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Movie Review - Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)
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(What this rating means)
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| Director: |
Doug Liman |
| Starring: |
Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, and Vince Vaughn |
| Rated: |
PG-13 (for sequences of violence, intense action, sexual content and brief strong language) |
| Length: |
120 minutes |
| Genre: |
Action/Adventure/Comedy |
| Tagline: |
None |
| Studio: |
20th Century Fox |
| Website: |
Mr. & Mrs. Smith |
| Release: |
June 10, 2005 |
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PLOT
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Mr. and Mrs. Smith met by chance five or six years ago. They quickly married but have since become quite bored
with domestic life. Weeeeeell, their marriage is about to get a spark. You see, they're both trained assassins.
However, they work for rival companies, and neither one realizes it. They soon find out the truth when they're both
hired to take out the same mark. Their paths collide, and now they're forced to take out each other. Will they
carry out their orders, or do they have something else in mind? And will Johnny quit writing in short sentences?
Bradgelina ensues.
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JOHNNY'S TAKE
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"Hey Johnny! So how is Mr. and Mrs. Smith?"
Well, what exactly are you expecting from the movie?
"Hmm, I'd say the action of Revenge of the Sith combined with the the clever
script of Memento. Oh, and with complete plausibility thrown in for good measure."
Ah, well in that case I would have to say you should probably be flogged with a wet, jello-filled straw. Don't
worry, it's not too bad. Trust me. Then you should take my course, "How to Properly Analyze a Movie Based on its
Trailer." It'll help you look a lot less like a jack-a-dandy and prevent you from complaining about how this
movie is just too unbelievable.
Too unbelievable? You don't say. Look, right off the bat we're expected to believe that this couple has been
married for 5 or 6 years, they're trained assassins who pride themselves on recon, and they never suspected the
other of being an assassin. If you can buy that premise going into the movie then you waiver all rights to
complain about anything else that's a bit far-fetched, OK?
Is this a great movie that I'll gladly add to my DVD collection the day it's released? Nah. But it was good for
a couple of hours of non-analytical fun. It's a little slow-paced at times, and there is probably too much
emphasis at the beginning on the mundanity of their marriage (they're bored, we get it), but once things start to
kick in we get beautiful people, gunplay, car chases, explosions, one-line exchanges, inside jokes, and doses of
humor thrown at us left, right, and up the middle. I'd also add "out the ying-yang" but that'd be too cliché.
The fight scene between Brad and Angelina is particularly funny (though probably a little too reflective of a day
in the life of Ike Turner), as is Vince Vaughn's small role. You gotta love his defense of living with his mom,
"She cooks, cleans, makes my bed, and I'm the dumb guy?"
If you're looking for character development then you better keep on looking. Chances are you won't ever buy into
the fact that you're supposed to be watching the lives of Mr. and Mrs. Smith on screen. More likely you'll be
thinking as I did, "Hey, there's Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie just having some fun!" But who cares? As long
as it entertains then so be it. It doesn't really take itself seriously, so why should you?
I mean, come on, Angelina Jolie walks out of gunfights and explosions looking like she just walked out of a salon,
so what are you expecting? It's funny because this prompted my sister Amber to comment, "I wish I could get blown
up and still have my hair looking nice." To which I inquired, "Why would you want to get blown up in the first
place? How about just wishing for your hair to look nice and not worry about being involved in an
explosion?"
Amber's response? "I'm just saying, if I were in a gunfight or explosion then I wish I'd walk away looking as
fixed up as Angelina Jolie was." Oh. Well, THAT makes sense. *shakes head* Women.
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ODDS & ENDS
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- Watch for Adam Brody wearing a Fight Club t-shirt.
- There's a surprising riff on the whole Brad Pitt/Jennifer Aniston "baby controversy." Keep an eye out for
it. Not sure how much Aniston will appreciate it. Keep in mind - he wanted children and she didn't.
- Nicole Kidman was originally cast as Mrs. Smith.
- Catherine Zeta-Jones was a possibility for Mrs. Smith.
- Johnny Depp and Will Smith were considered for the role of Mr. Smith.
- Johnny Betts was not considered for the role of Mr. Smith.
- Hugo Weaving wasn't considered for the role of Mr. Smith either. They missed out on a good opportunity
for a Matrix tie-in.
- Angelina Jolie was in Gone in 60 Seconds with Giovanni Ribisi who was in The Mod Squad and
All the Rage with Josh Brolin who was in Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon.
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MAMA'S APPROVAL
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There is a small amount of profanity (including one f-bomb), and Angelina walks around in revealing clothing
quite a bit (particularly in her dominatrix scene). Parents should leave the youngsters at home for this one.
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TRAILER COMPARISON
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The trailer pretty much shows you what to expect. I don't see how you can watch the trailer and expect anything
other than "popcorn flick!"
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THE GIST
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There are some pretty cool scenes that I wouldn't mind witnessing again one day, but there are also some clunkers
that I'd fast forward through just so I could get to the good stuff. In a Summer full of heavier (albeit
entertaining) material, if all you want is to watch a bunch of beautiful people blow stuff up and aid you in a
little escapism, then Mr. and Mrs. Smith just might satisfy.
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