Ep. 40: Mr. & Mrs. Smith

19 responses to “Ep. 40: Mr. & Mrs. Smith”

1. You guys are going to think I’m the biggest pain in the ass…but is there a way to change the alignment of the chat transcripts? I can’t seem to follow who is saying what or anything with it all centered. Left, or even justified, would be a much nicer alignment. Center alignment is kinda chaotic neutral, or even evil.

   *ducks*

2. I’ll ask Alastair.

3. You’re not a pain in the ass, Sierra – that was a mistake. Thanks for letting us know! Fixed!

4. For a movie that is incredibly infamous for the torrid marriage-ending, child-spawning affair that happened from it… dear god, this is a boring and passionless movie. Either Brangelina are great actors at not giving a shit about each other, or uh… yeah, I’ve seen them both do better. Why do you care about killing him/her again? Or not? Who knows?

   I actually saw this in theaters (I don’t do that much) and at the time I think I thought it was okay because I’d actually paid money to see it. Watching it at my house, where I had other things I could do but sit there in the dark… yeah, it’s boring.

5. I actually enjoyed this movie when I saw it in the theater and the first few times I saw in at home (one of husband’s favorite movies b/c it features sexy Angelina and action), but I think after a while it just seemed very empty and hollow.
   It reminds me a lot of the remake of The Thomas Crown Affair with Russo and Brosnan. Very beautiful rich people keeping secrets from each other and being attracted to each other/antagonists at the same time.
   I would be very curious what you guys would think of that one. I like the Thomas Crown Affair but I think Rene Russo’s character is more interesting and complex then Mr. and Mrs. Smith put together.

6. @Jill – I was reminded of Thomas Crown Affair with Brosnan and Russo as well. Where it truly diverged for me – other than the storytelling, which sucked – was in the emotion/ vulnerability. Thomas Crown is about secrets and those are two characters that are very buttoned up at times but then there are times when it all drops away and you are left with no doubts about what they each feel.

   That’s what I think this movie was desperately missing. I didn’t even get a hint of Mrs. Smith giving a rip about Mr. Smith until the minivan scene when she whacks him upside the head for not telling her he’d been married before. Personally, I’m not sure this was a product of the story. I think this is also acting. I’m not a huge fan of either one of these actors but Brad Pitt at least inflected some humanity into Mr. Smith. Maybe other people have seen Jolie in roles where she can be both action star and human but this hasn’t been my experience.

7. I remember that I didn’t hate this as much as I thought I would the first time I saw it (a friend made me watch it). There are moments here that make me think there’s actually a romance going on (all of which are in the last half), but there aren’t enough and the plot is so ridiculous it distracts me. I still like this better than The Big Hit, though, because I didn’t actively enjoy hating The Big Hit, I just wanted those 90 minutes of my life back.

   I love the Brosnan Thomas Crown Affair, too – actually prefer it to the original. Wasn’t reminded of it seeing this, though. Would love to watch it here and see what you guys think of it (maybe if you do romantic suspense?).

8. I was listening to the podcast, & Jenny, could you expand on what you said about Buffy’s house as a metaphor?

9. @Annie: I think that’s from an essay about Buffy that’s up on her website. http://www.jennycrusie.com/for-writers/essays/dating-death/
   You have to scroll down almost to the end to find it but it’s there.

10. Enjoyed the podcast. Didn’t like the movie. Same reaction, same reasons.
    But one of the snippets I did like was the “we redecorated the house” comment. I took it to mean that “redecorate” was a euphemism for “shot the hell out of” or “destroyed utterly”.

11. @Katie Thanks so much! I was thinking Jenny meant the Summers’ house. I read the Cordeila article before, but I guess I missed this one.

    Also, not going to lie- after reading her essay, I totally went to Netflix & watched some Buffy. 🙂

12. We have a list of caper movies and The Thomas Crown Affair is on that one.

13. Buffy never disappoints. Angel is surprisingly good on rewatching, too. Separated from all the Buffy expectations, it’s a really good show. Although I opt out after Carter comes on the scene until he gets adopted out. That was just too painful.

    Katie, thanks for that link!

14. I’ve never actually watched all of Angel. I stopped right when Angel had his son & he came back with the “is he/isnt he evil” plot. I remember checking in to see if it got better, but it was around the time of the Cordelia mess, so I didn’t stay. After that, I’ve only seen the (hilarious) puppet episode & the finale.

    I was about to write something (kind of longish) about Buffy and rewatching it but I don’t want to completely overhaul the conversation. Maybe we should have a Tv show/ Buffy section at some point? 🙂

15. I stopped watching Angel regularly when Connor was there, too. It was just so weird; of course, Wesley got really interesting during those seasons so that was something. But I remember really enjoying the first couple of seasons. And, of course, Spike.

    @CrankyOtter: I always thought “redoing the house” referred to wrecking it, too. Liked that line.

16. Pick them up again after they join Wolfram and Hart. It gets very interesting. Harmony is Angel’s secretary and Spike comes back. Weirdness abounds. Also one of the best series finales ever.

17. Ah, I missed the double-play on re-doing the house. Thank you, Katie and Otter.

18. This is cracking me up b/c I LOVED this movie. I thought they were charming and thought it was a brilliant send-up of the “where did we go wrong in our marriage” genre. It’s Men are From Mars, Women are from Venus on steroids. Among my favorite moments was when she recognized him because of the way he shook his foot after peeing in the desert.

    Anyway, I shall listen to the podcast and be schooled. Sigh. Execrable taste, that’s me.

19. Hey, story is subjective. You’re right, too.