THE SMITHS Vivian and I spent the weekend roughing it at the Little Swiss Village in Maniquoc, Wisconsin. The Village is a cluster of cabins on Blue Lake. We stayed there because it's dog-friendly, allowing us to take little Daley-boy along as our third wheel.

I was feeling sluggish on Saturday evening, so I decided to go for a run while Vivian took a nap at our cabin. Looking back, I think it was a portent of things to come that I was almost knocked down by two deer that leapt out of the forest as I started the run. After the deer had crossed the road, I continued out on the drive from the cabins and turned west onto the main road.

I hadn't run in a while, but I felt pretty good, so I decided to go a little further than I had planned. I soon noticed dark clouds forming on the western horizon. I thought a thunderstorm was probably headed our way, but wasn't concerned, as the clouds didn't seem too close and as I happen to like thunderstorms. A few minutes later, I felt a few rain drops tickle my arms and neck and decided that it was time to turn back. The rain was a fine drizzle for a few minutes before turning into a steady downpour. Since I had been running for about twenty minutes on a warm, muggy day, I found the rain cooling and refreshing and remained unconcerned. Then the wind began to pick up. At first it was just a few strong gusts, but it quickly became overpowering, bending the tops of the trees sideways and snapping their weaker branches. The rain also increased in strength, quickly soaking through my shirt, shorts, and sneakers. I started to feel a little worried at this point, but thought that if the storm didn't become any worse, I'd be okay. Well, it did become worse, a lot worse. Lightning struck nearby and the thunder was so loud that it was hard to think. The wind blew with such intensity that it whipped the rain directly into my face, making it difficult to see. I became increasingly worried that I would miss the turn onto the drive to the cabins, leaving me wandering hopelessly in the storm. But I saw the turn and started down the drive only to have a tree nearly fall on top of me. I ran around the tree-corpse lying in the road and headed to the cabins. Just as I was rounding the final curve, Vivian pulled up in our car. She had come out to look for me. I slowly jogged down the driveway and up to our cabin. I took off my running clothes and, as I toweled off, Vivian told me that the power had gone out during the storm.

All of the above was to say that, since the power went out on Saturday night, Vivian and I decided to go into Maniquoc and see a movie. We saw Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie play a husband and wife who also happen to be hired assassins; neither of them knowing of the other's true profession. As the story opens, the Smiths are assigned to assassinate the same person but they botch each others' plans. Each spouse then discovers the other's identity and decides to eliminate the competition. The two ultimately join forces when it becomes clear that both their agencies have put out hits on them as a consequence of their marital status. The previously distant Smiths recapture more and more of their original spark as the body count mounts.

I had a good time watching Mr. and Mrs. Smith, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it. It feels as if everyone involved in the film thought they were being extremely clever, when they were just being cute. The film begins as a satire of marriage and suburban living: we see clips of the Smiths's marital therapy sessions. John and Jane feel that their marriage has become stale, lacking the excitement it had once possessed. They feel that they don't know each other anymore. But, a-ha, they don't know each other, do they? Neither knows that the other is a trained, lethal assassin. This set-up could lead to a film that questions the institution of marriage, instead the film skips ahead to the action.

First Pitt and Jolie try to kill each other, then they team up to get revenge on their respective agencies. The action scenes are well-handled, but to what end? I thought this film was a marital satire. That was the problem with Mr. and Mrs. Smith for me. The film takes a few initial shots at marriage, but doesn't have much to offer beyond the obvious. Instead of trying to find something insightful to say, the makers of Mr. and Mrs. Smith go for the action. The film feels neither here nor there, is it a romantic comedy with some action in it? Or is it an action movie with some romance and comedy? Indeed, the film feels quite vague at times. We never know what agencies Pitt and Jolie work for. We have only a few very brief scenes detailing their initial encounter and courtship. I know this isn't crucial information, but this paucity of information gave the film an unreal quality that made me care less and less about the characters. Some might enjoy the insubstantial nature of Mr. and Mrs. Smith; they might think it's lightness makes it fun. All I can say is that I wanted to enjoy it, but as the action scenes got longer and louder I found myself looking at my watch.

The biggest reason to see Mr. and Mrs. Smith are the two leads. Both are probably the two best-looking and most charismatic movie stars around. They also happen to be pretty good actors. Pitt turns in another one of his understated, comic gems. Like many handsome leading men, Pitt is better when he can break away from the dull, heroic roles that he seems born to play. Comedies allow him to loosen up and find the spontaneity and spirit that he lacks in his more serious films.

Then there's Angelina Jolie. I still don't know what to think about her. I certainly don't have anything critical to say. I'm just not sure what she should be doing. Most of her films have been dull, crappy Hollywood dramas. She's always the best thing in them, but she needs to find better work. Yet even if she does, I don't know if it will make a difference. Allen Barra has a great piece in Salon this week about her. He correctly points out that Jolie has a habit of burning up the screen, making her co-stars look like mannequins. He also writes that she doesn't fit the current spate of Hollywood roles for women. It's difficult to imagine her as a cute, likeable heroine in a romantic comedy or fitting comfortably into the Meryl Streep, Renee Zellweger, Nicole Kidman, award-winning actress mold. She's too interesting for that. I guess we'll have to wait and see if she can really make a career for herself. My guess is that she will drop out of Hollywood in the next ten years.

The best thing I can say about Mr. and Mrs. Smith is that Jolie finally has a co-star that can hold his own with her.

After the movie was over, Vivian and I came out of the theater to see that another thunderstorm was passing through Maniquoc. We drove back to the cabin, discovered that the power was still out, and went to bed.  ¶ 8:30 AM