Mr. & Mrs. Smith

Right now you can watch Mr. & Mrs. Smith in Australia on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, and in the US on Amazon Prime Video — and it is funnier than its reputation suggests. It knows exactly what kind of film it is from the opening scene, and never loses that thread. 11,313 people have weighed in on TMDB, and the verdict leans heavily positive. Angelina Jolie is the obvious draw, but the whole ensemble earns its laughs. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on Netflix.

Whatever else is competing for your attention this week, Mr. & Mrs. Smith is worth clearing space for. Mr. & Mrs. Smith gets the fundamentals right first, then finds room to get weird with it. A husband and wife struggle to keep their marriage alive until they realize they are both secretly working as assassins. Now, their respective assignments require them to kill each other. The chemistry Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt bring to it does a lot of the heavy lifting. It hit screens in 2005. What keeps Mr. & Mrs. Smith from feeling disposable is a cast that clearly understands the material better than the format usually demands. It knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.

For viewers who want something light without wanting something stupid, Mr. & Mrs. Smith respects your intelligence. It rewards viewers regardless of what else is in their watch history. It is a manageable watch, easy to fit into a single evening. Angelina Jolie's comic timing carries it through its weaker moments. The kind of comedy you recommend to someone who claims they do not watch much.