Mr. And Mrs. Smith
Soon to take the plunge into married bliss myself, I’ve prepared for
the challenges of commitment. Living together, learning all their
habits, compensating your own. Forgiving all the little secrets your
significant other has kept from you. Those little tests are taken to a
whole new level when Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt get together in Mr. & Mrs. Smith from director Doug Liman
(‘Bourne’ trilogy’). ‘Smith’ combines the explosions, car chases and
gunplay of a summer blockbuster with the witty banter one would expect
from Ocean’s Eleven. Effectively this film is one of the best action comedies since True Lies.
John and Jane Smith have been married for 6 years and have seen
something less of a spark each night when they get home from their
respective positions. John, a construction contractor working from a
port warehouse and Jane, a computer consultant downtown get along well
enough during dinner each night and when visiting neighbours during
various community functions. Intimately though they find that their
relationship is fading and a trip to a marriage counseler seems ot be
the obvious next step. In the end, it’s really their jobs that keep
them apart. Something of a typical story, until it is revealed that
both John and Jane, unbeknownst to each other, are top assasins working
for competing agencies. The fondue really hits the fan when through a
botched, double-booked hit, they are pitted against each other and
given 48 hours to eliminate their significant other. Dinner at 7 will
never be the same!
The key to this film’s entertainment value is its balance. Pitt and
Jolie, despite being at odds as husband and wife, work as an on screen
duo better than Batman and Robin. Okay, the most recent incarnation of
that duo sucked. We’ll say better than C-3P0 and R2-D2 (and that’s a
lot saying coming from me). A fight in which they completely trash
their own house ends in a mini-van car chase that is both intense and
hilarious. As explosive as the action can be, it often takes a back
seat to the banter between husband and wife. Scenes are intercut with
glimpses of their progression in couples therapy that are often met
with bursts of laughter from the audience.
Admittedly, I went into this with low expectations, especially with the
celebrity relationship gossip so rampant recently about Pitt and Jolie,
so I was pleasently surprised to find such a well rounded comedy folded
into an action flick. Add a hottie bonus, shirtless Pitt for the ladies
and Jolie in various states of undress for the guys, and you get
something for everyone. Hey, c’mon, we’re not the LA Times. Guys…
Angelina is smokin hot here. From housewife, to vinyl clad dominatrix
to the classic button-down-men’s-shirt (and nothing else), you can’t go
wrong on the hottie-meter. I can’t say much for the ladies, but judging
by the reaction of my wife-to-be I’d say Pitt induces equal tingling in
the female of the species.
Mr. And Mrs. Smith is easily worth a couple of viewings this summer and
a no brainer DVD buy in the fall. It might make you think twice about
your betrothed’s past, but with so much sex, violence and laughs, how
can you resist?
