Mini-Review: Mr. & Mrs. Smith

06/29/2005 22:35 Filed in: Movies and Television
If you haven't seen the movie by now, I'm sure you've seen the trailer. Think True Lies taken to the next level. Instead of one spouse living a double life as a secret agent, it's both spouses. Here both Mr. Smith (Brad Pitt) and Mrs. Smith (Angelina Jolie) work for competing spy agencies and neither one knows the truth about the other. Once they discover the reality behind each others' secret career paths, and after Mr. Smith accidentally fires a shot at Mrs. Smith, hilarity ensues... well, something like that.

Don't try to take this movie too seriously. It's a comedy, although everything is played fairly straight. There are some rather entertaining scenes with the Smiths at a marriage counselor's office that would have been great in the trailer for establishing them as a married couple. Oh well. Pitt and Jolie have good chemistry on screen (Jennifer Aniston should have had a clue). Unfortunately the movie is a bit protracted at times, and even though we're not supposed to take it too seriously, the gunfight at the end has got to be one of the most unrealistic I've ever seen. How come only the Smiths are wearing bullet proof vests? You'd think that their enemies would be smart enough to wear them, too.

I suppose the movie contains some kind of metaphorical value in regard to marriage. Only after the Smiths have come clean with each other regarding their past and who they really are, do they find that their marriage is worth fighting for. That process is painful, bloody and explosive (all three on both literal and figurative accounts) for them. Honesty with themselves and each other redefines their relationship for the better. What I've just written makes the movie sound better than what it really is--I'm just telling you what might be the redeeming value of the story. Personally, I'm glad I only paid matinee prices, but for you I recommend waiting for a DVD rental if you bother at all.