As a kid I used to love watching reruns of Get Smart because A) it was a spy show and B) is was funny as hell. I was worried about the new movie until I heard they had signed Steve Carell to take on the role of Maxwell Smart. If there’s one guy who might step into the shoe phone left behind by Don Adams, I think he’s it. Apparently Mel Brooks feels the same way:

Q: A lot of your projects have been getting remade recently. Do you go to them or do they come to you?

A: It’s all haphazard. Someone called me up and said, “They’re making a movie of ‘Get Smart.’ “ I said, “Oh, really? What are they going to call it?” They said, “‘Get Smart.’ “ I said, “That was wise.”

Because they did do a movie based on “Get Smart” about 20 years ago called “The Nude Bomb.” I said, “That’s foolish.”

Q: You didn’t have any say in the title?

A: No, not at all. I had nothing to do with it. They never even called me! This one, they called me from Day One. They said, “What do you think of this?” Or “What do you think of that?” And I’d say yay or nay.

It’s got a good director, Peter Segal. Wonderful director. The writers were great. The producers were young and aggressive and smart. But the brilliance is Steve Carell. To choose a guy who’s right in the Don Adams groove. You couldn’t get a better guy than Steve Carell. And yet he doesn’t do Don Adams. He does none of his delivery. He just does Steve Carell.

For those of you who aren’t overly familiar with Get Smart, as it’s a rather old show, I should probably mention that Mel Brooks was the guy responsible for the original shows existence. Which is why I find his comments on the new film very reassuring. If it ends up being pretty good then perhaps we’ll get a sequel or two out of it.