Monday Morning Quarterback Part II

By BOP Staff

June 24, 2008

Kevin Garnett is so successful he will eat your face off.

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The Rock will steel cage match both of them

Kim Hollis: Whose career is helped the most by Get Smart - Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway or Dwayne Johnson? And which of them do you consider to be the biggest draw at this point?

Pete Kilmer: It helped Steve Carell the most as it solidified him as a movie star. It helped Dwayne Johnson with his current streak of family-friendly comedies. And it showed that Anne Hathaway is still a draw after Devil Wears Prada. I honestly don't know who benefited more.

Dan Krovich: One thing all three of them have in common is that they're just naturally very likable. That will serve them well with audiences.

Joel Corcoran: I have to agree - it's a tie. Get Smart really helped all three actors to roughly the same extent, but in very different ways. However, if I had to pick one, I'd say Anne Hathaway will gain the most benefit in terms of her overall career. She's now proven herself as a dramatic actor (in Brokeback Mountain and Becoming Jane), someone who can appeal to kids (in the Princess Diaries movies), and as a purely comedic actor in more adult-oriented movies (like Get Smart). I think her performance here will open up more roles for her in the future, while Get Smart will reinforce and solidify the reputations of Steve Carell and Dwayne Johnson.

Shane Jenkins: I admire the fact that Johnson took a small role, reportedly to have the experience of starring in a half-decent comedy for once, and didn't demand a whole bunch of rewrites to give him more screentime. His part is smaller than you might guess from the ads, but he nails it, which should solidify his "likable" reputation for viewers and studios alike. This is a significant step for him, and I hope it's a turning point, because if he were just a little more selective with his material, I think he could be the next Will Smith.

Matthew Huntley: I go with Anne Hathaway. Even though she shares the advertisements with Steve Carell, it's her beautiful face and playful attitude that most people will remember. Ever since 2005, Hathaway has been shedding her good girl/Princess Diaries image and has shown she can handle more risque and adult-themed roles, and Get Smart will prove that even more. However, her roles have not been too extreme where she couldn't return to the family genre if she wanted to. The key is she's showing range, and if you give her a starring role with top billing, one that she's able to take to the bank, she'll solidify herself as a marketable actress.

At this point, Carell remains the biggest box office draw since he's become most familiar to so many types of audience members, from families and kids (Dan In Real Life, Horton Hears a Who) to teenagers and adults (The 40-Year Old Virgin). He also has the advantage of being on a TV series. Hathaway still has to have a starring role of her own and Dwayne Johnson needs to work at dropping his "Rock" image. When people start to see him as something other than a WWE wrestler, his bankability should go up.




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Reagen Sulewski: I'd have to say Johnson. This is probably the first role (in a movie that's going to be a hit - sorry The Rundown) that doesn't seem like stunt casting for him.

Scott Lumley: As much as Carell needed a summer hit to prove that Virgin wasn't a fluke, I think this helps Dwayne Johnson more. It's really his first major role film that should be successful and it showcases his comedy chops at the same time. He's getting almost as much play in the commercials that I've seen as Carell is, whereas poor Anne Hathaway is reduced to 'Are you looking at my butt?' Butt vs Stapler to the head, the stapler wins every time.


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