Deep into the run of the new series Mr. & Mrs. Smith, John and Jane (Donald Glover and Maya Erskine), spies and partners, are partaking in a foot chase. You know, like couples do. She is all in black, in the manner of a classic operative on casual Friday: smart tailored pants, a tank top with a short jacket, practical flat shoes. A simple gold pendant glints under her throat, and her long, dark hair hangs loose. He is all in white: the snug pants of a guy who works out, and a close-fit turtleneck that looks so soft and luscious you could put a scoop of it on top of a slice of pie. His sandy, ankle-high shoes and handsome short beard are photo-shoot ready, but he is working.
They are running full-out, dodging pedestrians, then flying up sets of stairs. Their work is shady, so they evade the police. They pause now and then to fight when they have to, and then they go on. It’s cool.
It’s not cool like great, not cool like nifty, not cool like terrific. It’s cool like Cary Grant if he ever sprinted. Cool like Pam Grier, or like Steve McQueen without the bike, maybe Shaft if he had his own character-driven cable half-hour that raised eyebrows when the Emmys called it a comedy.
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