Mr & Mrs Smith just dropped on Amazon Prime. It shares the name of the Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie movie
I wrote about here. This isn’t an homage or remake, it just shares the name and is vaguely related to spies.
This is a show intended for Donald Glover fans.
That’s what you get. Glover acts like Troy Barnes ten years after Community college. That is a niche audience, but fine, not every show is for me.
The premise is that Donald Glover and Maya Erskine get hired by an investigative organization to live together as a married couple undercover to complete high risk missions each episode.
The show writers don’t care about the premise.
Charlie’s Angels did a better job of explaining how the participants ended up in the program and how they are qualified. John and Jane Smith were interviewed by a computer with the kind of questions you’d expect from an HR screening interview. Both are minimally qualified washouts from government organizations.
John and Jane begin their immersive undercover operation by meeting at their townhouse. There doesn’t appear to have been any training, meeting or planning prior to them arriving at their new home. They explore the house like new contestants in a reality show.
There is none of the clever hidden arsenal and concealed rooms of the movie. The guns are behind a hinged painting. John tugged on it, and there were a bunch of guns.
Missions go the same way. They get a bullet-point assignment with no background information or dossier. They do no planning or discussion, just show up and do whatever comes to mind.
Mr & Mrs Smith is an action comedy, but the writers don’t understand the conventions of the genre. Nothing approaching spy craft is ever exhibited. In one episode, John Smith accidentally meets another John Smith at a farmer’s market. He naturally assumes this is one of his colleagues, so they get to talking. In a public venue, they are talking about how they are both spies working for the same organization. They decide to schedule a couples date at their house for later that day.
This is how a seven year-old would imagine a spy organization. Honestly, Get Smart did a much better job of spoofing the spy movie.
Mr & Mrs Smith isn’t a show about an undercover couple, but a rom-com. The premise and plot are secondary to the awkward relationship developing between John and Jane. It would have been a better show if it had a mock reality show premise. Two people chosen to live together, ostensibly as an undercover couple, but actually, the scenarios are staged by actors while all of their activities are recorded for a reality show.
Viewed as a rom-com, it might appeal to more modern audiences. John and Jane both seem like people who haven’t been in committed relationships, but came of age with hook-up culture. There isn’t much chemistry between John and Jane, but since they live in the same house, they both know they will eventually sleep together. The type of people who go on a bad first date, but it’s understood that he will at least get a blowjob at the end of the night.
John is pushes in that direction. Jane resists, but only mildly because they both know it’s inevitable.
All of the dialogue is this blunt. This is not a coy seduction. Neither Glover or Erskine act like normal people trying to get acquainted. It might be generational, but both actors are in their mid-30’s. None of the people I know in their age range act this awkward and uncomfortable. John has no game and Jane doesn’t value her virtue.
For the relationship to be this cringey, the actors and writers can’t be blamed. This is what the director is looking for.
The production values are good and they go to some nice locations. That’s the best that can be said for Mr & Mrs Smith. Watching this action comedy, I felt more uncomfortable than amused. There was no WOKE messaging or preaching, so it wasn’t irritating to watch. I’d give it a 5/10.