This review was made possible by advance screeners for Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Mr. & Mrs. Smith releases on Prime Video on February 2, 2024.
A dashing man and a gorgeous woman. Married, but the spark is gone. That is, until… they each discover that the other is a spy, and that they’re working for competing agencies. Heard it before? Of course you have! It’s the premise of the hit 2005 action rom-com Mr. & Mrs. Smith, starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
So you’re probably wondering why, in the year 2024, a remake (this time in streaming series format) is necessary. Look, I get it. Pitt and Jolie did a fantastic job, we’ve already experienced the twists and turns, and it was one hell of a ride. Why is it being depicted all over again? Well… it’s not. Donald Glover, along with co-creator Francesca Sloane and co-star Maya Erskine, have smartly delivered a series that gets to the heart of the 2005 film’s ideas in more raw, intimate ways, while flipping the premise on its head.
Keeping Up With The Smiths
Two strangers, with good (but not great) skill, each want to dive into a life of high-stakes espionage. Their new agency offers everything they could want – a new home, a new life, and plenty of cash to be made… but there’s a catch. They’ll be doing it all together in an arranged marriage. No wedding, no exchange of vows, and no prior knowledge of the other’s past life. They just meet, and voilà… Mr. & Mrs. Smith are the new totally normal couple in the neighborhood.
While John (Glover) and Jane (Erskine) Smith are awkward with their interactions at first, the simple beauty of this show is seen in their growth – as individuals with emotional weaknesses, as co-workers having to carry out dangerous missions, and as a couple learning what marriage really is. But of course, with that growth, can come growing pains. The irony is that the beginning of John and Jane’s growth actually signals one of the biggest pains of the series itself – that being the characters’ reservations and initial lack of chemistry making it a slow going for the first couple episodes. On a whole, the series definitely takes pride in its slower pace, which gives more value to the moments in-between than the thrills… but when John and Jane aren’t quite well-acquainted yet, it can feel a tad too bland. Being a streaming series that’s dropping all at once, there’s one simple thing I can recommend; if you’re going to watch Episode 1, follow it up with Episodes 2 and 3 soon after, and you should be fully sold on the charm of Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
Smithin’: Impossible
Generally, Mr. & Mrs. Smith follows a mission-of-the-week format, which would actually lend itself wonderfully to a weekly release (despite my previous recommendation of taking advantage of the binge-drop at the beginning) à la Poker Face – especially with its similarly renowned cast of guest stars around each corner. Seriously, it’s a fantastic list… John Turturro, Parker Posey, and Michaela Coel, to name a few. Some of their characters act as catalysts that help John and Jane grow in their relationship, some are a sizable threat in one way or another, and nearly all of them will have you laughing at some point – although this isn’t always a laugh-out-loud show. It definitely has its moments of hilarity, shock, thrills, and just plain weird, but it revels more in its ability to make you feel and relate to the titular characters in certain ways.
Speaking of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, they’re by far the best pieces of it all. Glover works an incredible range, whether it’s closing himself off and internalizing frustrations, or performing a bit that feels straight out of his stand-up comedy routines. He has a masterful ability to turn on his charisma with the flip of a switch. Erskine is humorous as well, but she really shines when she plays into the calculative aspect of Jane – especially when the cracks begin to show. Together they meld into a force to be reckoned with, wielding a chemistry that earns your empathy through the growing pains, which is rewarded beautifully in the actual growth.
Smith Just Got Real
While the concept of Mr. & Mrs. Smith has been flipped on its head for this, the biggest thing that really sets the series apart is actually the tone. The 2005 film was a guns blazing, explosion-filled blockbuster that aimed for spectacle. Glover’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith aims to go more low-key. The gunfire and explosions are still around, but less often, and with more impact. This series takes a raw, grounded approach to espionage, rather than mimicking the flashiness of a popcorn flick. Wounds hurt. Explosions surprise. This allows Glover and Sloane to subvert genre tropes, which is often what leads to hilarity. Got a dead body on your hands? You’ve got to figure out how to realistically dispose of it.
There are these sort of problem-solving situations that arise, that feel like you’re watching someone of average skill play a sandbox video game (Hitman, perhaps?) in real time. I recall one moment where Jane had to say something to a person in order to get something out of them – and it felt like I could see little dialogue options popping up in her head. I think it’s a testament not only to the writing, but to the direction, that so many moments like this invoked a similar feeling, seeing something so human in such wild scenarios.
The grounded tone goes further than just the action though – it seeps into the heart of it all… John and Jane’s relationship. They grapple with things they left in their past. They seek out their emotional needs. Their kisses, their texts, their arguments, and even their farts, all paint an an intimate portrait of what marriage is. This isn’t a fairytale romance. These are two people who start off bound by circumstance, but who come to find genuine connection with one another through all of their needs, desires, and weaknesses. And when problems arise between them, then what? They go to therapy of course. The good, the bad, and the ugly of marriage is just portrayed so perfectly.
‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’ – Final Thoughts
Mr. & Mrs. Smith seeks to deliver an intimate look into the ups and downs of marriage through a grounded approach to high-stakes espionage, and it easily succeeds at its mission. While it can be slow to start, Glover and Erskine’s charm and chemistry, along with the rest of the fantastic guest stars, make it a thoroughly entertaining experience, with plenty of laughs and thrills. Although in the end, it’s the simple heart of the series and all of the moments in-between the action that makes it a more than worthwhile watch.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith releases on Prime Video on February 2, 2024. Check out the trailer below.
