The story seems simple enough; it makes you wonder what the appeal of the movie is. The answer is simple: it all goes back to Carell and the central character of Maxwell Smart. You see, Get Smart is not about the plot — the story is secondary to the arc followed by Maxwell. This is a movie that is about a dream; it is about living the dream, of working hard for what you want, even if what you want is not an ideal fit for you. It is something like going to Fantasy Camp — you know, those middle-aged men who go to Florida to play baseball with retired stars, have fun, and compete with the players you grew up watching. Maxwell Smart is that guy. He is clearly not cut out for field work. He is not incompetent, but he lacks the real-world sensibilities to be successful despite all of his book smarts. There is also a little hero worship, evidenced by his interaction with the agency's star attraction, Agent 23 (Dwayne Johnson).

When we first meet Maxwell he is a top analyst where he translates Russian chatter, writes up long-winded reports and discusses, in great detail his findings. All this while training hard for field work, taking the tests year after year in the hopes of being promoted to field agent. When all of the CONTROL agents are hit, the Chief has no other choice but to promote Smart to the field, where he becomes Agent 86 and is teamed with Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway). She is clearly more experienced than 86 and is not prepared to train on the job. The relationship that develops is interesting, as 86 keeps getting in trouble that requires 99 to aid in his continued well being. Still, despite 86's blunders, he always manages to come out on top, successful in spite of himself.

All through the film, we ride along with Maxwell Smart as he lives his dream. He is in the field, fighting the bad guys and saving the world. It is not that he is bad at the job or does not know what needs to be done; it is this fact that makes him an intriguing character. It could have been very easy to write the character as an incompetent bumbler who cannot do anything right. Fortunately, screenwriters Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember, who previously teamed for Failure to Launch, do not take the easy route and instead make Smart an interesting character, intelligent but not truly field-ready.