Review

Review Date: 12-June-05
Spoiler Rating: Low
Juju Judgment: Juicy

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)

Well, spank me twice and call me Charley! In a recent Spotlight on the other "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" (1941), I wagered that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie would fail to convey the sense of meant-for-each-otherness that makes an enjoyable matrimonial film, and I was wrong. It wasn't that I doubted the stars' abilities, but my opinion of summer action flicks suggested that the spark that comes from interacting (as opposed to showing skin) wouldn't appear in a June 2005 movie starring two people whose fame is centered on their looks. But the new "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," as written by Simon Kinberg and directed by Doug Liman, is a summer action flick with an unusually witty edge. It might not prove that Pitt and Jolie are meant for each other, but it does show that they click when the moment is right.

The premise of the film is ridiculous, which seems more cause for skepticism but soon becomes part of its charm. The brisk opening introduces John and Jane Smith, an attractive couple who met six years ago, hastily tied the knot, and are now suffering from post-honeymoon ennui. We know it's true love because they hopped in the sack within hours of meeting (which for some reason signals the real deal in certain movies), and because each secretly continues to see a marriage counselor after they jointly decide it's a drag. There seems to be something standing in the way of wedded bliss that they can't quite put their finger on. Could it be that everything they have told each other is lies and that they're both undercover assassins? That might be part of the problem.

The movie barely attempts to paint the Smiths' victims as shady characters who deserve to die; instead, it asks us to admire them for excelling at a high-paying, high-tech job and acing the American Dream. This winking attitude toward their criminal pathology pervades the story so that by the end, when John mocks Jane's request to assess their marriage for what it is, we understand exactly what he means: everything established and moral doesn't apply. All that matters is that they keep plowing forward through the obstacles to their passion, which they do spectacularly by trading barbs as well as blows, trashing their storybook home, and generally finding common ground in a world of violence and destruction.

During the car chases and shoot-outs the Smiths display a mutual fascination and degree of all-around equality that make for inescapable chemistry. The butch-babe Jolie is physically ideal for the role (much better than the first choice, Nicole Kidman), but Pitt appears to be enjoying the joke to the fullest. Rather like in "Fight Club" (which is alluded to here), he embraces the send-up of middle-class respectability that finds the Smiths making a getaway in a minivan and their last stand in a Home Depot-like megastore. Also like "Fight Club," he and his better half end up being gods who buck convention and live entirely on their own terms (the real American dream). Again, I say: ridiculous. But who cares? "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" makes anarchy sexy and summer action divine, because it's all in the name of love.

Copyright © 2005 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.