History Film / MrAndMrsSmith

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''Mr. & Mrs. Smith'' is a 2005 film, directed by Creator/DougLiman and starring Creator/BradPitt and Creator/AngelinaJolie, that combines elements of action thriller and romantic comedy.

The eponymous Smiths are a couple who have been married for [[UnreliableNarrator five]] ([[RunningGag or six]]) years. After meeting each other while vacationing in Colombia, the two married and settled down to a quiet, white-collar life in Suburbia, but now they find the magic is fading and wonder if their marriage is going to last.

In reality, both of them are being smothered by the weight of their double lives -- as secret agents and occasional killers for hire. All the fire seems to have gone out of their relationships and they are seeking marriage counselling.

One day, John Smith (Pitt) is ordered to take out a hit on a man called "The Tank". But his wife Jane (Jolie), who works for a rival agency, is also sent to take down "The Tank". Upon discovering each other's identities, the Smiths are told by their employers to take each other out, leading to results that range from your standard SlapSlapKiss all the way up to no-holds-barred DomesticAbuse. Things are not as they seem, though. When John and Jane both come under attack by their former employers, they realise that if they are going to live (and keep their marriage intact), they're going to have to work together both as assassins ''and'' as a couple.

Not to be [[SimilarlyNamedWorks confused with]] the 1941 [[Film/MrAndMrsSmith1941 screwball comedy]] directed by Creator/AlfredHitchcock (where a couple who have been married three years find out that they aren't really married) or the 1996 TV series (where two spies are forced to work together under the codenames Mr. and Mrs. Smith).

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!!This film contains tropes such as:

* AirVentPassageway: Played with; The building where Jane works has security lasers everywhere to keep intruders out -- including the vents. Justified as Jane is an assassin and has used such tactics in the past.
* AmazonBrigade: Jane's agency seems only to hire women, although their boss and at least some of their operatives (not seen) are male.
* AntiHero: Although they are sympathetic and romantic characters, Jane and John are still professional murderers, and it is never firmly established if either of the two organizations they work for are actually on the side of right. The most the film provides on the subject is a comment from Jane to her target about "selling big guns to bad people" before she kills him, but there's nothing to indicate whether or not the specific job is typical of her hits. There is also the matter of a line of dialogue (cut from some versions of the film) in which, while discussing how many people they've killed, John asks if Jane's claimed number of 312 includes innocent bystanders.
* ArmorIsUseless:
** Averted in one scene when Jane, unaware, shoots John, he's wearing a vest.
** In the climactic scene, this is a downplayed trope. Our anti-heroes are shown to be wearing bulletproof vests, but the impacts still clearly hurt.
* AsideGlance: Played with -- during their tango Jane suddenly drops down out of sight [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar as if she's decided to orally pleasure her husband]]. John looks at the camera and winks suggestively. The RevealShot shows he's winked at an elderly couple, who are gaping because Jane is removing a pistol from John's ankle holster.
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking:
** Out of all the various things they've done to each other in the course of their cover... all the lies, fakery, and ''trying to kill each other''... the thing that seems to upset John the most is that Jane hired actors to play her parents for events like their wedding and holidays.
--->'''John:''' I can't believe I brought my real parents to our wedding!
** The reverse, Jane seems overtly upset at John for being married once before (briefly, in Vegas, then annulled)
---> '''Jane:''' What's her name and social security number?\\
'''John:''' No, you're not going to kill her.
* ArtisticLicenseGeography: Bogotá, Colombia, in real life, is a major city of nearly 7 million (at the time of filming) with a mild-to-cool climate thanks to its high-altitude location. Here it's portrayed as a small river-side town where the sun always shines, people listen to flamenco music and there's no need for clothes. To make things worse, a soldier speaks with a heavy Mexican accent. Even the actors said that they've never been to Bogotá, or Colombia, for that matter.
* AudibleSharpness: Cutting bread should ''not'' be that loud.
* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Quite possibly the most non-standard use of this trope, as the Smiths both have this moment as they're pointing guns at each other.
* BackToBackBadasses: The penultimate final scene is the Smiths taking this posture when they confront a much larger group of assassins.
* BasementDweller: Eddie, having been divorced, is living with his mother despite his arsenal of weaponry. He insists this is a valid lifestyle choice.
* BattleCouple: The Smiths regnite their marriage one scene before they form an alliance against their former employers.
* BlackBossLady: She doesn't appear onscreen, but Mr. Smith's boss is voiced by Creator/AngelaBassett. [[DistaffCounterpart Inversely,]] Mrs Smith's Boss is voiced by Creator/KeithDavid.
%%* BoyfriendBluff: The MeetCute.
* BrickJoke: The "Scale of 1-10, how is the sex?" question.
* BulletDodge: In the final shootout, John and Jane twice duck an anti-tank missile being fired at them.
* CarFu: Well, ATV-fu to be specific. John takes out a few agents in his zeal to rescue Jane during the final fight.
* CelebrityParadox: The Tank wears a ''Film/FightClub'' t-shirt. No one even thinks that John looks remarkably similar to Tyler Durden.
%%* ChainedToABed
* ContractOnTheHitman: [[spoiler:When both the agencies that the Smiths worked for found out who their spouse worked for, they compromised and decided to put them on a collision course to take each other out.]]
* CoverBlowingSuperpower: Jane confirms John's suspicions that she's an assassin by catching an open wine bottle with far better reflexes and coordination than an average house-wife.
* CutTheJuice: John tells Jane to cut the power while infiltrating the prison, then frantically shouts at her to turn the lights back on because he's found himself in a DarkenedBuildingShootout. Unfortunately it takes a lot longer to get the power back up again.
* DanceBattler: A variation - in the last battle John and Jane fight their enemies ''together'' in a gun-fight to the tune of the Assassin's Tango.
* DeadSparks: The Smiths' problem at the start of the film is that their marriage has floundered. After five (or six) years, they've lost their connection
* DestructoNookie: With the destructo- part coming before when they're trying to kill each other. They literally take their beautiful home apart in their efforts to kill each other to the point where they're forced to step over bits and pieces of trash and debris from the fight after they've made up.
* DishDash: When Jane catches the wine bottle, it signals the InternalReveal.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: While interrogating their target, the couple argue as if they're disagreeing on how to raise a child. At one point, John even says, "Can we not argue in front of the target? It sends mixed signals."
* {{Dominatrix}}: Jane dresses as one to get close to a target in one scene. It turns out that "punishing" a client puts one in a great position to kill him.
* DoubleEntendre:
** Because the violent nature of the couple's interactions are a metaphor for their rocky relationship, it's only natural that we get a few of these, including:
---> '''Mr. Smith:''' I don't exactly keep count, but I would say... high fifties, low sixties. Been around the block, but you know, the important thing is-\\
'''Mrs. Smith:''' Three hundred and twelve.\\
'''Mr. Smith:''' Three hundred and twelve? How?\\
'''Mrs. Smith:''' Some were two at a time.
** Certain cuts of the film have John's line, "Are you counting innocent bystanders?" (followed by Jane smacking the mesh barrier between them), partly because people thought they really were talking about sexual partners.
* DrowningMySorrows: John and Jane after the InternalReveal.
%%* DuelingStarsMovie
%%* TheElevatorFromIpanema: Twice; once before a shootout and once after.
* EmpathicEnvironment: Thunder sounds when things start heating up between John and Jane during their MatingDance in Bogota.
* ExtendedDisarming: While doing the tango, John and Jane remove guns and knives from each other's body.
* {{Fanservice}}: When you have two people who are consistently voted the two most attractive people in the world, it's inevitable. In the third quarter of the film. Jane is wearing a man's T-shirt that just ''barely'' functions as a miniskirt. John is in nothing but a tight V-neck and boxers.
* FunTShirt: "The Tank" is seen wearing a ''Film/FightClub'' T-Shirt, as ActorAllusion.
* FunWithSubtitles: "Five or six years ago..."
* GenderDynamicsIndex: Work your way down the page and fall in love with the film's love of playing with these tropes. Sometimes they play them entirely straight, sometimes they subvert them, then double subvert them, then twist them all to hell and gone.
* GoodCopBadCop: During the interrogation scene with [[spoiler: the Tank]] but they both try to play the bad cop.
* {{Handguns}}: John's handgun gives him the edge during the house-fight.
* HandSignals: Spoofed when John and Jane start using them to squabble with each other.
* HiddenSupplies: Both of the smiths have their own weaponry cache in their shared home.
* HitmanWithAHeart: Though they don't have problems killing their targets or other professionals (guards and soforth), they do seem to try and avoid innocent casualties. John even takes the time to shout warnings and get civilians to run away when he's just ditched a bomb.
** During the fair scene, John casually hands one of the stuffed toys they won to a little kid.
* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: In the final scene, a large group of "highly trained assassins" are unable to take down the protagonist duo despite having them outnumbered. [[BulletDodge There's bullet dodging involved]] but there's a lot of bullets where they don't need to.
* IndyPloy: John, in general, is much more prone to improvisation, contrasting with Jane who prefers to plan assignments down to the last detail. Both are extremely capable.
* InLoveWithTheMark: An odd variant, as they don't rekindle their romance until after they learn they're each other's targets. And have a massive fight about it.
* InternalReveal: Both of them find out the other's identity when they are assigned to take out the same target, but [[IKnowYouKnowIKnow neither knows that the other knows]]. John deliberately drops a wine bottle as a test, which Jane passes (or fails depending on your perspective) when she catches it.
* InterruptedIntimacy: Their bout of DestructoNookie is interrupted by their neighbours... who bring the police.
%%* KissKissSlap: As well as SlapSlapKiss.
* KnifeNut: Both are good with knives, but Jane seems to have a particular fondness for them, especially seen in the beginning of the final fight when she uses steak knives to stealthily take out several agents.
* LatinLand: The Smiths first met in Bogota InNameOnly.
%%* LetsDance
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: When Jane's second-in-command tells her "this is as far as we go," she ain't kidding. That is the last time we see her or any of her subordinates in the movie. Unintentional, to be sure, but still.
* LipstickMark: Not exactly. In one scene, John comes home, slips on his wedding ring, and looks at a red stain on his collar. Suffice it to say, he wasn't having an affair, and the red stain was bit more organic in nature than lipstick.
* LivingWithTheVillain: Both characters put up a front of normal life for each other while they go about their real jobs as spies/assassins working for rival firms -- until they're both given assignments that lead to their paths crossing.
%%* MadeOfIron: Both the Smiths - both walk off bullet impacts (through bulletproof vests, mind you) without much trouble, plus all the damage they do to each other, and neither seems to mind walking across shattered glass barefoot the next morning.
%%* TheMasochismTango:
* TheMasqueradeWillKillYourDatingLife: Or rather, smother your marriage. Learning the other's identity starts the process for their relationship renewal.
* MatingDance: The tango scene. Considering the RomanceOnTheSet that ensued between the respective actors, this one probably carries a lot of RealitySubtext.
%%* {{Meganekko}}: Gwen (Michelle Monaghan)
* MrSmith: Once, and only once, is "John Smith" {{lampshaded}}; when Jane orders her agency to search the databases. Her second-in-command points out that it's the one of, if not THE, most common male name in English.
* MundaneUtility: One of the early hints at Jane's secret life comes when she fixes the way a curtain is hanging by balancing perfectly on a chair that is standing on only one of its legs. In stilettos.
* MurderInc: and its rival company Death Co employ the two Smith assassins.
* MutualMasquerade: Neither John nor Jane know that the other is secretly an assassin.
* MysteriousEmployer: Both Smiths work for agencies, but those agencies and their goals are completely unspecified.
* NoodleIncident: Whatever it was that happened in Canada.
-->'''Jane''': That was you?
** This is used for most every instance of them talking about a past job. What job did Jane take that saw the use of percussion grenades? Where was John that made taking a chopper the only, or the fastest, way of getting to their anniversary dinner on time? Who was Jean-Luc Gaspard that Jane was so jealous of John's elimination of him? We are never told.
* NotStayingForBreakfast: Subverted. In Colombia after they first meet, Jane wakes up to find John gone. He then walks into the room carrying breakfast.
* OrgasmicCombat: The DestructoNookie scene above does start with them in a knock down drag out fight with each other, destroying most of their home, but ends with them making out in the wreckage.
* PaidForFamily: Jane's parents are not her real parents. She hires actors for occasions like the wedding and vacations.
* PlayingDrunk: In the scene where we see John "at work," he pretends to be drunk and wanders into a room full of targets, asking for a round of poker. He sits down and plays cards with them, tricking them into letting their guards down and eventually shooting them all to death.
* PoliceAreUseless: Subverted. John and Jane's DestructoNookie, which started as a genuine full-blown shootout, causes the police to be called. But when they answer the door naked and ''obviously'' satisfied, the situation is defused.
* ProfessionalKiller: The true occupation of the Smiths is to take out hits on other people.
* ProperlyParanoid: Both the Smiths have taken extreme precautions for just about any scenario... ''except'' realizing their spouse is a rival agent. Even then, many of the precautions come in handy. John can't even be voice-traced from the answering machine message because he's made sure to include electronic distortion as if it were malfunctioning.
* PunchClockVillain: Both of them are professional killers, but it's only their job. Their civilian covers are perfectly sociable.
* RelationshipReboot: Invoked by John once they decide not to kill each other and start telling the truth to one another: "We're going to have to redo every conversation we've ever had."
* ResignationsNotAccepted: Neither of them are allowed to quit their assassin job.
* ScarSurvey: Discussed rather than seen. The morning after their DestructoNookie, John and Jane are talking about past hits, and the permanent injuries they have as a result.
* ShakingHerHairLoose: Jane goes to see a mark pretending to be a prostitute with her hair pinned up. The first part of the seduction is shaking her hair out.
* ShoutOut: Jane works with a team of [[ActionGirl Action Girls]], including [[Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit Stephanie March]], [[Series/OnceUponATime Jennifer Morrison]], and [[Series/{{Scandal}} Kerry Washington]], and her boss is a [[Series/CharliesAngels disembodied voice]] from a speaker.
* ShownTheirWork: When they fight, Jane is much more prone to using improvised weapons to bridge the physical gap between her and John. Female aggressors with male victims are much more likely to use weapons in domestic violence incidents for exactly that reason. It's also exactly what someone with Jane's build should do in a real fight against someone bigger.
* SingleTear: After Jane thinks she's killed her husband with an ElevatorFailure.
* SlapSlapKiss: or more truthfully [[BangBangBANG Bang Bang]] [[DoubleEntendre "Bang"]]
* SmithicalMarriage: When they first meet, John and Jane hook up with each other, pretending to be a couple to escape the Colombian authorities. However, they don't register under Smith, which is a pity.
* SoMuchForStealth:
** John and Jane managed to silently take down several mooks, only for John to knock over a stack of cans. Cue autofire.
** John is sneaking through the house, knocks over a china vase which he catches in mid-air... only for the lid to fall off and smash on the floor. Jane opens up on the noise.
* SoundtrackDissonance: Mondo Bongo (the song playing during the DanceOfRomance in Bogota) plays during the final shootout.
* StockingFiller: Jane wears garters for one of her jobs. With knives.
* SuperMultiPurposeRoom: John and Jane both have a WallOfWeapons - his under the shed, hers inside the oven.
* TableSpace: Not quite super long but otherwise there.
* ThatPoorCat: Heard when John is rushing through the bushes to the house.
* ThisIsGonnaSuck: When sneaking through the house, John accidentally bumps a ceramic jar with his elbow. He manages to [[DishDash catch it just before it falls]]... and then the lid falls off the jar and shatters on the floor. His face a split second before the crash just ''screams'' this, as he knows that the noise is going to tip off his whereabouts to Jane.
* TuxedoAndMartini: Jane's agency is full of flashy technology and attractive women. John is more of the "Stale Beer and T-Shirt" variety of spy. This is reflected in everything they do. Jane's away-from-home workspace is in an upscale office building, while John's is a little back-room upstairs office. Her weaponry is behind an elaborate slide-away oven; John's is in a cellar under the toolshed. She sets up with a top-of-the-line sniping rifle and sighting equipment, while he pretends to be a scruffy nobody taking a piss and tries to take out the target with a rocket launcher. On the other hand, John identifies Jane by recovering her laptop and tracing one of the chips, like a proper hi-tech spy, while Jane does it by seeing John's walk and identifying him by instinct, just using her gut.
* ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend : By the end of the movie, Jane has become this.
--> '''Jane''': What's her name and Social Security Number?!
* UptightLovesWild: Mrs. Smith meticulously plans everything out and Mr. Smith prefers just to wing it.
* WasItAllALie: Both John and Jane suspect the other of lying about their love for each other, but neither is willing to admit their own in case the other uses this to try and kill them.
* WhyAmITicking: John gets a bomb placed in his jacket. Used almost word for word - "Do you know you're ticking?"
* WithCatlikeTread:
** While sneaking around during the final battle, John takes out several opponents without making a sound... until he turns around and knocks over a stand of cans with the barrel of his shotgun.
** During the fight in the house, he manages to sneak around without getting seen, until he knocks over a vase. Even then, he manages to catch it... only for the lid to fall off and shatter on the floor, giving away his location.
* WomenAreWiser: Implied, with Jane's organisation seeming bigger, better-funded and more professional than John's, and Jane having a much higher bodycount than her husband.
* WouldHitAGirl: John is more than willing to punch his wife (among other things) when he finds out she's a rival assassin. This is a rare instance in which the male character is not called out. Likely because his wife gives as good as she gets.
* YouHave48Hours: To kill your spouse.

%%* DestructoNookie:

%%* DrowningMySorrows: John and Jane after the InternalReveal.

* KnifeNut: Both are good with knives, but Jane seems to have a particular fondness for them.

* PunchClockVillain: Both of them are professional killers but it's only their job. Their civilian covers are perfectly sociable.

* ScarSurvey: Discussed rather than seen. The morning after their DestructoNookie John and Jane are talking about past hits, and the permanent injuries they have as a result.

---> '''Mr. Smith:''' I don't exactly keep count, but I would say...high fifties, low sixties. Been around the block, but you know, the important thing is-\\

* InterruptedIntimacy: Their bout of DestructoNookie is interrupted by their neighbours...who bring the police.

** John is sneaking through the house, knocks over a china vase which he catches in mid-air...only for the lid to fall off and smash on the floor. Jane opens up on the noise.

** While sneaking around during the final battle, John takes out several opponents without making a sound...until he turns around and knocks over a stand of cans with the barrel of his shotgun.
** During the fight in the house, he manages to sneak around without getting seen, until he knocks over a vase. Even then, he manages to catch it...only for the lid to fall off and shatter on the floor, giving away his location.

This 2005 film, directed by Doug Liman and starring Creator/BradPitt and Creator/AngelinaJolie, combines elements of action thriller and romantic comedy.

Not to be [[SimilarlyNamedWorks confused with]] the 1941 [[Film/{{Mr and Mrs Smith|1941}} screwball comedy]] directed by Creator/AlfredHitchcock (where a couple who have been married three years find out that they aren't really married) or the 1996 TV series (where two spies are forced to work together under the codenames Mr. and Mrs. Smith).