Mr. & Mrs. Smith is a 2005 American action comedy film[1] directed by Doug Liman and written by Simon Kinberg. The film stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as a bored upper middle class married couple, who are surprised to learn that they are assassins belonging to competing agencies and that they have been assigned to kill each other. Incidentally, the filming marked the beginning of Pitt and Jolie's real-life personal relationship, which would later result in a romantic relationship, marriage, and children from 2005 to 2016.[2][3]
| Mr. & Mrs. Smith | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Doug Liman |
| Written by | Simon Kinberg |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Bojan Bazelli |
| Edited by | Michael Tronick |
| Music by | John Powell |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 120 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $110 million[1] |
| Box office | $487.3 million[1] |
Mr. & Mrs. Smith was released in the United States on June 10, 2005 and received mixed reviews from critics, who praised Pitt and Jolie's performances and chemistry but criticized the screenplay. The film was a box-office success, grossing $487.3 million worldwide and becoming the seventh highest-grossing film of 2005. In 2024, a television series of the same name loosely inspired by the film premiered on Amazon Prime Video, starring Donald Glover and Maya Erskine as two strangers paired up as spies and posing as a married couple; producer Arnon Milchan is the only cast or crew member returning from the original film.
Plot
editJohn Smith, a construction executive, and his wife Jane, a tech support consultant, are at marriage counseling, where they reveal that they have been married for five or six years, but their marriage is on the rocks. They talk about how they first met in Bogotá, Colombia, claiming to be together to avoid being questioned by Colombian authorities. The two fell in love and got married.
In reality, John and Jane are both skilled field operatives working for separate contract-killing firms and are both among the best in their field. They are also adept at concealing their true profession from each other. The Smiths live in a large Colonial Revival house in the New York City suburbs, keeping up appearances by reluctantly socializing with their "conventionally" wealthy neighbors. Underneath their cover stories, John and Jane balance their marriage, which is apparently mundane—after a few years, both agree it is becoming dull and suffocating—with their secretive careers.
After they are both assigned to kill DIA prisoner Benjamin "The Tank" Danz in a prison transfer, they run into each other on the job and the hit is botched. Danz survives and John and Jane are assigned to kill each other instead. John is reluctant to kill Jane. Jane works with her team and steals John's armoury from their home. Jane tries to kill John but he escapes every time. After several escalating attempts on each other's lives, the Smiths' conflict ends in a massive shootout which nearly demolishes their house. During a protracted and evenly-matched fight, John and Jane pull guns aiming at each other. John declines to shoot saying that he loves Jane and lays his gun down. Jane discovers that she cannot shoot John either and they spend a passionate night together.
The renewed Smith partnership is quickly threatened by their employers, who join forces to eliminate the couple. Eddie, John's best friend and co-worker, turns down a bounty of $400,000 for each of them. The Smiths find themselves under attack from an army of assassins. Their pockmarked house is blown up and the Smiths steal their neighbor's minivan. They are able to destroy their attackers' pursuing armored sedans, while bickering about their fighting styles and personal secrets they have discovered about each other. They meet with Eddie and decide to save their marriage. The Smiths kidnap Danz from his high-security prison to use as a bargaining chip.
Danz tells them that he is merely bait and an intern hired by each of their employers after they discovered the Smiths were married; his clients hoped the Smiths would kill each other. Discarding each of their contingency plans, the Smiths make a last stand together, fending off an assault inside a home decorating store by heavily armed operatives. In the aftermath, the Smiths meet their marriage counselor again and say that their marriage is thriving.
Cast
edit- Brad Pitt as John Smith
- Angelina Jolie as Jane Smith
- Vince Vaughn as Eddie
- Adam Brody as Benjamin "the Tank" Danz
- Kerry Washington as Jasmine
- Keith David as Father
- Chris Weitz as Martin Coleman
- Rachael Huntley as Suzy Coleman
- Michelle Monaghan as Gwen
- Stephanie March as Julie
- Jennifer Morrison as Jade
- Perrey Reeves as Jessie
- William Fichtner as Dr. Wexler, the marriage counselor (uncredited)
- Angela Bassett as the voice of Mr. Smith's boss, Atlanta (uncredited)
Production
editIn July 2000, it was announced Summit Entertainment had purchased screenwriter Simon Kinberg's spec script Mr. and Mrs. Smith with Weed Road Pictures slated to produce.[4] Kinberg had written and sold the screenplay while working as a grad student for Columbia University's film program.[4] Producers had managed to secure Brad Pitt for one of the leads, but the original choice of Nicole Kidman dropped out due to scheduling conflicts with The Stepford Wives leaving the film without a co-lead.[5] This even led to Pitt dropping from the film. The directorial team considered Will Smith and Catherine Zeta-Jones as well as Johnny Depp, Cate Blanchett, Gwyneth Paltrow and Gwen Stefani[6][7] before they were finally able to sign Jolie. Once Jolie was signed, Pitt was back in and the pair was set.[8]
Casting
editBrad Pitt and Nicole Kidman were originally cast as the leads when Doug Liman received the script. However, Kidman's shooting schedule conflicted with Liman's at the time and she had to exit the film, and Pitt dropped out as a result.[9] Liman then considered Will Smith and Catherine Zeta-Jones as the leads. Liman also considered the pairing of Johnny Depp and Cate Blanchett for the film.[10][11] Gwen Stefani also auditioned for Jane Smith.[12] The casting of the two leads was set once Liman was able to sign Angelina Jolie. Once Jolie was signed, Pitt re-committed to the film.
John Leguizamo was offered the role of Eddie, but he turned it down as he was going to get paid on scale; a decision he later regretted.[13] Parker Posey auditioned for the role of Jasmine, which eventually went to Kerry Washington.[14]
Kinberg had an idea for a screenplay after listening to a couple of his friends who went to marriage therapy. He thought it sounded "aggressive and mercenary" and felt "it would make an interesting template for a relationship inside of an action film."
Music
editTwo soundtrack albums were released from the film: a soundtrack album by various artists and a film score composed by John Powell. The albums were released at different times to avoid confusion; the soundtrack was released on June 7, 2005, and the score on June 28, 2005.[15][16]
Mr. & Mrs. Smith: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
edit| Mr. & Mrs. Smith Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Various artists | |
| Released | June 7, 2005 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 65:48 (U.S.) |
| Label | Lakeshore Records (U.S.) Gut Records (UK) Edel Records (EU) |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [17] |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Love Stinks" |
| The J. Geils Band | 3:37 |
| 2. | "Nothin' but a Good Time" |
| Poison | 3:45 |
| 3. | "Tainted Love" | Cobb | Soft Cell | 2:42 |
| 4. | "Baby, Baby" |
| Alana D | 3:15 |
| 5. | "Express Yourself" (Mocean Worker Remix) | Wright | Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band | 4:32 |
| 6. | "Mondo Bongo" | Strummer | Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros | 6:13 |
| 7. | "Lay Lady Lay" | Dylan | Magnet featuring Gemma Hayes | 4:39 |
| 8. | "I Melt with You" |
| Nouvelle Vague | 4:03 |
| 9. | "Nobody Does It Better" |
| 8mm | 4:57 |
| 10. | "If I Neva See You Again" |
| KansasCali | 4:11 |
| 11. | "Assassin's Tango" | Powell | John Powell | 4:02 |
| 12. | "Used to Love Her (But I Had to Kill Her)" | Guns N' Roses | Voodoo Glow Skulls | 2:37 |
| 13. | "You Are My Sunshine" |
| Stine J. | 2:22 |
| 14. | "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" |
| The Righteous Brothers | 3:42 |
| 15. | "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" | Steinman | Air Supply | 5:42 |
| 16. | "You Give Love a Bad Name" |
| Atreyu | 3:18 |
| 17. | "Love Will Keep Us Together" |
| Captain & Tennille | 3:22 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18. | "Stop Crying Your Heart Out" | Noel Gallagher | Rowetta | 3:40 |
| Total length: | 70:40 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18. | "Believe in the Boogie" |
| Mark Owen | 3:31 |
| Total length: | 70:31 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18. | "Liquefy" | Dan Black | The Servant | 3:40 |
| Total length: | 70:40 | |||
Mr. & Mrs. Smith: Original Motion Picture Score
edit| Mr. & Mrs. Smith: Original Motion Picture Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Film score by | ||||
| Released | June 28, 2005 | |||
| Genre | Film score | |||
| Length | 43:53 | |||
| Label | Lakeshore Records | |||
| Producer | John Powell | |||
| John Powell chronology | ||||
| ||||
All music is composed by John Powell
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Bogota" | 1:36 |
| 2. | "The Bedroom" | 1:09 |
| 3. | "Playing House" | 1:34 |
| 4. | "Assignments" | 1:11 |
| 5. | "His and Her Hits" | 2:44 |
| 6. | "Office Work" | 2:08 |
| 7. | "Desert Foxes" | 2:36 |
| 8. | "John and Jane's Identity" | 2:00 |
| 9. | "Dinner" | 4:13 |
| 10. | "Hood Jump" | 1:44 |
| 11. | "Mutual Thoughts" | 1:01 |
| 12. | "John Drops In" | 2:29 |
| 13. | "Tango de Los Asesinos" | 4:26 |
| 14. | "Two Phone Calls" | 1:51 |
| 15. | "Kiss and Make Up" | 1:52 |
| 16. | "Minivan Chase" | 2:12 |
| 17. | "Shopping Spree" | 4:19 |
| 18. | "Dodging Bullets" | 1:20 |
| 19. | "The Next Adventure" | 3:28 |
| Total length: | 43:53 | |
Release
editBox office
editMr. & Mrs. Smith opened on June 10, 2005 in the United States and Canada in 3,424 theaters. The film ranked at the top in its opening weekend, accumulating $50,342,878. Mr. & Mrs. Smith went on to gross $186,336,279 in North America and had a worldwide total of $478,207,520. It was the highest-grossing film for both superstars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, but was later surpassed by World War Z for Pitt and Maleficent for Jolie.[1]
Critical response
editReview aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gave Mr. & Mrs. Smith an approval rating of 60% based on 212 reviews, with an average score of 6.10/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "Although this action-romance suffers from weak writing and one too many explosions, the chemistry generated by onscreen couple Pitt and Jolie is palpable enough to make this a thoroughly enjoyable summer action flick."[18] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received a rating average of 55 out of 100, based on 41 critics, which indicated "mixed or average reviews".[19] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[20]
Simon Braund of Empire gave the film a positive review, describing it as "a full-on action flick, subversive rom-com and weapons-grade star vehicle that's drenched in Tinseltown glitz, from a director who knows how to put the money on the screen while his tongue's firmly in his cheek".[21] Daniel Saney of Digital Spy gave 4/5 stars, saying "Its ideas are often borrowed, and it's hardly deep and meaningful, but it's a fantastically fun film".[22] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave 3/4 stars and praised the chemistry between the lead actors, saying "What makes the movie work is that Pitt and Jolie have fun together on the screen and they're able to find a rhythm that allows them to be understated and amused even during the most alarming developments".[23] In a negative review, Mick LaSalle of San Francisco Chronicle described the film as "awful" and stated that "The tiny smidgen of cleverness on display here is contained entirely in the premise. The follow-through is nonexistent".[24]
Controversies
editPlagiarism accusations
editIn 2006, New Zealand author Gavin Bishop accused the makers of the movie of plagiarizing his 1997 school book, "The Secret Lives of Mr. and Mrs. Smith", which features a husband and wife living apparently dull suburban lives, but unbeknownst to each other, both work as spies. Bishop stated that he intended to sue, and if a law firm willing to share proceeds, if successful, would approach him.[25][26]
Inaccurate depiction of Bogotá
edit
The government of Colombia criticized the film in particular for showing the capital Bogotá as a small village in the middle of the jungle with a hot and humid climate.[27] President Alvaro Uribe Vélez and Mayor Luis Eduardo Garzón invited Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, and the producers to get to know the city and realize the mistakes they made.[28]
Home media
editA single-disc DVD of the film was released on November 29, 2005, and a two-disc unrated version of the film was released on DVD on June 6, 2006. During director Doug Liman's audio commentary which is on the single-disc DVD release, he says that the film was edited for sexual and violent content to get a PG-13 rating. Mr. & Mrs. Smith was released on Blu-ray on December 4, 2007. It includes extra material from the 2005 single-disc DVD release but does not include additional material from the 2006 two-disc unrated version.
Legacy
editIn 2007, a pilot for a spin-off television series was made for the network ABC. Set six months after the end of the film, it was written by Simon Kinberg and directed by Doug Liman. Kinberg described the proposed television series as "Married... with Children with guns."[29] The roles of John and Jane were played by Martin Henderson and Jordana Brewster. On website The Futon Critic, Brian Ford Sullivan criticized the chemistry between Henderson and Brewster and ended his review stating, "While there's always a few gems that get locked away in the networks' vaults each year, this decidedly isn't one of them".[30] ABC decided not to commission the series.[31]
The film is parodied in Treehouse of Horror XVIII, a 2007 episode of the animated television series The Simpsons.[32]
In June 2010, Jolie said that she and Pitt had inquired about a sequel to the film but were dissatisfied with the story. Jolie remarked, "We did ask somebody to look into Mr. & Mrs. to see if they could crack a sequel, but there wasn't anything original. It was just, 'Well, they're going to get married, or they've got kids, or they get separated.' Never great."[33]
TV series reboot
editIn February 2021, Amazon Studios announced that a television series reboot based on the original film, starring Donald Glover and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, was set to be released on Amazon Prime Video in 2022.[34] Due to creative differences Waller-Bridge exited the project in early September 2021[35] and in April 2022, it was reported that Maya Erskine had replaced her in the main role.[36]
On February 2, 2024 the TV series was released on Amazon Prime Video to critical acclaim.[37]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d "Mr. & Mrs. Smith". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on March 28, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
- ^ Harris, Mark. "The Mommy Track" Archived November 10, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. The New York Times. October 15, 2008. Retrieved September 30, 2011.
- ^ "Brad Pitt reveals he DID fall in love with Angelina Jolie on set of Mr And Mrs Smith while still married to Jennifer Aniston" Archived June 28, 2018, at the Wayback Machine. Mirror. December 11, 2008. Retrieved September 30, 2011.
- ^ a b "'Smith' reaches summit". Variety. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
- ^ "Regency saves its marriage". Variety. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
- ^ "Gwen Stefani says Angelina Jolie 'beat' her to iconic role". The Independent. April 8, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
- ^ "From the EW archives: Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, and the tabloid drama behind 'Mr. & MRS. Smith'". Entertainment Weekly.
- ^ "'Mr. and Mrs. Smith' Was Just as Dramatic Off-Screen". Collider. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
- ^ Mitas, Melissa (August 11, 2020). "Why Brad Pitt Dropped Out of 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith', and Why He Returned". Showbiz Cheat Sheet. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
- ^ "Killer Sex – Hot Tales of Brad and Angelina from the Set of 'Mr. And Mrs. Smith'". June 5, 2005.
- ^ "'Mr. & MRS. Smith': The Movie That Launched America's Obsession with Brangelina". September 20, 2016.
- ^ "Gwen Stefani: The First Lady of Rock". Vogue. April 1, 2008.
- ^ "John Leguizamo says he got used to being 'dissed' as a Latin actor: 'You have to go to a lot of therapy to fix that'". Business Insider.
- ^ Ingram, Hunter (August 8, 2024). "Parker Posey Auditioned for 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' Movie 18 Years Before Landing a Role in Amazon's TV Show". Variety. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
- ^ Various Artists - Mr. & Mrs. Smith: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack at Discogs (list of releases)
- ^ John Powell - Mr. & Mrs. Smith: Original Motion Picture Score at Discogs (list of releases)
- ^ Phares, Heather. "Original Soundtrack Mr. & Mrs. Smith". AllMusic.com. Archived from the original on December 11, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
- ^ "Mr. & Mrs. Smith". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on December 15, 2017. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
- ^ "Mr. & Mrs. Smith". Metacritic. Archived from the original on June 8, 2012. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
- ^ "Cinemascore :: Movie Title Search". Archived from the original on December 20, 2018. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
- ^ Braund, Simon. "Mr And Mrs Smith". Empire. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved September 27, 2011.
- ^ Saney, Daniel (June 13, 2005). "Mr. & Mrs. Smith". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved September 27, 2011.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (June 9, 2005). "Mr. & Mrs. Smith". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on October 14, 2012. Retrieved September 27, 2011.
- ^ LaSalle, Mick (June 10, 2005). "It's nothing personal – each of them has a job to do. Of course, it is a deadly business". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on June 6, 2008. Retrieved September 27, 2011.
- ^ "Hollywood stole my story — Kiwi author". The Dominion Post. The Press. March 2, 2006. p. 1.
- ^ "Mr & Mrs Smith my idea: author". The Sydney Morning Herald. AP. March 2, 2006. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
- ^ "Bogotá dañada en "Sr. y Sra. Smith"". ABC Color (in Spanish). July 11, 2005. Archived from the original on February 17, 2016. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
- ^ "Sr. y Sra. Smith, en la mira de los colombianos". Terra Networks (in Spanish). July 11, 2005. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
- ^ Adalian, Josef (January 1, 2007). "ABC gets with 'Smith'". Variety. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
- ^ Ford Sullivan, Brian (June 12, 2007). "The Futon's First Look: "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" (ABC)". The Futon Critic. Retrieved October 2, 2011.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (May 18, 2007). "The Vine: 'Smith' gunning for new buyer". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 18, 2014. Retrieved October 19, 2011.
- ^ Canning, Robert (November 5, 2007). "The Simpsons: "Treehouse of Horror XVIII" Review". IGN.
- ^ Cohen, Rich (June 28, 2010). "Angelina Jolie on Marriage, the Kids, and Retirement". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on September 30, 2011. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
- ^ Goldberg, Lesley (February 12, 2021). "Donald Glover, Phoebe Waller-Bridge Team for 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' Update at Amazon". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
- ^ Yossman, K. J. (September 6, 2021). "Phoebe Waller-Bridge Departs Amazon's 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' Series". Variety. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (April 7, 2022). "'Mr. & Mrs. Smith': Maya Erskine To Star Opposite Donald Glover In Prime Video Series, Replacing Phoebe Waller-Bridge". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
- ^ William, Jordan (February 2, 2024). "Mr & Mrs Smith Season 1 Rotten Tomatoes movie flaw comparison". Screen Rant. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
External links
edit
- Mr. & Mrs. Smith at IMDb
- Mr. & Mrs. Smith at AllMovie
- Mr. & Mrs. Smith at the TCM Movie Database
- Mr. & Mrs. Smith at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- Mr. & Mrs. Smith at Metacritic
- Mr. & Mrs. Smith at Box Office Mojo
- Mr. & Mrs. Smith at Rotten Tomatoes
- Mr. & Mrs. Smith at The Numbers
