Get Smart, Mike Meyers.

This Monday evening, as my family was walking up Columbus, my father saw an ad for The Love Guru and emphatically announced, “Mike Meyers is FINISHED!!!” I stopped myself from reminding him of the cash cow-ogre Shrek, among many other lucrative Meyers franchises. I did realize, however, that I hadn’t given a second thought to seeing The Love Guru this weekend—even with my beloved JT as a co-star. The fact is, I have moved on from Mike Meyers' caricatures to fully embrace the new comic era: deadpan humor as brought you by Steve Carell and/or Will Ferrell. The similarities between their humor and their names make me feel like they’re one and the same. Or, at the very least, they’re from the same planet, Planet I-Can-Keep-A-Straight-Face-No-Matter-What.

Get Smart tests Carell’s deadpan comic timing once again. Although, I suspect that it was much harder for his fellow cast-mates to keep it together. Perhaps this is why Anne Hathaway comes off as completely bland—she had to dull her senses in order to get through each take. The Rock aka Dwayne Johnson does well enough, though his screen time is minimal.

It seems ironic that a different spoof of the spy movie genre defeated Mike Meyers, who successfully roasted the same genre with Austin Powers. Though, as far as spy movies go, this is the post-Jason Bourne box office world, where Austin and Dr. Evil don't have a place anymore. They're just TOO silly. It's not that Carell doesn't deliver frivolous scenes (think the barf scene). It's just that his deadpan delivery makes the audience take him more seriously. Meyers, on the other hand, always has that twinkle in his eye--as if he knows he's hoodwinked the audience and conned millions from us. After seeing Carell and Ferrell’s technique, I don’t know that I can handle Meyers’ heavy handed comedies with outrageous accents and costumes. I don’t want to see Meyers in another wig—unless it’s the wig for Wayne Campbell.

Now, similarly to the way I once adored Meyers, I cannot get enough of Ferrell and Carell’s comic franchise. Perhaps there will be a day when someone new will rip the rug out from Carell and Ferrell. Though, until then, my life is based around their movie releases. Stay tuned for my review of Step Brothers, which will be Ferrell’s next take on the deadpan middle-aged child.