Mr. and Mrs. Smith is the New Hollywood Film.

Pitt tries not to smile in the stark, Ocean’s Eleven-eque marital interview between John (Brad Pitt) and Jane (Angelina Jolie) Smith. It’s funny. And he knows it. It’s at its funniest when all is silent and the camera stares at them wide-eyed.

A kid wears a Fight Club t-shirt. No longer a cinematic faux pas – I’m sure the cast and crew had a good chuckle over it.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith looks like a film made by a bunch of tired filmmakers. They’re not really concerned with the art of film, they just want to get their paycheck and get out. But in the tedious hours of filmmaking, they also want to have fun. Mr. and Mrs. Smith looks as if they did have fun, and for better or for worse, it often comes off on the screen.

In a film where a couple is literally out to kill each other – and both are too good looking to die – we must have extended fight scenes where both come within inches of death multiple times without ever coming into real harm. I can just imagine director Doug Limon with cast and crew, all laughing it up every time they block and film a new scene.

The funny part is that, while it’s often ridiculous, it often really is funny. Simon Kinberg’s script is chock full of dry, witty humor that you can easily miss if your not paying attention. But it’s the very sort of subtle comments that often have you laughing with the filmmakers instead of laughing with the screen. After Jane nearly kills John by cutting the cables of an elevator he’s in, John’s under-the-breath comment that she shafted him is funny, but it’s funnier when you realize the filmmakers probably all thought it was hilarious. Likewise to a "Who's your daddy" comment from Jane that feels inextricably tied to the '04 Sox-Yankees playoffs.

But Smith manages to stay genuinely funny amid some more-or-less genuinely exciting action sequences. It’s all preposterous, but because it never takes itself seriously, it’s easy on the eyes. The final action sequence is a prime example. It’s so over-the-top, played out with such mock seriousness, that you know both the actors and everyone on the set are trying their hardest not to not to bust out laughing.

That’s the New Hollywood Film. The lower masses, who just want to see cool action sequences between pretty people, get what they came to see. But by not taking itself seriously, by filling itself with inside jokes and subtle humor, it also manages to entertain those looking for something more. And those involved with the production of the film, I’m sure, are having the time of their lives. Everyone is pleased.

 
 
 

Year:

MPAA Rating: Running Time: Date Written:  
2005 PG-13 2:00 06/05  
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