6.16.2005
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
We're suckers for summer blockbusters, I admit, and last week provided the season's first tingle of high budget/low moral value anticipation. It was hot in Boston (really hot), and Mr. and Mrs. Smith opened. Broadsided as the public has been with Brangelina, it follows that the film made over $50 million last weekend. Just think: two hours of searching the screen for evidence of marriage-wrecking sexual tension.
Aside from the gossip element, my expectations were low. David Denby of the New Yorker damned it with faint praise, and other reviews I've read have been of the "eh, it's summer, what'd'ya expect" variety.
Surprise #1: it's funny.
Surprise #2: it's smart(er) than you'd expect. A shootout takes place in a Home Depotish environment (He says, "I love this store" before opening fire.)
In the end, it's a silly film, with a lot riding on Jolie's pout and Pitt's trademarked look of endearing (to some) imbecility. The audience loved him, at least at the screening we attended, even when all he did was stare stupidly right out of the screen.
Most important, of course, is the sex. Jolie has enough sexual chemistry on her own to carry a love scene (or five), but the two do seem, well, involved throughout. I kind of wish they hadn't cut the film to fit a PG-13 rating. I guess all we can do is hope for a sex tape.
Aside from the gossip element, my expectations were low. David Denby of the New Yorker damned it with faint praise, and other reviews I've read have been of the "eh, it's summer, what'd'ya expect" variety.
Surprise #1: it's funny.
Surprise #2: it's smart(er) than you'd expect. A shootout takes place in a Home Depotish environment (He says, "I love this store" before opening fire.)
In the end, it's a silly film, with a lot riding on Jolie's pout and Pitt's trademarked look of endearing (to some) imbecility. The audience loved him, at least at the screening we attended, even when all he did was stare stupidly right out of the screen.
Most important, of course, is the sex. Jolie has enough sexual chemistry on her own to carry a love scene (or five), but the two do seem, well, involved throughout. I kind of wish they hadn't cut the film to fit a PG-13 rating. I guess all we can do is hope for a sex tape.
