Off-screen and on-screen chemistry. Sometimes it works. Case in point the leads of the Twilight saga. Both moody, grungy, unsmiling studies in repressed human passion. And on screen they work just as well together. Would Stephenie Meyer's ode to the bodice-ripper for teens and women in their thirties be as popular were it not for the on-screen crackle between Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson? Would droves of screaming fans line the streets waiting for their chance to watch Twilight for the umpteenth time if the leads were not so obviously smitten as just Kirsten and Robert, as much as Bella and Edward?
Off-screen fireworks is nothing new. Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor immortalised their love affair during the filming of Cleopatra. The film itself is a gilded, ornate lame duck of a film. But the smouldering passion between the leads created a modern day fairytale that underpins the myth of the Hollywood legend that was both of them.
Brad and Angie as Mr and Mrs Smith.
Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis in The Fly (trust me on this one, the sparks fly between them before the DNA gets irrevocably altered).
Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn in Adam's Rib.
But sadly, there are just so many more examples of real-life couples who just shouldn't have.
Madonna and Sean Penn. Shanghai Surprise. Can anyone even remember that turkey? I've noticed it made an appearance on Movie Magic. It should have been straight to video and straight into the archives.
Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise. Eyes Wide Shut. Well, to think they went into this one with eyes wide open.
Ben Affleck and J-Lo. Gigli. Oh. Dear.
The fact that these couples are no longer together? Maybe there's something to be said there. Where's the no chemistry on-screen, perhaps there's no lasting chemistry off-screen?
Who would you say is the best cinematic pairing?
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