Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005 film)

Mr. & Mrs. Smith is a 2005 film, directed by Doug Liman and written by Simon Kinberg.

Cast

Brad Pitt - John Smith
Angelina Jolie - Jane Smith
Adam Brody - Benjamin Danz
Vince Vaughn - Eddie
Kerry Washington - Jasmine
Keith David - Father
Chris Weitz - Martin Coleman
Rachael Huntley - Suzy Coleman
Michelle Monaghan - Gwen
Stephanie March - Julie
Jennifer Morrison - Jade
Theresa Barrera - Janet
Perrey Reeves - Jessie
Melanie Tolbert - Jamie
Jerry T. Adams - Guard

Plot

The action opens with John and Jane Smith, a couple who have been married for five or six years, attending marriage counseling. There, they tell the story of their first meeting in Bogotá, Colombia, where they met while both were secretly on the run from Columbian authorities. They quickly fell in love and were married.

Back in the present day, both John and Jane are revealed to be skilled assassins and both are assigned to kill a man named Benjamin Danz. Both are waiting for him in the same desert locale when they discover one another's presence. Though both escape unharmed, it isn't long before each discovers the other's secret. Both are given an ultimatum: they must each find their potential identifier and eliminate said person or they themselves will be eliminated, leaving them no choice but to kill one another.

Missed Clues

Throughout the first half of the movie, John and Jane hide their true identities, though their behaviors are revealing to the audience and sometimes to each other. Here are some examples:

At a carnival, both of them engage in a sharp shooting game. Jane pretends to miss many shots to hide her identity/skills. John shoots very well causing Jane to want to try again. She hits the most difficult targets. They both call it beginner's luck while Jane is holding a big stuffed animal.
John throws a basketball into the air without looking. The ball goes into the basket behind him.
Jane is seen balancing herself on one leg of a chair.
John keeps all his equipment under his tool shed.
Jane keeps all her equipment in the kitchen.

Real Details Revealed

Real details about their lives are revealed throughout a car chasing scene on the expressway.

Jane was never in the Peace Corps
John did not go to M.I.T., he went to Notre Dame and majored in Art History.
John likes music to which women tend to listen.
Jane's associates cooked for her throughout the years.
John was married once before. "It was a drunken Vegas thing."
Jane's parents died when she was five.
Jane's father at their wedding was a paid actor, who supposedly starred in Fantasy Island.
Jane is Jewish.

Unrated Version

A two-disc, unrated version of the film was released on DVD on June 6th, 2006. On the original DVD version during a commentary with the director, he mentions that he was not able to use as much sex and violence as they had originally filmed to meet the PG-13 rating. The unrated version shows more sex and violence for people who loved the film.

Differences Between Rated Version and Unrated Version

In the rated version, Benjamin Danz receives his next assignment from Father. This scene is not in the unrated version.
In the rated version, Eddie wakes up to see that there's a bulletin for a $400,000 hit on John Smith and another $400,000 hit on Jane Smith. This scene is not in the unrated version.
In the unrated version, John is seen breaking a plate intentionally.
In the unrated version, the dance scene is extended with sexual movements.

Reception

The film was received amicably, scoring a decent 60% on rottentomatoes.com an average 55 on [http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/mrandmrssmith Metacritic, and a decent 6.5 out of 10 on IMDB (both as of February 13, 2006). The film was lauded for good chemistry between the characters and the comic husband-to-wife infight bantering. Some critics pointed out the film was too violent for a good comedy and that it showed implausible character development. However, in terms of box office reception, the film was a success. The budget of the film had been 110 million dollars, and as of December 6, in the USA alone it had raked in 186 million dollars.

On the other hand, the film was heavily criticized in Colombia due to the awful depiction it makes of its capital Bogotá. Less than four weeks after its release in Colombia, the General Secretary of the City Hall, Enrique Borda, sent a letter of protest to the director Doug Liman. In the letter he states that "It is evidenced, beyond any doubt, that the director and his production crew show a total level of ignorance by portraying (the city) as incipient (...), primitive, with scarce hotel infrastructure, dominated by poverty, depressed, disorganized, with high levels of violence; in conclusion, totally chaotic and not attractive at all". Borda also points out in his text that Colombia was awarded with the title of "City of Peace" by the Unión de Ciudades Capitales Iberoamericanas (UCCI) and was declared "World Book Capital 2007" by UNESCO.^*

Trivia

Rumors that Pitt and Jolie began an affair while filming the movie sparked a tabloid media frenzy in late 2004-early 2005, which only intensified when Pitt subsequently broke up with his wife, Jennifer Aniston. Both Pitt and Jolie denied any such affair took place. During media promotion for the film, both Pitt and Jolie required reporters to sign a contract forbidding any questions about their rumored relationship.

While Benjamin is being held captive, he is wearing a Fight Club T-shirt, a reference to a previous film starring Brad Pitt.

When John and Jane are revealing their true identities, John mentions he was the one to assassinate Jean Luc Gaspard. This character is taken from the film Ocean's Twelve.

The novelization of this film includes joking references to Mrs. Smith looking like some glamorous movie star (an allusion to Angelina Jolie), while Mr. Smith is said to resemble Brad Pitt.

Two versions of the main poster for this film exist: one in which Jolie is shown holding a gun in her garter (as illustrated above) and a second version without.

This movie combines elements of two other productions titled Mr. and Mrs. Smith: the 1941 Alfred Hitchcock screwball comedy film of that name about a "married" couple who discover they are not legally married, and the 1996 TV series in which the couple are assassins working undercover.

Jane Smith was originally to be played by Nicole Kidman. Gwen Stefani was also considered for the role.

The movie was filmed in San Marino, California.

Television series

In January 2006, ABC announced that a television series was being produced based upon the movie. Writer Simon Kinberg and director Doug Liman were reunited to bring the hit to the small screen. Though Jolie and Pitt won't return for this version it was said that a "nation wide talent search" would be taking place to find the next duo. The show was officially ordered to pilot and is expected to air in January 2007.

External links

2005 films | Films shot in Super 35 | Fictional assassins

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