I just got finished watching the pilot for the new FX series Mr. and Mrs. Smith 2: Russian Edition, and I have to say that the show's creators need to watch The Carrie Diaries, because there's nothing worse than having to hear Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk" not once, but twice, during two supposed action-packed sequences. Really, the 80s offered so much more interesting music than that tune. Basically, I checked out this show for the music, and hopeful for the notion that Felicity (Keri Russell) would make a kick-ass action heroine (when she wasn't getting knocked up and making pies). Here she's already got a couple of kids and she makes brownies. Yawn.
Really, the show opens like an 80s version of Alias, with Russell seducing some Department of Justice blabbermouth, terrible wig and leather strapless dress included. She gets him off while he blabs, and blabs, and blabs. Since the ads for this show have been so ubiquitous, we know she's a Russian spy, and so is this other guy with really bad hair and pursed Russian lips (Philip). Some mission to kidnap a defector goes south, and they wind up stashing the guy in their trunk while they lead the ideal suburban life. Except it's not so ideal, because Felicity/Elizabeth is a loyalist, whereas he likes the perks of American life--such as soft serve ice cream and going to the mall. Oh and they have adorable patriotic kids, and we have to watch scenes where they sit around together being a family. I suppose we are meant to be impressed by how good they are at faking it, although Philip clearly has drunk the American Kool-aid (Oh Yeah)!
Turns out, just like in Mr. and Mrs. Smith, that the hubby is the softie, who really loves his "wife" and want to defect and live happily ever after, to protect their family. Unfortunately, she cannot get excited about him in his family mode--he has to start killing people to get her hot. I am not kidding you.
All those dreams are put into jeopardy when the new neighbor (with his own nuclear family) turns out to be an FBI counter-intelligence expert who thinks there's something a little off about Philip. Did I forget to mention that the defector in the trunk happened to rape Felicity/Elizabeth while she was training to be a KGB agent? And THAT motive turns Philip from a "let's defect too" supporter to a "let's kill all guys who look at my women funny" kind of guy, which turns Felicity/Elizabeth on. Then we have to watch them have sex in their car like a couple of horny high schoolers. The best part is that some of this "action" happens while Phil Collins sings "In the Air Tonight" like an ode to Miami Vice, but not nearly as good. Michael Mann did not direct this show, no siree.
I think that this particular promo image sums things up. We can expect Felicity/Elizabeth to get sexy every so often, because that's how women gather intelligence or spy, OBVIOUSLY, and the majority of the show to be about men calling the shots and touching her face, now, and in the past, because she's so damn pretty. Do I sound like I am simultaneously disappointed and annoyed by this giant cliche of a show? Yes, I am.
Don't waste your time with this piece of sh**, and watch Ashes to Ashes instead. This British show has a hard-nosed female cop, with a kid, and it has the best 80s music from that period, PERIOD. This spin-off of the Brit show Life on Mars has a couple of the same character actors (Philip Glenister), but the truly amazing Keeley Hawes in the lead role puts a retro-cool show like The Americans to shame. Or watch Continuum on Syfy instead. Trust me on this one.
Ps. What is it with the Russians being the bad guys again, like the only thing to do these days is to bring back the cold war? In the last month, I've watched Salt, an episode of Elementary, and this show, and the Russians are back, and they are BAD. Huh?!
