‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’ (2005): A Killer Comedy About a Killer Couple

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Seeing this is obvious a “better late than never” scenario. Many moviegoers will remember Mr. and Mrs. Smith as “the” film which cloaked its two major stars in Hollywood “scandal.” Since seeing two, more recent, films that mirror this one, I decided to finally see Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005) Film Review

They meet in a foreign land, amid the chaos of Columbia’s war-torn revolution. In a spur of the moment connection they become travelling companions. John Smith (Brad Pitt) is a successful contractor who met his wife Jane (Angelina Jolie) while on a job. It’s a clandestine meeting that starts when their eyes meet across the room. Five (or six – depending on who you ask) years later, they are married and in counseling. Successful in business, in all other respects their life is “boring.”

‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’ (2005) – A Killer Comedy About a Killer Couple. #Movies #MovieArchives Share on X

Their quiet life takes a turn upside down when they learn that the other has concealed a secret identity. Turns out they aren’t he perfect suburban couple they seem to be.

This is one of those kinds of satire movies that starts as one thing before morphing into something else. This concept is now something I see more often, and really, some of them are funnier. First impressions of Mr. and Mrs. Smith peg this as more of a relationship-driven story. Questionable as this may sound, there is definitely something underneath the façade that is not comedic or amusing. The majority of the film is motivated by emotions with an edge of seriousness to it; and most of the scenes are “boring.”

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Believe it or not, at least the first forty-some minutes are sedate, simple and funny in subtle ways (like Jane and John eating dinner with an enormous void between them, both physically and mentally). Definitely, it’s the latter half that gets a bit crazy. It makes the first half seem all the funnier, but at the same time the two extremes appear a little preposterous. The climax is a HUGE shoot-out that should result in death but in a typical only-in-the-movies scenario, we get the happy ending. Flawed in many ways, Mr. and Mrs. Smith is still a blast, if you are willing to realize it’s sometime on two different wavelengths.

Certain of the themes and/or subjects are troublesome. This is why I’m of the opinion that by watching Hollywood movies, you must be prepared to “overlook” some faults. Despite this, if you like the premise, then this one is perfect and mindless fun.

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Content: bullets fly everywhere. As a means of distraction, Jane dresses in a leather-clad outfit complete with whip to gain access to her targets bedroom. Mild sexual jokes invade the script. Upon meeting, Jane and John get drunk and promptly spend a night together within a matter of hours. Post-marriage there is one sex scene that gets quite sensual.  Profanity: a**, sh*t, da*n, bi*ch. Two scenes feature a risqué dance sequence. Various other moments find Jane in suggestive dress [side slits, low-cut or form-fitting]. The film is PG-13.