Mr. & Mrs. Smith

Some star recently said what a miracle it is that any film is successful -- at any point in its lifecycle something can go so wrong as to make it fail. I feel for Doug Liman in this particular instance because he created something smart and classy, and the lives of his stars almost derailed it. I imagine he was tearing little chunks of his hair out. Hey, Mr. Liman (and others just like him), a film rests on its own merit. Gossip is fleeting, buzz is fleeting, word-of-mouth sticks. That's my lesson for the day -- I'm sure everyone in Hollywood is hanging onto my every word. If you like even a bit of Brad Pitt's or Angelina Jolie's acting or looks, you'll like the film. If you're particularly keen on films about marriage, it's a must-see. Pitt and Jolie play competing contract killers who also happen to be married to each other. They become aware of each other's professions by contracting the same job. Now, there's nothing nice about killing, but this is smart screenwriting. What could be more incongruous than to juxtapose the day-to-day life of a marriage with an immensely dangerous career? Talk about every banal aspect of marriage thrown into sharp relief. Okay, so it's a stylish, lives-of-the-rich-and-famous look at marriage, but it points out the difficulties in all marriages, e.g., mis-communication, irritation, boredom. With a few extremely weighty secrets thrown into the mix. If nothing else, it'll make you happy your marriage doesn't have this particular problem, and that's the secret of successful filmmaking -- creating entertainment that resonates. Lesson over.

year: 2005
length: 120 min.
rating: 3.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0356910/combined