Forget Kramer vs. Kramer—it’s Affleck vs. Mrs. Affleck.
On Jan. 26, Ben Affleck’s Smokin’ Aces opens against Catch and Release starring his wife, Jennifer Garner. Imagine being a fly on the wall of the Affleck household when the box office grosses come in.
That said, no one knows how to comfort a film star after a flop than spouse who’s also bombed big time. Or help celebrate a hit. Here’s how audiences have treated five recently married Hollywood couples—including the Afflecks—before and after they exchanged vows.
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner (June 29, 2005)
Before Tying the Knot: Life after “Bennifer” was so cruel for the Armageddon action hero that his Daredevil cameo in Garner’s Elektra was cut. Elektra failed to kick butt, but Garner still had Alias to fall back on.
After Tying the Knot: Hollywoodland flopped, but Ben Affleck’s sympathetic portrayal of George Reeves has helped put Jennifer Lopez and Gigli behind him. And he could earn some much-needed admiration if his directorial debut Gone, Baby, Gone (TBA) is favorably compared to Clint Eastwood’s adaptation of another Dennis Lehane novel, Mystic River. It’s also a good sign that Smokin’ Aces—which looks like a demented shoot-’em-up in the vein of True Romance—is already hot with British audiences. Still, the Tinsel Town-skewering Man About Town will make its inauspicious debut on DVD (Feb. 13). At least Garner’s Catch and Release will enjoy a theatrical release, but the fact that it was once scheduled to open last April hardly inspires much confidence in this dramedy. At least Garner can put her Alias spy skills to good use in The Kingdom (April 20), a Middle East-set thriller about FBI agents tracking down a terrorist. But this is a Jamie Foxx-led mission, so the burden of whether The Kingdom falls or rises is on his shoulders. Still, Foxx should be able to count on Garner to have his back.
Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly (Jan. 1, 2003)
Before Tying the Knot: Both wanted a piece of Russell Crowe’s Beautiful Mind. Connelly won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her troubles; Bettany won over Connelly.
After Tying the Knot: Connelly can’t win for trying. Her sterling work in the suburban soaps House of Sand and Fog and Little Children went unnoticed. And her effort to exploit her Oscar win only led to the flops Blood Diamond, Dark Water and Hulk. Maybe Reservation Road—another angst-ridden drama, this one co-starring Joaquin Phoenix—will reverse her misfortunes. Or perhaps Connelly should reunite with Crowe—it worked for Bettany, who set sail with Crowe in Master and Commander. But after The Da Vinci Code and Firewall, Bettany should reconsider taking another walk on the dark side for fear of being typecast as a cold-blooded killer.
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes (Nov. 18, 2006)
Before Tying the Knot: A lovesick Cruise lost control of his career. Holmes failed to impress in Batman Begins and Thank You for Smoking.
After Tying the Knot: With the birth of baby Suri and his wedding behind him, Cruise can now concentrate on reclaiming the box office crown he lost with Mission: Impossible III. Undeterred by being dumped by Paramount after 14 years, Cruise now wants to revive United Artists. But his track record as a producer is dubious. Ask the Dust, Elizabethtown, Suspect Zero—all bombs. Cruise is better off reestablishing his acting credentials—as he will try with his first UA gig, the Robert Redford-directed Lions for Lambs—than playing studio mogul. When she returns to work, Holmes’ first task should be shatter the perceptions that Cruise is too overprotective, if the talk about her Thank You for Smoking sex scene and her exit from Factory Girl are to be believed.
Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore (Sept. 24, 2005)
Before Tying the Knot: Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle wasn’t the comeback vehicle the long-absence Demi Moore hoped it would be. Ashton Kutcher continued to parlay his That ’70s Show fame into a successful movie career with The Butterfly Effect and Guess Who.
After Tying the Knot: Long gone are the days when studio executives stuffed $12 million checks into the Stripteaser’s G-string. Last year, Moore’s chiller Half Light ended up on DVD and Bobby quickly faded from memory. That leaves Mr. Brooks (June 1), a thriller with Kevin Costner, as Moore’s best hope of recapturing her Ghost glory days. But that’s easier said than done, considering Moore receives less respect than Bobby co-star Sharon Stone. Kutcher also doesn’t get any respect, even after making the leap from TV to film with ease. Maybe it’s because he’s done nothing of any value or shown he can act. The Guardian didn’t turn him into an action hero. And A Lot Like Love revealed he isn’t a romantic lead. Whatever Kutcher decides to do next, he should steer clear of his wife’s ex-lovers. Emilio Estevez Punk’d Kutcher by casting the sitcom pothead as Bobby’s stoned drug dealer. Kutcher was never more embarrassing or—as part of a cast that included Anthony Hopkins—out of his league.
Freddie Prinze Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar (Sept. 1, 2002)
Before Tying the Knot: Boys and Girls, Down To You and Head Over Heels revealed that Prinze doesn’t possess the talent of his late father, Freddie Prinze. Scooby-Doo, also starring Prinze , solidified Gellar’s status as our reigning scream queen.
After Tying the Knot: The disappointing Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed killed Prinze ’s movie career. So he followed in the footsteps of his father and starred in his own sitcom. But Freddie was a bust, and Prinze ’s back to making movies. Now he’s going the indie route–starting with Brooklyn Rules and New York City Serenade (TBA)—to get back in Hollywood’s good graces. And lending his voice to animated fluff, including Happily N’Ever After. Keeping true to her horror’s roots has served Gellar—TV’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer—well. Or at least it did until last year’s The Grudge 2 and The Return. She’s still trying to make us shiver—she’s just shot Addicted—but she also wants to prove there’s more to her than fending off ghosts with grudges. But if the musical Southland Tales(TBA) and the May-to-December romance Suburban Girl (TBA) are DOA, then Geller may have no choice but to follow I Know What You Did Last Summer co-star Jennifer Love Hewitt back to TV.
