Lamentably, at the time of the release of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, much of the talk surrounding the movie is about the personal lives of its stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. It's as if news of their lives might be more entertaining than their film; it's as if nothing relating to the latter even matters much. I'm as guilty as anyone for bringing the subject up here. But I wanted to comment about it because this movie, more than most movies, works as a fascinating example of the cannibalistic social contract Hollywood has with American audiences.

"Synergy" has become a trite buzzword, but it works here on a number of levels. Mr. & Mrs. Smith, a film about marriage, stars two people who have recently been on the finishing end of marriages. Both individuals are high profile to the public, which has a natural curiosity about off-screen celebrity life that is often happily exploited by the media. More than usual, such publicity could be used to this movie's advantage  -- not only does Mr. & Mrs. Smith star Pitt and Jolie, the movie practically is Pitt and Jolie. In other words, if the movie-viewing public sees the release of the movie as a culmination of the news saturation about these two celebrities, the payoff could indeed be satisfying.

Where does that leave the movie, then? After all this hype, the only concern may be whether or not it will open big, no matter how good it actually is. But there is that opportunity to show that the hype was worth it -- that, despite all the distractions of celebrity news, the movie itself is funny, entertaining, and gives audiences a chance to see these stars in involving action. And for these stars, this is a chance to win over the audience with their main gift: their screen charisma, and not their public persona.

In that regard, Mr. & Mrs. Smith has good potential to become a shiny success. It absolutely plays to the strengths of Pitt and Jolie. Pitt is always most convincing when he's not being terribly serious; when he has fun with his persona as a good-humored, handsome kid of a man, he's a winning presence. Meanwhile, Jolie's sexuality works when it's allowed to smolder; she gives off a natural vengeful attitude that's quite convincing when it's complemented by a show of emotional vulnerability, and she gets to pull that off here. And then, of course, they both look great, so who's going to complain about that?

The movie is a star vehicle with fun first and foremost in its mind. It fancies itself as a "Spy vs. Spy" metaphor for the troubled marriage, but it has little to say about the actual institution. Instead, it just plays along the lines of using guns and explosions as a way of expressing frustration at the picky little things that can stall a marriage. For about two-thirds of the movie, Pitt and Jolie blast away at each other, sniping each other with snappy lines all the while. It's a vicarious sensation to fantasize about engaging your spouse in skilled hand-to-hand combat, just to vent about all the things you find annoying about each other.

But then, for the final act, the central conflict is replaced by a new one. And at this point, it'd be easy to call this a cop-out in terms of theme -- if this is a satirical black comedy about marital frustrations, it sure seems optmistic (unlike, say, The War of the Roses or even American Beauty, which lead themselves to destructive but effective conclusions). But maybe that's not where Mr. & Mrs. Smith wanted to go -- and, if you think about it, isn't the direction it chooses more relevant to the current situation faced by the stars of the movie? If this is a spoiler to you readers, I apologize, (and you can stop reading right now if you're concerned about that), but for the final third of the movie, husband and wife team up to fight a common adversary. The villains have no particular identity -- a smart move on the part of the moviemakers, as it keeps the focus on the dynamics of the married couple. However, it could look even smarter: imagine, now, the scene where Pitt and Jolie make a stand, blasting at hostiles coming in from all directions, finally finding a strong reason to unite. Could they actually be firing away at the invasiveness of the media and the public?

(Released by 20th Century Fox and rated "PG-13" for sequences of violence, intense action, sexual content and brief strong language.)

Review also posted at www.windowtothemovies.com.