Get Smart is the new movie adaptation of the vintage1960s TV series and has proven to be a near-perfect vehicle for Carell, who plays a more intelligent and less offensive variation on his infamous Michael Scott character from The Office. Based on a madcap '60s television series created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, Get Smart is a comic caper about an accident-prone yet sensitive secret agent who might just be mankind's last, great hope. Anne Hathaway is the beauty and the brains and The Rock is the brawn. Get Smart is oftentimes very subtle in its humor and doesn't rely on exaggerated action and screamed nonsense for its jokes. It is an excellent escape of a movie that never takes itself seriously. Despite a plot that should be simpler, Get Smart is as big on action as it is on laughs and works because it. The movie is at its best when 86 and 99 hit the trail, leaving the old TV series behind as they work out their new professional relationship. Carell makes the character of Maxwell Smart his own, but at the same time with deadpan and implied decency he stays true to the character.



Hathaway is relegated to "straight man" status, but she proves she's got the timing and chops to match Carell. Hathaway's Agent 99, ( made famous by the beautiful Barbara Feldon in the comedy series),. is somewhat darker and handles the role of well. Carell and Hathaway were not only an inspired bit of casting when stacked against original players Don Adams and Barbara Feldon, but they are amongst the most likable actors around today.

Along with the renewed interest in the old 1960's show the Get Smart movie has renewed an interest in get smart memorabilia and autographs as collectibles and gifts. So much so that many stores have sold out of the increasingly harder to find items. Not that this is the first time a movie or television show has spawned greater interest in memorabilia and autographs. Shows like Star Trek, Charmed, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer were great hits on the television screen as well as the memorabilia shops. Furthermore, The Sopranos, Deadwood, and Oz created a phenomenon, neo-Beatlemania, and while their popularity still continues, the new memorabilia, "must haves", like Dexter and The Tudors, which are both extremely popular for collecting and for gifts, is now apparently joined by Get Smart.

One collector who is well-known in memorabilia collector circles is Gary Townsend. Who has a very fine collection of television and movie memorabilia that is not the largest but certainly one of the most interesting since every piece is carefully selected to fit into the collection. His collection is made up of small groups of items. Each group will have a piece of memorabilia from a show like Gilmore Girls and an autograph from numerous actors from the show. In working the collection in this manner he has kept the cost down while quickly building it into a true pleasurable treasure. His most recent focus is on obtaining pieces from both the original Get Smart TV series and the new movie and he is moving quickly to obtain them before the best pieces are bought out.

While there is a not really a bad time to start collecting or giving collectibles as gifts, this Get Smart-mania makes it a perfect time for both.