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'Mr. And Mrs. Smith' Reviews: This Is Not Another Brangelina Situation
Not all reboots, remakes and reimaginings have to be soulless, empty cash grabs utilizing intellectual properties to milk audience engagement. The first "must-watch" show of 2024 — so you have something to banter about at work — is Amazon Prime's "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," starring Donald Glover and Maya Erskine. Originally, it was supposed to reunite Glover with his "Solo" co-star Phoebe Waller-Bridge, but was reworked when she left the project.
Rounding out the cast is Parker Posey, Michaela Coel, John Turturro, Paul Dano, Alexander Skarsgard, Sarah Paulson and Ron Perlman. The show is out on February 2, 2024, and critics had mostly glowing things to say about a show that could have easily have been awful.
What it's about
When John (Donald Glover) and Jane (Maya Erskine) first meet, they're strangers — but they're also now legally married. It's all part of their cover as Smiths, members of a highly secretive spy organization about which they know very little, except that the pay is good and the work is exciting. It takes a little bit of time for John and Jane to connect, but soon their relationship goes from professional partnership to something much more like a real marriage. And along with that comes all the problems most married couples face, including disagreements, insecurities, and even concerns about fidelity. All normal stuff for two people trying to make a relationship work. Though most people in a committed relationship don't have as much access to firearms and explosives.
Both of these stars are the perfectly cast as sexy spies
Glover will get heaps of praise for his work here as co-creator, writer, producer and star. His evolution as an artist is remarkable, as it feels like he's conquered everything from comedy to hip hop. Now, he's a leading man who's running head-first into gun fights one minute and sweetly spooning with his wife the next. Braggadocious and dorky, Glover's John has the swagger of Steve McQueen and the sensitive loyalty of a mother's only son. Erskine, who many will recognize as the brace-faced 13-year old in Hulu comedy "PEN15," is the one who truly steals the show. Calculated, detail oriented, focused and potentially sociopathic, she delivers a performance that'll leave an impression. Give her all the awards, now.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith wouldn't work without thrilling chemistry between its lead actors, and for the most part, Glover and Erskine deliver on that front. Their quick-as-a-whip banter and clashing personalities make genuine sparks, setting up a dynamic that is interesting to watch. Glover's John proves to be the more sensitive of the two, and his vulnerabilities gradually emerge as they brush uncomfortably against Jane's work ethic. Jane keeps her emotions close to the vest, giving Erskine some excellent moments where she finally lets some walls down, only to close them up abruptly and leave us desperate to know more. It all comes down to Erskine and Glover's chemistry and their performances; they keep "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" light on its feet, even when some of the initial tension dims.
The show doesn't waste much time with the will-they-won't-they stuff, because Glover and Erskine are simply too much fun together to keep apart. Instead, "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" spends its eight rollicking episodes asking, "Can this (fake) marriage be saved?" and transforming the challenges of their high-concept lifestyle into relatable relationship quandaries. The structure is pleasantly nostalgic: Adventure-of-the-week stories that blend classic spy-genre elements — earpiece banter and epic shootouts, truth serum and international travel — with big-name guest stars in showcase roles.
How do you stretch a feature film premise? Lots of guest stars!
If you're wondering how the concept of the film could possibly maintain the length of the series, Sloane & Glover brilliantly choose to employ a bit of mystery-of-the-week in their structure, often using new guest stars in a format that's almost akin to the great "Poker Face" from last year. It's not quite as confined as that, but, for example, John Turturro pops up on an assignment in which the Smiths have to inject him with truth serum in one episode, ceding the next one to how a job surveilling a couple played by Sharon Horgan and Billy Campbell impacts the Smiths. Parker Posey, Wagner Moura, Sarah Paulson, and many more appear, with Paul Dano also recurrring as the Smith's neighbor. It's a phenomenal cast, likely all attracted by the strong writing, along with Glover and director Hiro Murai's work on "Atlanta."
"Mr. & Mrs. Smith" boasts a deep bench of guest stars. One of the first faces we see belongs to Alexander Skarsgard; Paul Dano, Parker Posey and Sharon Horgan soon join the party, among others. Yet the series is tightly focused on John and Jane, to the point where detours to glamorous destinations like Lake Como and luxury ski resorts barely register as changes in backdrop. Our attention remains on what's happening in the foreground: John and Jane's inevitable transition from marriage as a cover story to a real relationship that happens to have life or death stakes.
Some of the time, this is a mission-of-the-week show in which the backdrop for the adventure changes shape and the mood shifts. There are those chases on city streets, but there is also (how could there not be?) a fancy gala where they dress up and are impossibly glamorous. Red dress, check. Tux, check (with a twist, you'll see). There is a trip to a snowy paradise in the Italian Dolomites, so that they can ride a ski lift together, wear their hottest winter gear, and be colorful splashes on what look like endless white mountains. "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" also uses a specific idea to build each episode, as "Atlanta" does, rather than treating the season only as a segmented linear plot. One is structured around couples' therapy. One is a dinner party story where they meet and befriend another couple. There's an installment where Jane feels threatened by another woman in a couple of different ways, which plays out largely through their conversations with her.
TL;DR
"Mr. and Mrs. Smith" is must-watch television.
It is fast, fun and witty. Care has been taken with every aspect.
"Mr. and Mrs. Smith" is a sizably entertaining and meditative spy thriller fit for a millennial demographic.
Glover and Erskine's amazing chemistry is what makes it all work.
Maya Erskine and Donald Glover shine both together and individually in this spy thriller meets romcom, which reimagines the film in a unique and fun way.
