Get Smart’s Bruce and Lloyd: Out of Control

Spinoffs are nothing new in the world of Hollywood. Take a successful film, take some supporting or bit actor from the film and put them in a situation that is like the original but not quite and boom you got a spinoff. However, these movies or series usually take time to develop. On rare occasions, they might be released after a mere six months in some cases. For Get Smart’s Bruce and Lloyd: Out of Control, it was released a mere 10 days after the parent remake found itself in theaters. Could they capitalize on a market that was eager to go see the remake or would the parent bomb and leave this kinda movie in a bargain bin tucked far far away in the back of a Big Lots?

Bruce and Lloyd (played by Masi Oka & Nate Torrence) work in the lab of a R&D department for the United States Government. They invent many items, most of which go nowhere like the Tickle Tazer or Anti-Follicular Device which instead of being used for crowd control, is just used for removing somebody from their head of hair. However, their newest experiment is an invisibility cloak which has been dubbed OCT, Optical Camouflage Technology. The problem is that in a recent test (A very humorous scene involving Agent 91 played by Terry Crews) it simply did not have enough battery life.

After some work and a few brilliant ideas they figure out the solution to the OCT’s battery life. In celebration, they decide to have a party. There, Bruce finally gets the stones to ask out Nina (played by Jayma Mays) while Lloyd finds himself stunned by the beauty that is Isabelle (played by Marika Dominczyk). The next day, they realize that the OCT blanket has been stolen and they are recruited by the Underchief (played by Larry Miller)to figure who stole and how to return the stolen goods back to the US government.

This direct to dvd feature is…surprisingly decent. I laughed in the first scene and hard which is always a good sign. The trend continued through the film and I found myself more often than not interested in the events that would occur from scene to scene. The show stealer: Larry Miller. This doesn’t come as a real surprise, but The Underchief has the smartest lines and certainly the best delivery. The two main actors behind Bruce & Lloyd: Masi Oka & Nate Torrence deliver a credible performance with Nate or Lloyd being the stronger of the two.

I enjoyed the presentation, however it did strike me odd about two things. The first is that they were banking a lot on the success of Get Smart. Get Smart has done alright but I would not consider it a blockbuster. So it does seem a somewhat risky move. The second thing is that the film was rated PG-13 which I didn’t have a problem with but others might see this as family friendly fare and some of it is a bit racy. The little love side story they do provide between Bruce and Nina is very sweet though even if it is out of place.

Video
The film is presented in 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen and 1.33:1 Fullscreen presentation. My review is based on the Widescreen side and it looks just as good as the presentation to any major Hollywood film. The colors are good and it would be very hard to find any major defects throughout. The scenes in the R&D “dungeon” seem simple but they do come alive quite nicely.

Audio
The audio is provided in 5.1 English Dolby Digital. It’s not a demo reference track or anything but it is certainly amicable and well up to the task. Surrounds are used and dialog is crisp & clear. Very professional throughout for an overall good mix. Subtitles are provided in English, Spanish, and French.

Special Features

• Automatic Trailers: Get Smart, Mama’s Boy, The Bucket List, Fool’s Gold & 10,000 BC. These trailers are headed off by a very odd pirating promo. Remember kids, Pirating is bad. The WB said so.
• Bruce and Lloyd’s Confessionals 14:30: Nearly fifteen minutes of various cast members confessing their thoughts (in character) from the party and other scenes from the film. Very funny stuff, especially from supporting cast members.
• Cue the Anti-Follicular Device 4:59: A five minute behind the scene explanation of the Anti-Follicular Device scene where Lloyd is trying to get a date with Isabella. Good thing this sucker doesn’t exist or I might have lost my hair in a freak accident a long time ago.
• Bruce and Lloyd Tech 13:24: The behind the scenes montage of all of the “happy accidents” technology that the film had. I do appreciate this non-traditional behind the scenes feature and it was actually informative. One of the greatest real “happy accidents” technology pieces? Post-it Notes. There you go, you learned something today.

Final Thoughts
The team of Bruce & Lloyd is a good one and one that merits some further viewing. Had the movie done well (in 200 million range), we could have seen future films by this duo. They have a great comic feel and the action isn’t so bad that it overpowers the rest of what is going on. The cameos department was brilliant for this film including Anne Hathawayas Agent 99 and Patrick Warburton as Hymie. Though you do wish a certain somebody would have made a token appearance. The dvd is a fine piece include great video and darn decent audio to back it up. The extras are serviceable and don’t feel out of place. So, to those who did like Get Smart, this is an easy recommendation. For others, it’s funny, but you probably see the movie first. One last note, watch the credits for some hilarious outtakes and deleted scenes. The “Navy joke” with Larry Miller is awesome. Enjoy.

Other Reviews

• DvdVerdict.com ” The good news is that if you’re actually interested in the adventures of Get Smart’s second-stringers, Bruce and Lloyd isn’t that bad.”
• HomeTheaterForum.com – “Get Smart’s Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control plays more like a cynical attempt to squeeze a few more bucks from a film franchise than a story that anyone involved in the film though really needed to be told..”