Mr & Mrs Smith

When Mr & Mrs Smith, the film, came out in 2005 it soon became a favorite of mine. I like spy films, and I like films about spies and assassins in ordinary surroundings (Grosse Point Blank is another firm favorite).

Over the years I've rewatched several times, to the point it became a background noise film for when I wanted something on television while I concentrated on other things.

Last week I noticed Amazon Prime advertising Mr & Mrs Smith, the series. Not being a follower of what is due to come on television, or the pictures, I'd missed the seemingly large and effective marketing campaign for the show.

With the film having been such a huge hit the writers obviously felt the need to address that there had been such a thing. This is done quite brutally in the opening scene of Episode One.

From there the new Mr & Mrs Smith are actively introduced to each other to work as a pair. Instead of Angeline Jolie and Brad Pitt, we have Donald Glover and Maya Erskine. And far from being seasoned professionals at the top of their trade, they are ingenues, more like Adam Brody's character in the original film.

Thrown together as an ostensibly married couple the pair are tasked with retrieving a package from someone, and delivering it. They fumble their way through the task, and the delivery has unexpected consequences.

Episode two revolves around an assignment which goes wrong in accidental and unexpected ways.

Like the original film, and others of the genre, the humor is dark and constantly present. To do otherwise would be to make viewing unremittingly dark and grim.

Where, in the original film there was a genuine romantic link between the leads, here there is two folks trying to work out the parameters of a created relationship, and having different ideas of how it should be working. This makes for a nice balance between them.

I'm two episodes in. I recommend giving it a try if you can.

text by stuartcturnbull, art by TayebMEZAHDIA via Pixabay