Brooks Dunn Video:

		List Price: $19.98		Label: Turner Home Ent Salesrank: 25570 Released: September 7, 2004
		Our Price: $6.89
		Used Price: $4.15
		MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated) Media: DVD

Editorial Review:
They're married for bitter or worse - until a technicality renders the union void. But now Mr. misses Mrs. and he's desperate to win her back. A rare and delightful foray into screwball comedy from suspense master Hitchcock. Year: 1941Running Time: 95 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY UPC: 053939680720

Description of Mr. & Mrs. Smith:
Before Hollywood had entirely typecast Alfred Hitchcock as the master of suspense, with Mr. & Mrs. Smith he was allowed to fashion an elegant romantic trifle starring Robert Montgomery and Carole Lombard. It probably won't replace Rear Window or Psycho in your affections, but the film is more than a curious footnote to the director's career. The two leads play David and Ann Smith, a devoted but endlessly squabbling couple who discover their three-year marriage isn't legal. When he unexpectedly hesitates to arrange a second wedding, she storms out in a huff and soon begins dating his solid, dependable business partner Jeff (Gene Raymond). The rest follows the formula laid down by such previous screwball comedies as The Awful Truth (1937) and Bringing Up Baby (1938): David employs fair means or foul to win back Ann's heart, causes all sorts of complicated mischief, then... well, three guesses what happens in the end.

The intriguing thing about the movie is how Hitchcock takes Norman Krasna's paper-thin script and adds sly undercurrents of menace. Violence seems about to erupt in the recurring scenes where Ann shaves her husband (suggestively holding a razor up to his throat)--and there's a touch of Vertigo in one scary moment when a jammed amusement park ride leaves two characters dangling helplessly high above the ground. Montgomery and Lombard keep the mood acceptably frivolous, while indicating the flawed nature of the marital relationship. From the evidence of this one-off, Hitchcock might have been among the best comedy directors in the business, had he so wished. --Peter Matthews

Mr. & Mrs. Smith Reviews:
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
2008-01-12 - Great movie! Carole Lombard is wonderful in this movie and Robert Montgomery is such a hoot!

Being Married..Yet Not Married...and Starting All Over Again
2007-07-15 - In a candid moment, Mr. Smith tells his wife that, had he to do it over again, he would not marry her. He says that this doesn't mean that he would like to marry someone else: He simply would enjoy the life of the bachelor again.

By a freak of the law, it turns out that their 3-year marriage is legally invalid. To him, this is simply a matter of the formality of a new marriage. To her, however, this is a chance to dump him and find someone new. Or so it seems...

Mr. Smith is told by another man that it is "really bad" when the man is forced out of his house for two nights instead of just one. Mrs. Smith reverts to her maiden name, and starts dating other men. He follows her around, trying to persuade her that he loves her and would want to marry her anew. He says that his very pursuit of her proves that he loves her and wants her. But she remains aloof and resistant. Some viewers may see in Mrs. Smith a portrayal of women as fickle, impossible to please, unable to make up their minds, and even flippant and childish.

And so it goes. Will Mr. and Mrs. Smith ever get back together again?

This flick has obvious old-fashioned themes: huge cars, smoking in public and on film, women discouraged from working outside the home if they are unmarried, etc.


Curiously
2007-03-01 - Coming from director Alfred Hitchcock, MR. AND MRS. SMITH is a curiosity piece. Not fitting into any of the director's usual genres this comedy is a lot of fun. Robert Montgomery and Carole Lombard make a great team. Pretty good scripting.


Kiss and make up -- not all that easy (recommended)
2006-07-23 - The 2005 version with Brad Pitt about undercover spies is not a remake and is unrelated to the 1941 MR. & MRS. SMITH. In this Hitchcock comedy, Ann Smith (Carole Lombard) is the well-dressed romantic spoiled bride of wealthy lawyer, David Smith (Robert Montgomery -- father of famed BEWITCHED star Elizabeth Montgomery). Ann insists on David's honesty in their 3-year old marriage. Any arguments must be resolved before anyone is allowed to leave the bedroom.

An unexpected visitor to David's office reveals that the marriage is not legal. Unbeknownst to David, the gentleman later visits Ann with the same news. Ann assumes David will top off a romantic evening with a legal marriage ceremony so she squeezes into her original wedding dress. It appears, however, that David is not in a hurry to exchange vows, though he is willing to change into something more comfortable after a Champagne nightcap. An infuriated Ann, then amplifies her "singleness" by evicting David, obtaining employment, and looking for a new mate. The battle is on, as David is intent to sabotage Ann's plans.

This makes my tenth Lombard film viewing. As matriarch of the screwball comedy genre, she again demonstrates her talent to deliver smart lines and convey intense emotion. (She works those eyebrows!) The ending wasn't quite what one might expect and the largely Hitchcock British humor is more subtle than slapstick. Nevertheless, there are many funny situations and inuendos. Most of the vindictive actions are just plain crude and unreasonable, but make no mistake, MR. AND MRS. SMITH is enjoyable.

Movie quote: "I can't imagine anything hanging in the closet shrinking so much."

HITCHCOCK'S RARE MISS
2006-06-11 - Alfred Hitchcock was one of the greatest directors of all time and probably my personal favorite. I have found genius in every movie he has ever done, except for this one. Mr. and Mrs. Smith creates characters that come across more evil than misunderstood with the exception of Mr. Smith. He is misunderstood and his life is turned upside down over it, so you do feel for him. However, the other two main characters in the movie, Mrs. Smith and his best friend, are the type of people you don't want in your life. Unfortunately for Mr. Smith, these are the two most important people in his life, two people that selfishly drop him like a bad habit for their own selfish motives. Mrs. Smith is never even in love with the friend, yet she is willing to marry him. Had Mrs. Smith been made an antagonist, I probably could have loved this film. Instead we are to hope for her happiness as well.

I am also a big fan of Angelina Jolie, so when I heard about a remake of a Hitchcock classic I had never seen, I was excited. I held off watching this one til I saw the new Jolie/Pitt version, which made no difference as they were nothing alike. The new movie was an extremely enjoyable film. It was meant to be sexy, fun, and absurd, and it worked on all three levels. Hitchcock's movie worked on none of these levels. And I have found more comedy in most of his suspense movies. It also lacked the sarcastic element of The Trouble With Harry, which could have made this a far better movie. And it lacked a couple that you rooted for in the end like most great romance comedies. If there was a comedic or romantic element to get here, I guess I didn't get it.