The Nude Bomb (1980)

One of my all time favorites.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

I hated this when it came out, mostly because so much of the original cast was missing. Most notably, Barbara Feldon, who didn't want to be type cast as 99 and so refused to do it. But also Ed Platt (passed away) Bernie Kopell (busy doing Love Boat) Dave Ketchum (inexplicably recast) Dick Gautier (what no Hymie!?!?) And then, in the case of Robert Karvelas, who actually returns as Larrabbee, he's grossly underused.But in this day and age of reboots, which were unheard of when this movie was originally released, it's not only not half bad, it's about 4/5 good.Well directed, with a funny fast-moving script, great costumes and sets, clever action sequences (the desk-mobile car chase and the clone fight most notably) sexy female co-stars, and a catchy theme song-- it really worked for me as a James Bond/Pink Panther parody, which is what the series was pitched as in the first place. In fact I would argue from a directorial and production value standpoint it was better than the last few Pink Panther movies. (Sorry, but for all his 60's successes, Blake Edwards really devolved into a hack director in the 70's and 80's.) It's too bad too many people, like myself at the time, were too in love with the original, or I think it would have been better received. Peter Sellers had just passed away and this would have been a good movie series to replace the void left my no more Pink Panthers.OK, OK, the Universal Studios stuff was a little too much, but it's not even an 8 minute long sequence in the film.I read somewhere that it was nominated for a Razzie as one of the worst movies of 1980. Below is a link to all the movies released that year. What an amazing year for movies!http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/year/1980 But I can find, IMHO, at least 20 movies worse than this that came out in '80. Heaven's Gate for sure, and Sellers' posthumous release The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu certainly. So I think this movie was unfairly dissed.Sadly, Don Adams (star) Clive Donner (director) Leonard Stern (writer) and Arne Sultan (writer) have all passed away. But if they still read reviews up in heaven, or if Bill Dana (writer/co-star) who is still with us ever stops by IMDb I want them all to know that this was not the "bomb" everyone thinks it is.Very funny, very well made picture, that hits more often than it misses.

The recent big budget remake of Get Smart has led to a re-release of this unfortunate loser of a movie (hint: it has BOMB in the title) but it still isn't very good. Back when this baby was made in the late 70s, the Get Smart TV series had long been in re-run heaven and fans of the show (me included) had seen every episode three or four times and knew every over-repeated, uber laugh tracked joke by heart. This movie, and series star Don Adams, thus had a fair bit of goodwill with which to promote the movie. Despite this, the movie bombed and the reason is dead obvious: there just aren't very many laughs here. The cast try very hard to match the wacky tone and quick-fire delivery of the original, but the material isn't there. This is unacceptable, especially since the original series had few laugh out loud moments and a lot of rather corny and over-used gags. Given the few YEARS that this item was in development (rather than the few weeks the original series writers had to knock together an episode script) it should not have been too hard to throw together enough gags to at least match the original's entertainment value. Sadly, the gags aren't there, plus the movie's attempt to re-invent the Maxwell Smart character as a bit of a swinging spy ladies' man misfire. The production values look okay, which suggests that budget was not an issue, and Smart's co-stars are a fetching group, especially Sylvia Kristel and Pamela Hensley. But the infectious fun of the series just never materializes. Sad really. If the thing had been a hit, Adams might have re-invigorated his career the way Shatner did, rather than just remaining typecast and unemployable.

"THE NUDE BOMB" looks and feels like a cheap attempt to resurrect a 60's TV show for 80's Movie audiences - a la "Star Trek". And it is. But there's nothing terribly wrong with the film, if only that it jettisons practically every character the "Get Smart!" show created and introduces an all-new spy agency for Maxwell Smart (Don Adams) to work for. The film might make die-hard fans a little disappointed, but casual viewers probably won't care.The plot makes very little sense - a evil fashion designer blackmails the clothes-wearing world with potential, full-blown nudity via The Nude Bomb - and it seems to zig-zag in an half-hearted attempt to string together as many mildly-silly gags, low-budget set pieces and James Bond-ian spoofs into it's brief running time. For a very tenuous plot point, Agent 86 ends up cavorting through many of the attractions of the Universal backlot in a lengthy chase scene that plays out as a mid-film "When In Southern California, Visit Universal Studios" advertisement. It serves less to the story than as a very visual and perhaps only reason why this film was greenlit by executives in the first place.But it does have it's charms. Pantyhosed Vittorio Gassman is a good villain, and of course Don Adams is a treat. Adams' energy and delivery does about as much as British director Clive ("What's New, Pussycat?") Donner to keep this thing moving. Agent 86's gadgets are inspired, and Don's bell-bottom slacks collection are also quite funny, although probably in only retrospect."THE NUDE BOMB" has a breezy pace, is relatively sunny and undemanding. The film and has some funny moments, including a nifty opening credit sequence and some zingy one-liners - and for that Maxwell Smart gets a pass - but of what could have been? Missed it by THAT much.

"Get Smart" is an often very funny TV series that aired in the late '60s that can be seen in syndication (it currently airs on the TV Land Channel). It's a spy spoof created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry and starred Don Adams as Agent 86 Maxwell Smart, the clumsy spy who Lt. Frank Drebin (of TV's "Police Squad!" and "The Naked Gun" movies) can easily relate to. "Police Squad!" was a flop on television (lasting only 6 episodes) but it was loyally supported and as a result led to three successful theatrical movies. Before "Police Squad!" was created, the "Get Smart" series did the same thing. The final result was the other way around. "Get Smart" was a success, lasting five seasons on the tube (1965-70) and winning Emmys as Best Comedy Series twice and Adams winning Best Actor in a Comedy Series three consecutive times. Then ten years after "Get Smart" went off the air, several Hollywood writers and producers (Mel Brooks was not one of them) tried to do justice to the TV show by reviving it as a big theatrical movie. This concept didn't work however. "The Nude Bomb" was the big screen spinoff of "Get Smart". Although I found it to be occasionally funny, it comes off rather disappointing. First of all, Barbara Feldon (who played Smart's sidekick and wife Agent 99) does not appear in this film and her presence is sorely missed. The relationship between Agents 86 and 99 was one of the reasons why "Get Smart" worked so well. Second of all, where's the old "Get Smart" music theme at? That classic theme music that plays during the opening credits of every "Get Smart" episode is nowhere to be found in this movie. I love that theme! How could the filmmakers not put it in this movie? And third of all, where are those KAOS villains Siegried and Starker? Instead, "The Nude Bomb" features new characters that for the most part don't come off well. The plot of the film is about a new KAOS villain who hatches a plan to make the world naked by destroying all the clothing, and it's up to Agent 86 to stop him. Maxwell Smart's sidekicks this time include not one but three new female agents (Agents 22, 34, and 36). The Chief this time is played by Dana Elcar (TV's "MacGyver"), and here it's understandable why a different actor is playing the Chief. Edward Platt, who played the Chief on "Get Smart" died a couple of years after the show's run ended. But the other actors who played their characters to great lengths on "Get Smart" should have been a part of this movie instead of these new characters. That doesn't make sense. Adams plays a great comic character once again, and he carries "The Nude Bomb" singlehandedly. That's not enough. He needed his "Get Smart" co-stars badly in this movie. Though those famous lines that Smart always said on the show ("Sorry about that Chief!", "Would you believe...", and "Missed it by that much!") are still intact. Those are good for some laughs. "The Nude Bomb" has funny moments, but missing elements keep this from being the laugh riot comedy that it should have been. That's a crime! And a shame!** (out of four)