Buck Henry (1930–2020)

In this biting exploration of the misplaced American Dream, ambitious Suzanne Stone wants to be a famous news anchor more than any else, but she lives in Maine, and her junior college degree hasn't opened any doors except at the local news affiliate. She's a little daft, too, but she is beautiful and manipulative, and her compliant husband will do just about anything she says. That is, he'll do anything she says except move across the country so that Suzanne will have more opportunities. show more When he says, no, Suzanne seduces a teenaged misfit, persuading him to commit murder.

Nicole Kidman is transcendent in what I believe is her best role, and young Joaquin Phoenix evokes stunning pathos. I'm not sure why this movie didn't do well when it first came out. It's smart and funny, and it exposes the inherent ugliness of fame. I'm glad to see that it's aged well. show less

A chaotic woman crashes a man's life.

3/4 (Good)

Chaos characters are great. Screwball comedies are great. This is far from perfect, but I was consistently delighted.

(Mar. 2022)

This still holds up pretty well and is certainly better than the films. Even the repeated gags, such as the Cone of Silence, are somehow funny over and over, as are Max's tag lines, most of which came from Don Adams' pre-Get Smart comedy routines.

This is a great set, and an even greater show. It’s good clean fun for the whole family, and everybody who hasn’t seen Get Smart, by all means should. The special features were very interesting, not like the documentaries with a monotonous voice droning on about the filming of it, but with interviews with people like Barbara Feldon and the infamously versatile Bernie Kopell. The only complaints I’d have are that the little booklet in front is in such a place that it falls out every show more time you tilt the box, and that the discs don’t fasten all the time and sometimes come loose. If those are the worst things about it, it must be pretty good, huh? show less