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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.
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