Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)

Title: Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)
Director: Doug Liman
Genre: Action/Comedy
Highs: Angelina and Brad
Lows: Angelina and Brad
RhynoBot Grade: C+

This movie on paper should be a smashing success. You have Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, and Vince Vaughn staring, with Doug Liman of "Swingers" fame directing (also "The Bourne Identity" and Season 1 of "The OC"). But somehow even with all the right players this movie is a miss. So much more could have been done with this movie and the talent of the actors playing in it. But instead it is basically a pumped-up version of "War of the Roses" with much more sexier stars (Jolie, Pitt, and Vaughn instead of Kathleen Turner, Michael Douglas, and Danny De Vito, respectively) and a hell of a lot more gun play and explosions.

OK, lets start at the most obvious place - Angelina and Brad. Both actors have a super sexy reputation, which we do see them live up to during the run of this film, but there wasn't enough of it. Undeniably there was on-screen chemistry between the two of them but Liman didn't exploit that chemistry or their inherent sexiness to the fullest. Granted you run a fine line here of over doing it but the sizzle factor was more of a fizzle. The steamiest scenes were in the beginning via a flashback of the couples first meeting. Now I understand the need to fizzle since that was the point - there marriage was lack-luster at best - but when they started to get groove'n there was no pop, no bam, no hooooottttness! What a waste. And who the hell has hot steaming sex with their cloths on??? Angelina and Brad are no strangers to showing it all why the modesty now!?!?! All in the name of PG-13 - LAME! But I digress - the duo truly make the movie for the most part. The cat and mouse antics once they are onto each other are really entertaining. The funniest moments between them is the typical "marital bliss" type comments, banter, and hitting. Unfortunately Liman got to a point in the movie where he had nowhere to go. Blame it on the writer, director, or whomever but the finale was lame - common place shoot'em up where the "good guys" can't miss a single shot and the "bad guys" (trained professional killers) can't hit the broadside of a barn. Once again, LAME!

One final disappointment was Vince Vaughn, not necessarily anything to do with his acting, Vaughn is great as usual, but his character is useless. He adds nothing to the story. From what I can tell he is there solely for occasional comic relief which is marginal at best. (Best line from Vaughn though, "We're on high alert Ma', I could have killed you." With her nowhere near the room he was in, you just hear her voice from upstairs.)

I so wanted to really like this movie but unfortunately it stinks. Bad use of talent, nowhere near sexy enough for having both Jolie and Pitt in the same movie, and same old typical Hollywood bullshit writing that we have seen a million times before.

It's a disappointment, you can skip it.