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June 13, 2005
RUTHERFORD ON FILM: Brad and Angelina Nitroglycerine Propels 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith'
by Tony Rutherford
Huntington News Network Writer
Huntington (HNN) – Infusing a new understanding of the term 'domestic violence,' "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" pummels its two–income 'professional' couple into a take–no–survivors burst of relationship fury.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie perfectly and exquisitely blink, serve up innuendo, and mouth double entendres pertaining to household normalcy even as their working personas collide in a double booking crisis.
Although the flick opens with a calm "we need a check up" marital counseling session, the script simmers rapidly blending bullets with marital stereotypes and rituals. Seizing verbal jab opportunities as they shift magazines, the Mr. and Mrs. Hit Man and Woman peppers satisfying one–liner giggles and laughs from their deadpanning loaded statements about "redecorating the house," "giving me the shaft" and "we could kill each other."
Lending new credence to opposites attracting and fate's intervention for two lonely singles, the couple poker face sequences about their 'day jobs' and small talk at the dinner table. Both Pitt and Jolie manifest the credibility necessary so neither suspects that the two "engineers" have secret lives that have nothing to do with infidelity.
Their 'secrets' nearly cater to super–hero status as each has a stash of sophisticated weaponry and gadgets concealed in their suburban duplex. Each has their moments of hurried changes to prevent the other spouse from explicitly learning of their 'other lives.' The incredible marksmanship of both at a carnival should be a tip off, but the clue gets passed off as simply hunting experience.
A prime example of their two lives occurs in early household scenes. Pitt's purposefully distant from his wife and fakes his love for her dinners , while she complains about his not noticing the new curtains which she then tweaks while standing precariously (yet confidently) balanced in a chair wearing a slit dress and stiletto pumps.
After establishing that the five– or six–year marriage is on the rocks, the flick rushes dashes of James Bond, "Mission Impossible," "Charlie's Angels" and "The War of the Roses" in which Pitt and Jolie jettison a formidable chemistry which explodes whether shooting or shouting at each other.
Frankly, they rock 'n' roll with homage to "Bonnie and Clyde" and the sweet sensuality of say "Goldfinger."
While maintaining the domestic sarcasm (which evokes cheers from the audience), "Mr. and Mrs. Smith exceeds extraordinary for a summer action thriller. The dangerous driving, stunning marksmanship and impossible odds please fans who want an exploding thrill ride. However, the undercurrent of hyperbolic everyday relationship clichés and challenges shoots the film into a double winner's circle of satisfaction.
Aside from an anti–climatic almost unnecessary sequences in which the couple try to redeem themselves to their competing employers, director Doug Liman moves the absorbing production along whether with the bevy of automatic weapons fire or the soft hearted emotion of a tiny tear forming in Jolie's eye.
This odyssey of tangled separate lives and the five or six year itch adds new meaning to "killing me softly with his/her love." No question on this one, catch it. You might even find a few ideas to patch up your withering relationship or blow it apart once and for all.
(Disclaimer: The last sentence is not meant to condone murdering your spouse!)
Official Website http://www.mrandmrssmithmovie.com/
