Weekly_Theme_for_December_8_Good_Old_Fashioned_Es/625/38068/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: mercurial
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 12/8/2008 3:16:52 PM
Body: In this day and age when parents begin spying on their children in the crib with baby monitors and the elderly can purchase earpieces that give them superhuman hearing to keep up with their neighborhood gossip, anybody can become a spy. With everyone so paranoid it's no wonder that movies that glorify secret agents and international men of mystery do so well at the box office. So let's spend this week talking about those lucky few individuals who's business card reads spy and those unfortunate others that unwittingly fall into the mysterious world of twisted alliances, fancy gadgets and licenses to kill. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - If Looks Could Kill and The Man Who Knew Too Little top my list of inadvertent spies that get to experience the life for a short while before their boring true identities are revealed. D.E.B.S. and The Long Kiss Goodnight are great flicks with woman doing all the dirty work. And Spy Kids is a great family film that goes all out with the action, adventure and nifty gadgets.
]]>Mon, 08 Dec 2008 20:16:52 GMTmercurialWeekly Theme12/8/2008 3:16:52 PMIn this day and age when parents begin spying on their children in the crib with baby monitors and the elderly can purchase earpieces that give them superhuman hearing to keep up with their neighborhood gossip, anybody can become a spy. With everyone so paranoid it's no wonder that movies that glorify secret agents and international men of mystery do so well at the box office. So let's spend this week talking about those lucky few individuals who's business card reads spy and those unfortunate others that unwittingly fall into the mysterious world of twisted alliances, fancy gadgets and licenses to kill. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - If Looks Could Kill and The Man Who Knew Too Little top my list of inadvertent spies that get to experience the life for a short while before their boring true identities are revealed. D.E.B.S. and The Long Kiss Goodnight are great flicks with woman doing all the dirty work. And Spy Kids is a great family film that goes all out with the action, adventure and nifty gadgets. http://www.spout.com/groups/Movie_Polls/Re_What_is_your_favorite_major_Bill_Murray_role_ou/657/38023/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: JimBell
Post To: Movie Polls
Post Date: 12/6/2008 6:03:30 PM
Body: [quote user="SkyPilot"] [quote user="Risselada"] 2003's Lost in Translation was the first top billing movie he had since 1997's The Man Who Knew Too Little. And other than Groundhog Day, I'm not sure if he'd had had any major roles that had this high of a ratio of "drama" compared to the "comedy"... When I look back through a drug-induced, brain-adled haze, I cannot honestly say that I remember Bill's acting as distinct from the movie. That's why I think Lost in Translation, Groundhog Day, and Rushmore featured such stellar acting--because I think those were the best movies. Just declaring my handicap. By that point he was in Razor's Edge, but I haven't seen it, and I don't know of any other pre-angst drama roles. [/quote]
]]>Sat, 06 Dec 2008 23:03:30 GMTJimBellMovie Polls12/6/2008 6:03:30 PM[quote user="SkyPilot"] [quote user="Risselada"] 2003's Lost in Translation was the first top billing movie he had since 1997's The Man Who Knew Too Little. And other than Groundhog Day, I'm not sure if he'd had had any major roles that had this high of a ratio of "drama" compared to the "comedy"... When I look back through a drug-induced, brain-adled haze, I cannot honestly say that I remember Bill's acting as distinct from the movie. That's why I think Lost in Translation, Groundhog Day, and Rushmore featured such stellar acting--because I think those were the best movies. Just declaring my handicap. By that point he was in Razor's Edge, but I haven't seen it, and I don't know of any other pre-angst drama roles. [/quote] http://www.spout.com/groups/Movie_Polls/Re_What_is_your_favorite_major_Bill_Murray_role_ou/657/38014/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: SkyPilot
Post To: Movie Polls
Post Date: 12/5/2008 10:00:42 PM
Body: [quote user="Risselada"] 2003's Lost in Translation was the first top billing movie he had since 1997's The Man Who Knew Too Little. And other than Groundhog Day, I'm not sure if he'd had had any major roles that had this high of a ratio of "drama" compared to the "comedy"... [/quote] By that point he was in Razor's Edge, but I haven't seen it, and I don't know of any other pre-angst drama roles.
]]>Sat, 06 Dec 2008 03:00:42 GMTSkyPilotMovie Polls12/5/2008 10:00:42 PM[quote user="Risselada"] 2003's Lost in Translation was the first top billing movie he had since 1997's The Man Who Knew Too Little. And other than Groundhog Day, I'm not sure if he'd had had any major roles that had this high of a ratio of "drama" compared to the "comedy"... [/quote] By that point he was in Razor's Edge, but I haven't seen it, and I don't know of any other pre-angst drama roles. http://www.spout.com/groups/Movie_Polls/Re_What_is_your_favorite_major_Bill_Murray_role_ou/657/38005/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: Risselada
Post To: Movie Polls
Post Date: 12/5/2008 6:06:59 PM
Body: [quote user="joem18b"] Aren't Lost In Translation, Broken Flowers, and The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou sort of regarded as a trilogy? Murray's angst period? Cause that way I can just vote for all three of them as a set. [/quote] It seems like a lot of people are viewing it that way. At any rate, so far no one has voted for Garfield or City of Embers. Which I'm really not surprised by even though I haven't seen either of them. I don't even know if he has a "major" role in City of Embers. 2003's Lost in Translation was the first top billing movie he had since 1997's The Man Who Knew Too Little. And other than Groundhog Day, I'm not sure if he'd had had any major roles that had this high of a ratio of "drama" compared to the "comedy" (if you can really separate those two things when they appear to their fullest extent). I also see he was recently in the movies Get Smart and The Lost City. Niether of which I have seen either. Does anyone know how big of a role he had in these films? And if they are worth watching?
]]>Fri, 05 Dec 2008 23:06:59 GMTRisseladaMovie Polls12/5/2008 6:06:59 PM[quote user="joem18b"] Aren't Lost In Translation, Broken Flowers, and The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou sort of regarded as a trilogy? Murray's angst period? Cause that way I can just vote for all three of them as a set. [/quote] It seems like a lot of people are viewing it that way. At any rate, so far no one has voted for Garfield or City of Embers. Which I'm really not surprised by even though I haven't seen either of them. I don't even know if he has a "major" role in City of Embers. 2003's Lost in Translation was the first top billing movie he had since 1997's The Man Who Knew Too Little. And other than Groundhog Day, I'm not sure if he'd had had any major roles that had this high of a ratio of "drama" compared to the "comedy" (if you can really separate those two things when they appear to their fullest extent). I also see he was recently in the movies Get Smart and The Lost City. Niether of which I have seen either. Does anyone know how big of a role he had in these films? And if they are worth watching? http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/10/8/36041.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 10/8/2008 3:01:15 PM
Body: Everyone loves Bill Murray, but only the die hard fans recognize the majority of his work. The rest, unfortunately, concentrate too much on his greatest films, such as Stripes, Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day, Lost in Translation and all of his collaborations with Wes Anderson. Yet while each of these films, and Murray’s roles and performances in them, are certainly deserving of their preferred and predominant praises, Murray is the kind of actor who is so talented and entertaining that he can be enjoyed in even the worst movies on his resume. In fact, he’s probably the only A-lister who could lend his voice to a bastardized CG version of a beloved cartoon character and get away with barely any contempt from his devotees. This week, Bill Murray makes an appearance in the new kiddie sci-fi flick City of Ember as the selfish mayor of a doomed underground metropolis. And it’s sure to be one of his less-appreciated roles, whether because it’s in a children’s movie, because it’s a supporting part in an ensemble filled with many talented actors, or because it’s not Ghostbusters 3. But those who really love Murray will likely flock to the movie primarily to see him, just as they did and do for the rest of these movies with underrated Murray roles: “Frank Cross” in Scrooged (1988) He would later perfect the asshole-turns-saint thing in Groundhog Day, experience an even worse cabbie than David Johansen in Quick Change and find an even more despicable character to play in Kingpin, but there are plenty of reasons why we shouldn’t dismiss Murray’s first real venture into unlikable territory. For one, look at the emotion he shows after visiting his childhood home. Yes, Murray can cry on cue! (see the clip above.) As the evil TV exec Frank Cross, the actor shows great range with some of his best displays of mania, pathos and slurberts (aka stomach raspberries). “Grimm” in Quick Change (1990) The character must be forgiven for hating New York City so much, but otherwise the curmudgeonly bank robbing clown from Quick Change is one of Murray’s best roles ever. As cranky and cynical as he is, he’s never too mean, miserable or unreasonable that you stop rooting for him throughout his long, oft-interrupted getaway scheme. If anything, you like his selfish antihero more and more thanks to quick-witted and big-balled maneuvers such as his accidental yet profitable encounter with a criminal organization (see the clip above). Murray also deserves props for never allowing himself to be upstaged, despite working opposite the most hilarious performances from scene stealers like Randy Quaid, Tony Shalhoub and Stanley Tucci. “Polonius” in Hamlet (2000) Bill Murray performing Shakespeare! Just because Michael Almereyda’s adaptation is modernized and not so well-appreciated doesn’t make the part any less respectable. In fact, Murray’s performance as the wise father of Ophelia and Laertes (respectively played by Julia Stiles and Liev Schrieber, both of whom we more expect to see doing Shakespeare) is one of the things many critics praised about the film. Unfortunately, this version of Hamlet is slipping through the cracks of cinematic memory, probably thanks to people’s discomfort with Ethan Hawke in the lead. But Murray’s part at least deserves some viral recognition on YouTube or something. And if Geoffrey Rush is unable to take his offered part in Julie Taymor’s new film of The Tempest, wouldn’t it be amazing if Murray could be next on the wish list to play Gonzalo? “The Writer” from The Lost City (2005) Another movie that’s not very good and that not a lot of people have seen is Andy Garcia’s labor of love set in Havana during the Cuban revolution. And like most movies featuring a minor appearance from Murray, The Lost City is at least worth watching just for him. In fact, you could easily just fast-forward to each of his scenes and not miss anything since his role and performance is so out of place anyway. “Nick Kessler” in Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976) Even when Murray doesn’t speak he makes a movie worth watching simply to see him. Paul Mazursky’s semi-autobiographical film can be a little boring in the scenes lacking Shelley Winters (even the young Christopher Walken can be a little soporific here), but in an uncredited role, Murray gives life into a party scene in which he just hangs out in the background. Sure, the perk you’ll get is mostly from recognizing him, but it’s still a perk. “Bob Wiley” in What About Bob? (1991) Mazursky could have worked with Murray again by casting him as the bum in Down and Out in Beverly Hills, and then there’d have been no need for What About Bob?, a movie that completely recycles Richard Dreyfuss’ character from that earlier film. But Nick Nolte is perfect in Down and Out, and besides the world is better off for having a movie in which Murray plays an endearing multiphobic who also often seems to be an oblivious idiot. “Wally Ritchie” in The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997) Murray returned to the oblivious idiot shtick, only more intently and more underratedly, a few years later. This was one of the actor’s last movies before recieving his reinventive “comeback” role in Rushmore, and it’s probably his least popular performance. But as stupid as both the script and the character are, any true Murray fan will find a number of funny and appreciable moments here. “Tommy Crickshaw” in Cradle Will Rock (1999) The complete opposite of his role from two years earlier in The Man Who Knew Too Little, Murray’s devoutly anti-communist ventriloquist is one of the actor’s most understated performances and most underappreciated characters ever. There’s not even anything that can be said about the role that would provide more evidence of its worth than would a compilation of his scenes from the film. Fortunately one exists (see the above clip). “John Bosley” from Charlie’s Angels (2000) With David Doyle dead and therefore unavailable, Murray was the only actor who could do justice to the role of Bosley in the big screen version of TV’s Charlie’s Angels, and this was clear enough to Sony that they didn’t attempt to truly replace him in the sequel, instead going totally different with Bernie Mac. “Hunter S. Thompson” in Where the Buffalo Roam (1980) Now that we’ve seen Johnny Depp’s brilliant portrayal of the Gonzo journalist, it’s clear that Bill Murray wasn’t the only actor who could do justice to Thompson’s quirk, and he certainly isn’t the best man for the task. Yet aside from a number of scenes that now make Murray’s impersonation seem more SNL-worthy than it probably should (see this oft-shown bit), there are times when he’s truly got the real character down, such as in the moment when he speaks at a college (see the clip above). Between this role and his portrayal of actor Bunny Breckinridge in Ed Wood (in which he costars with his fellow Thompson portrayer), it’s clear that Murray should be playing more real people. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Wed, 08 Oct 2008 19:01:15 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com10/8/2008 3:01:15 PMEveryone loves Bill Murray, but only the die hard fans recognize the majority of his work. The rest, unfortunately, concentrate too much on his greatest films, such as Stripes, Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day, Lost in Translation and all of his collaborations with Wes Anderson. Yet while each of these films, and Murray’s roles and performances in them, are certainly deserving of their preferred and predominant praises, Murray is the kind of actor who is so talented and entertaining that he can be enjoyed in even the worst movies on his resume. In fact, he’s probably the only A-lister who could lend his voice to a bastardized CG version of a beloved cartoon character and get away with barely any contempt from his devotees. This week, Bill Murray makes an appearance in the new kiddie sci-fi flick City of Ember as the selfish mayor of a doomed underground metropolis. And it’s sure to be one of his less-appreciated roles, whether because it’s in a children’s movie, because it’s a supporting part in an ensemble filled with many talented actors, or because it’s not Ghostbusters 3. But those who really love Murray will likely flock to the movie primarily to see him, just as they did and do for the rest of these movies with underrated Murray roles: “Frank Cross” in Scrooged (1988) He would later perfect the asshole-turns-saint thing in Groundhog Day, experience an even worse cabbie than David Johansen in Quick Change and find an even more despicable character to play in Kingpin, but there are plenty of reasons why we shouldn’t dismiss Murray’s first real venture into unlikable territory. For one, look at the emotion he shows after visiting his childhood home. Yes, Murray can cry on cue! (see the clip above.) As the evil TV exec Frank Cross, the actor shows great range with some of his best displays of mania, pathos and slurberts (aka stomach raspberries). “Grimm” in Quick Change (1990) The character must be forgiven for hating New York City so much, but otherwise the curmudgeonly bank robbing clown from Quick Change is one of Murray’s best roles ever. As cranky and cynical as he is, he’s never too mean, miserable or unreasonable that you stop rooting for him throughout his long, oft-interrupted getaway scheme. If anything, you like his selfish antihero more and more thanks to quick-witted and big-balled maneuvers such as his accidental yet profitable encounter with a criminal organization (see the clip above). Murray also deserves props for never allowing himself to be upstaged, despite working opposite the most hilarious performances from scene stealers like Randy Quaid, Tony Shalhoub and Stanley Tucci. “Polonius” in Hamlet (2000) Bill Murray performing Shakespeare! Just because Michael Almereyda’s adaptation is modernized and not so well-appreciated doesn’t make the part any less respectable. In fact, Murray’s performance as the wise father of Ophelia and Laertes (respectively played by Julia Stiles and Liev Schrieber, both of whom we more expect to see doing Shakespeare) is one of the things many critics praised about the film. Unfortunately, this version of Hamlet is slipping through the cracks of cinematic memory, probably thanks to people’s discomfort with Ethan Hawke in the lead. But Murray’s part at least deserves some viral recognition on YouTube or something. And if Geoffrey Rush is unable to take his offered part in Julie Taymor’s new film of The Tempest, wouldn’t it be amazing if Murray could be next on the wish list to play Gonzalo? “The Writer” from The Lost City (2005) Another movie that’s not very good and that not a lot of people have seen is Andy Garcia’s labor of love set in Havana during the Cuban revolution. And like most movies featuring a minor appearance from Murray, The Lost City is at least worth watching just for him. In fact, you could easily just fast-forward to each of his scenes and not miss anything since his role and performance is so out of place anyway. “Nick Kessler” in Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976) Even when Murray doesn’t speak he makes a movie worth watching simply to see him. Paul Mazursky’s semi-autobiographical film can be a little boring in the scenes lacking Shelley Winters (even the young Christopher Walken can be a little soporific here), but in an uncredited role, Murray gives life into a party scene in which he just hangs out in the background. Sure, the perk you’ll get is mostly from recognizing him, but it’s still a perk. “Bob Wiley” in What About Bob? (1991) Mazursky could have worked with Murray again by casting him as the bum in Down and Out in Beverly Hills, and then there’d have been no need for What About Bob?, a movie that completely recycles Richard Dreyfuss’ character from that earlier film. But Nick Nolte is perfect in Down and Out, and besides the world is better off for having a movie in which Murray plays an endearing multiphobic who also often seems to be an oblivious idiot. “Wally Ritchie” in The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997) Murray returned to the oblivious idiot shtick, only more intently and more underratedly, a few years later. This was one of the actor’s last movies before recieving his reinventive “comeback” role in Rushmore, and it’s probably his least popular performance. But as stupid as both the script and the character are, any true Murray fan will find a number of funny and appreciable moments here. “Tommy Crickshaw” in Cradle Will Rock (1999) The complete opposite of his role from two years earlier in The Man Who Knew Too Little, Murray’s devoutly anti-communist ventriloquist is one of the actor’s most understated performances and most underappreciated characters ever. There’s not even anything that can be said about the role that would provide more evidence of its worth than would a compilation of his scenes from the film. Fortunately one exists (see the above clip). “John Bosley” from Charlie’s Angels (2000) With David Doyle dead and therefore unavailable, Murray was the only actor who could do justice to the role of Bosley in the big screen version of TV’s Charlie’s Angels, and this was clear enough to Sony that they didn’t attempt to truly replace him in the sequel, instead going totally different with Bernie Mac. “Hunter S. Thompson” in Where the Buffalo Roam (1980) Now that we’ve seen Johnny Depp’s brilliant portrayal of the Gonzo journalist, it’s clear that Bill Murray wasn’t the only actor who could do justice to Thompson’s quirk, and he certainly isn’t the best man for the task. Yet aside from a number of scenes that now make Murray’s impersonation seem more SNL-worthy than it probably should (see this oft-shown bit), there are times when he’s truly got the real character down, such as in the moment when he speaks at a college (see the clip above). Between this role and his portrayal of actor Bunny Breckinridge in Ed Wood (in which he costars with his fellow Thompson portrayer), it’s clear that Murray should be playing more real people. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/6/16/31288.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 6/16/2008 5:01:14 PM
Body: The best time for a Get Smart movie would have been the late ’60s, when the original television series was still on the air. In fact, there was a theatrical Get Smart film in the works during the run of the show, but it was canceled when the theatrical release of Munster, Go Home! bombed at the box office. Many years later, in 1980, a Get Smart feature titled The Nude Bomb was released to theaters, but it also performed poorly. Now we’re getting a remake version starring Steve Carell in the role that was so iconically defined by the late Don Adams. Will it do the show justice? Reportedly the budget was $80 million, a significant amount of which was probably put towards pointless effects. But the best thing Warner Bros. could have done with that money is to give a large amount to series creators Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, who probably even today could churn out a better script than Failure to Launch scribes Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember. Despite its lack of original Get Smart talent, though, it could still be marginally funny. Yet the real problem is that it may be too outdated and obsolete for audiences to care. In the four decades since the show went off the air, there has been plenty of similar-themed movies, from spy spoofs to films with bumbling heroes. The following ten titles are the best evidence of why this new Get Smart movie is completely unnecessary: Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery - It’s interesting that Get Smart is going up against a Mike Myers movie this weekend, because in a way it’s also going up against Myers’ Austin Powers movies, as well. Sure, spy parodies have been around in spades since around the time of the first James Bond movie, but nothing has been as popular as this series, which of course includes the much bigger-grossing sequels, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Austin Powers in Goldmember. Inspector Gadget - The original animated series was based on Get Smart and even featured the voice of Don Adams. Also like Get Smart, it was remade into a feature film with a different cast. However, it did find room to employ both Adams (as the voice of the dog, Brain) and Andy Dick (who had played Maxwell Smart’s son in a 1990s Get Smart series). Regardless, it was still a failure, both in terms of its box office gross and the way it ruined our childhood memory of the beloved cartoon. Perhaps if the Get Smart movie is good enough, then it could make up for Inspector Gadget (and its sequel), but it would have to be really, really good. The Pink Panther - You might say that Get Smart came about as a response to both the Bond films and the original Pink Panther movies, which featured a bumbling police inspector instead of a bumbling spy. The recent remake of The Pink Panther already showed us that some characters should really be forever remembered by their most iconic portrayer. In this case Steve Martin was nothing compared to Peter Sellers, while in the case of Get Smart, Steve Carell is only muddying the memory of Don Adams. Even if he does a good job, he’s just not the real Maxwell Smart. He should just be in another lame generic spy spoof instead. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy - Want to see Steve Carell act clueless? Watch Anchorman again, because he can’t top his performance as Brick Tamland. “I love lamp.” The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! - The show Police Squad was in a way like Get Smart, only with a clueless detective rather than a clueless spy (I guess it could be seen as more like The Pink Panther then?). Fortunately that series only took a few years to spin-off a feature film, and thanks to the genius of Jim Abrahams and the Zucker Bros., who are almost equal in spoofing ability to Mel Brooks, it is funnier than any single episode or film of Get Smart can be without Brooks’ involvement. Spy Hard - Leslie Nielsen starred as the bumbling detective in the Naked Gun movies and then later played a bumbling spy in this spoof. The result: if Nielsen hadn’t already supplanted the Maxwell Smart character earlier, he did so here, even if really, really poorly. The Man Who Knew Too Little - More clueless spy stuff, this one an underrated movie starring Bill Murray. It actually made less money than The Nude Bomb (even without an inflation adjustment), but I enjoyed it a lot, probably more than I’ll enjoy Get Smart. Johnny English - Yep, I’m still just listing the other recent spy spoofs. But, really, there’s a point. When even Rowan Atkinson has done the bumbling spy bit, it’s time to hang up on the idea. I Spy - Did I already point out that #s 6-10 are more spy comedies? And there’s a lot that I’m not even including! This one is significant because it’s also based on a hit TV series. And it was a huge bomb. Spies Like Us - The thing I like best about the original Get Smart, as well as a number of the films on this list, is that the incompetent hero isn’t really aware of how incompetent he really is. The best movie to utilize this premise, though, has to be Spies Like Us. But that movie came out toward the end of the Cold War, when spy stuff was seeming ridiculously outdated. Comparatively, Get Smart arrives post 9/11, when the fact that American intelligence is incompetent is not so funny anymore. I think that now audiences would much prefer to see more serious spy films, like the Bond reboot Casino Royale (note the significance of this film being kind of a remake of a Bond parody) and the Bourne Identity franchise. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Mon, 16 Jun 2008 21:01:14 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com6/16/2008 5:01:14 PMThe best time for a Get Smart movie would have been the late ’60s, when the original television series was still on the air. In fact, there was a theatrical Get Smart film in the works during the run of the show, but it was canceled when the theatrical release of Munster, Go Home! bombed at the box office. Many years later, in 1980, a Get Smart feature titled The Nude Bomb was released to theaters, but it also performed poorly. Now we’re getting a remake version starring Steve Carell in the role that was so iconically defined by the late Don Adams. Will it do the show justice? Reportedly the budget was $80 million, a significant amount of which was probably put towards pointless effects. But the best thing Warner Bros. could have done with that money is to give a large amount to series creators Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, who probably even today could churn out a better script than Failure to Launch scribes Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember. Despite its lack of original Get Smart talent, though, it could still be marginally funny. Yet the real problem is that it may be too outdated and obsolete for audiences to care. In the four decades since the show went off the air, there has been plenty of similar-themed movies, from spy spoofs to films with bumbling heroes. The following ten titles are the best evidence of why this new Get Smart movie is completely unnecessary: Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery - It’s interesting that Get Smart is going up against a Mike Myers movie this weekend, because in a way it’s also going up against Myers’ Austin Powers movies, as well. Sure, spy parodies have been around in spades since around the time of the first James Bond movie, but nothing has been as popular as this series, which of course includes the much bigger-grossing sequels, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Austin Powers in Goldmember. Inspector Gadget - The original animated series was based on Get Smart and even featured the voice of Don Adams. Also like Get Smart, it was remade into a feature film with a different cast. However, it did find room to employ both Adams (as the voice of the dog, Brain) and Andy Dick (who had played Maxwell Smart’s son in a 1990s Get Smart series). Regardless, it was still a failure, both in terms of its box office gross and the way it ruined our childhood memory of the beloved cartoon. Perhaps if the Get Smart movie is good enough, then it could make up for Inspector Gadget (and its sequel), but it would have to be really, really good. The Pink Panther - You might say that Get Smart came about as a response to both the Bond films and the original Pink Panther movies, which featured a bumbling police inspector instead of a bumbling spy. The recent remake of The Pink Panther already showed us that some characters should really be forever remembered by their most iconic portrayer. In this case Steve Martin was nothing compared to Peter Sellers, while in the case of Get Smart, Steve Carell is only muddying the memory of Don Adams. Even if he does a good job, he’s just not the real Maxwell Smart. He should just be in another lame generic spy spoof instead. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy - Want to see Steve Carell act clueless? Watch Anchorman again, because he can’t top his performance as Brick Tamland. “I love lamp.” The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! - The show Police Squad was in a way like Get Smart, only with a clueless detective rather than a clueless spy (I guess it could be seen as more like The Pink Panther then?). Fortunately that series only took a few years to spin-off a feature film, and thanks to the genius of Jim Abrahams and the Zucker Bros., who are almost equal in spoofing ability to Mel Brooks, it is funnier than any single episode or film of Get Smart can be without Brooks’ involvement. Spy Hard - Leslie Nielsen starred as the bumbling detective in the Naked Gun movies and then later played a bumbling spy in this spoof. The result: if Nielsen hadn’t already supplanted the Maxwell Smart character earlier, he did so here, even if really, really poorly. The Man Who Knew Too Little - More clueless spy stuff, this one an underrated movie starring Bill Murray. It actually made less money than The Nude Bomb (even without an inflation adjustment), but I enjoyed it a lot, probably more than I’ll enjoy Get Smart. Johnny English - Yep, I’m still just listing the other recent spy spoofs. But, really, there’s a point. When even Rowan Atkinson has done the bumbling spy bit, it’s time to hang up on the idea. I Spy - Did I already point out that #s 6-10 are more spy comedies? And there’s a lot that I’m not even including! This one is significant because it’s also based on a hit TV series. And it was a huge bomb. Spies Like Us - The thing I like best about the original Get Smart, as well as a number of the films on this list, is that the incompetent hero isn’t really aware of how incompetent he really is. The best movie to utilize this premise, though, has to be Spies Like Us. But that movie came out toward the end of the Cold War, when spy stuff was seeming ridiculously outdated. Comparatively, Get Smart arrives post 9/11, when the fact that American intelligence is incompetent is not so funny anymore. I think that now audiences would much prefer to see more serious spy films, like the Bond reboot Casino Royale (note the significance of this film being kind of a remake of a Bond parody) and the Bourne Identity franchise. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/dickbuist/archive/2007/2/12/5396.aspx Post By: dickbuist
Post To: dickbuist Blog
Post Date: 2/12/2007 9:12:12 PM
Body: I found this laugh out loud funny!! This is the Bill (Groundhog Day) Murray that I love! Way better than "Lost in Translation" and "Rushmore" - however that could be just the wine talking!
]]>Tue, 13 Feb 2007 02:12:12 GMTdickbuistdickbuist Blog2/12/2007 9:12:12 PMI found this laugh out loud funny!! This is the Bill (Groundhog Day) Murray that I love! Way better than &quot;Lost in Translation&quot; and &quot;Rushmore&quot; - however that could be just the wine talking! http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/funny/MemberTagFilms.aspxfunny
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