Reviews

In this movie, Owen Wilson plays John Grogan, a reporter trying to start his career and new marriage to Jennifer, played by Jennifer Aniston. They move into a house. John' friend, Sebastian, played by Eric Dane, advises to distract her from wanting children by bringing a dog into their lives. That would be Marley.

David Frankel, the director, mixes dramatic moments next to comedic ones. Writers Scott Frank's and Don Roos's (based on the novel by Grogan) script kind of goes on and on, following this dog's lifetime.

All in all, it was a pleasant film, but one that i got too excited about.

It is a real pleasure to see a family movie that is both very funny and extremely moving at the same time. This is one for both the adults and their children.

Florence Henderson stars in this movie about a writer who promises her granddaughter that she'll be at her birthday party. But Florence's character dies just before the date. Once in heaven, Florence's character deals with some very funny bureaucracy in order to keep her promise and try to get back to earth for her granddaughter's birthday. What happens when she finally is able to go back to earth is very poignant.

Writer, Ann Marcus's script is a wonderfully written combination of comedy and drama. She is also able to sneak in some questions about "here" and "there."

Director, Nat Christian serves up a full and delicious meal. He masterfully blends the comedy and drama, rhythmically moving it along to an emotionally moving crescendo. And Christian knows his actors, extracting subtle and moving performances by Florence Henderson, Allison Lange, David Paetkau, Yaani King and Kathryn Gordon.

Florence Henderson is terrific in the lead role. Ms. Henderson is always likable in her TV roles, but here, she displays a sense of tragedy, rarely seen from her. She is natural and "real." Allison Lange is a beautiful actress to watch and gives a moving portrayal as the younger Florence. David Paekau is truthful and very appealing to watch.

Beautiful, Yaani King, delivers a compellingly funny performance. Kathryn Gordon gives an emotionally honest portrayal. Chloe Hunter is sexy in the 1940s sort of way. Skyler Gisondo is wonderfully cute. And Stephanie Patton, a very pleasant new comer, gives a knockout performance.

A cameo by veteran actor, Joe Campanella, is one of the most heart touching scenes that I have seen in a long time. Time Winters is hilarious. Newell Alexander is very charming.

James Barth's music delivers a very effective score also blending comedy and drama. Camera work by Michael Hardwick and the editing by Jeffrey Gove are right on the money.

For Heaven's Sake is a movie that accomplishes the difficult task of delivering real performances and some real drama within the context of some very zany stuff. Mission accomplished.

Peter Segal (the director) and his crew throw in a lot of innocent slapstick in this movie.

Segal and screenwriters Tom Astle and Matt Ember work in trademark lines and gadgets while updating the film for contemporary audiences who may not be familiar with the previous TV series. Smart's shoe phone, and all of the familiar one-liners are present.

Carell is perfect as Smart. Hathaway's comic ability keeps up with Carell. Johnson has a good screen presence. Filling up the cast list, Arkin and James Caan are great.

Trevor Rabin does fine work with the music. All in all, the cast, with Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson, Alan Arkin and Terence Stamp to a good job of bringing the TV series to the big screen, thus allowing Get Smart to fulfill its expectations.

Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez have done an admirable job of scaring many viewers. Personally, I don't get it. It's obvious that they are talented, I just really didn't get frightened by the setting. I wasn't engulfed in it.

The cast was also earnest and came across real. Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard and Michael C. Williams gave it their all.

Neal Fredericks, who shot the movie, deliberately did the shaky-cam thing. Again, for many, it worked. As far as shaky cams go, I suppose he got the desired effect.

I'm going to watch this movie again to see exactly what it was that I missed, or maybe I didn't miss anything at all.