My lovely date and I saw the new Steve Carrell film Get Smart the other evening and in the middle of it, she turned to me and whispered: “Is it All Is Lost yet?”
Assuming she was asking about the movie, whew!, I replied: “One more minute,” and sure enough, moments later, there it was. Remember, knowing structure to impress girls is the reason I got into this years ago. Thank you, Syd Field! But beyond improving one’s social life, the beats help writers tell a story and not worry about structure. And Get Smart is one of the better examples of the Beat Sheet in action.
Spoiler alerts in position, let’s take a look:
I would be very proud if I were the writer of Get Smart. Tough assignment. The biggest success of the story is you did not have to know the series to get it, and if you did, so much the better. They humanized Maxwell Smart (made legend by Don Adams) by making him a wannabe, steeped in research, and trying hard, but not there yet. This is his genesis story, how he and 99 and Fang and the Chief came to be.
Structurally when Steve and Anne Hathaway take on the mission, we enter Act Two. In this version, the really stunning stand-in for Barbara Feldon is a seasoned spy, who (following the Rom-Com commandment Thou Shalt Not Like Each Other At First) is less than pleased to be on the case with a research nerd.
Fun and Games follow as the “set pieces” of dropping behind enemy lines, reconnaissance, gadgets, and spy stuff unfold, all while B Story banter sets this love story into motion. Fun and Games bits and B story beats shuffle as the story heads to Midpoint. The peak comes (in public) at a dance, when in a “false victory” Steve proves himself not only a good spy but a gentleman as he dances with a matronly Moscovite.
And though there is not an A and B cross that results in a first kiss (no “Sex at Sixty” exactly) , it is the first time Anne smiles at Steve and we sense that despite herself she may be fallling for him.
What’s All is Lost? Why it’s when Steve is “worse off than when this movie started” — when he is fired, accused of treason, and loses the girl. I so often teach in class how this is the spot where the hero winds up behind bars, wondering where he went wrong, and there is Steve in a Guantanamo Lite cell doing just that.
But with help from the B Story (Anne who can’t believe Steve really is a traitor), Steve busts out of jumpsuit life and we head into Act Three with a perfect example of the “Five Point Finale” — including Point 4 when Steve “Digs, Deep Down” to come back from the dead after a train-dragging incident. New plan in motion, the reunited team, having made amends to each other and working in Synthesis, stop the Bad Guys.
Watching, you just think this is a funny movie, and it is. Really silly, really wonderful stuff, and not a swear word in it. Again, if it were my script I would be very proud. But structure is never silly. It frees us up to fill in the blanks any which way we like, to be as creative as we can be — and even to impress our dates!
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Dear Blake,
I read Save The Cat (actually several times). I totally enjoyed it. It has become my screen writing Bible. I wrote my first screenplay, “Butterbean-The Bob Love Story” and submitted it to the 2008 Beverly Hills Film Festival and I placed First Runner-Up in the Golden Palm Screenwriting Competition. Thank you so much for your book and the direction it has afforded me.
Log Line: Former NBA star falls from grace and loses everything. He must now go one-on-one against his most formidable opponent, himself.
While watching Get Smart, I totally missed the midpoint. It makes sense now that you pointed it out but I had convinced myself that it wasn’t until the showdown at the nuclear facility and that felt really late. I think the important thing that I forgot was to watch these characters closely and see their personal victories — I suppose I got distracted by this very funny and enjoyable movie (and it’s great, shiny, funny, explode-y action scenes and pretty girls) :)
Good call Blake! It all makes sense now.
wow, Get Smart sounds great!
I cant wait till college.
Most colleges i hate to say, try to push down your creativity.
But the college im attending holds ‘Manifest’ an annual urban arts festival and they have monthly screenings of student films…it sounds amazing!!!
Thanks Blake, for all the inspiration, courage and advice I could not provide for myself.
You better believe i’ll be writing to you in college!! =]
I was actually disappointed by this movie. I’ll let it be known that I’ve never watched any of the original show, but coming into this movie I expected lots of comedy, spoofing Bond, and some action. What I saw was more of the opposite. There was some clever comedy lines tossed in here and there, but it was more worried about having enough action than comedy. I really felt like the movie tried taking itself too seriously.
And Blake, you must have missed the swear words in it, think back to the “swordfish” scene.
But of course, the best way to impress your date is to have your actual name come up on screen as the screenwriter of the movie!
(Unless, of course, you’re watching “The Happening” — :-0)
I used to watch the Get Smart reruns as a kid and I’ve struggled with seeing anyone but Don Adams play Max. On the other hand, I love Steve Carell. In fact, I don’t think there’s anyone we know of today who could even attempt that role – and bring something special to it – but him. That said, I am now going to go see it. Thanks, Blake, for going to the front lines and taking the first blow for the fans of agent 86! I’m now looking forward to seeing it! Maybe I’ll bring your beat sheet breakdown and a small flashlight…
Just saw the Get Smart movie. One of the most enjoyable ones I’ve seen this year. I especially liked the fact that the original Siegfried was in it. He was the one in the blue convertible after Max’s red convertible stalls. Great stuff! You were dead-on, Blake.
I loved Get Smart. Alan Arkin usually steals scenes, but Steve Carell held his own up there. Best comedy of the year so far.
I saw it yesterday, and enjoyed it a lot. Kudos to Steve Carell for not attempting to imitate Don Adams. I think, instead, sticking to the heart of Max, he did more honor to Adams’ portrayal.
Well cast, well acted, and a lot of fun. And yes, when Max ended up in the cell I thought “The All is Lost moment!” And the train sequence? “The Whiff of Death!” Hee.
It is nicely structured indeed.