Sexual chemistry is no substitute for anything

Rating: 4/10 (21 November 2007)

Despite the title, this "Mr and Mrs Smith" has no connection with the Alfred Hitchcock film of the same name. It is essentially a black comedy/romantic comedy hybrid based around a single joke. John and Jane Smith are a suburban New York yuppie couple whose marriage is fast running out of steam. The single joke is that both of them are professional assassins, working for rival assassination agencies, and both are blissfully unaware of what their partner does for a living, despite the fact that they have been married for six years. In an obvious plot twist they find out that they have been hired to kill one another. Can John and Jane save their marriage? Can they do so without anyone getting hurt? And can Brad and Jennifer save theirs?
The script for the film is said to have been produced as a thesis for the writer's Masters degree in fine arts. Despite this academic pedigree, it does not show much in the way of intellectual qualities, or indeed in the way of originality, owing a huge debt to "Prizzi's Honor". (Plagiarism is generally frowned upon in academia, but positively encouraged in Hollywood). For much of the film, especially in the second half, there isn't much plot to speak of, just a long succession of action sequences consisting mainly of gunfire and explosions. For a film that is ostensibly a comedy, there is little wit or humour on display.
"Mr and Mrs Smith" was obviously made on the assumption that any pairing of two stars as desirable as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie will generate so much sexual chemistry that the resulting film will automatically be a good one, or at least a profitable one. It must have been a godsend to the film-makers when rumours started to circulate that the two stars were more than just good friends in real life. Although suggestions were made in some quarters that these rumours were palpably false and had been deliberately spread in order to boost interest in the film, there was an even greater godsend when it was announced, a few months before the film opened, that Brad had left his wife Jennifer Aniston for his co-star.
I have to admit that the lovely Angelina looks extremely desirable in this film, and am reliably informed (by those who differ from myself either in gender or in orientation) that Brad does too. If, therefore, sexual chemistry can be defined as "beautiful girl plus handsome guy", "Mr and Mrs Smith" has that quality in spades. Unfortunately, contrary to what the film-makers seemed to think, good looks alone cannot guarantee a successful film. Sexual chemistry is no substitute for meaningful plot, intelligent dialogue or humour beyond one single joke. John and Jane might be fully paid up members of the Beautiful People, but it is hard to warm to characters whose profession is murder and who in the real world would probably end up on Death Row. Brad and Angie's off-screen antics may have made them the most talked-about couple in Hollywood. About their on-screen antics, the less said the better. 4/10