... I keep blogging about pop culture books and movies. Obviously, I'm busily and importantly attempting to finish a draft conference paper that is due next month so I'm distracted by just about anything and everything that isn't copyright law. One of my weekend distractions was the incessant replaying of Star Wars movies on TV over the weekend that my hubby was watching. I couldn't stop 
him because it was Father's Day and he deserved a treat. But even he agreed that one of the worst romantic couples ever put together in movie history was Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen in Star Wars, episodes 2 and 3. The lack of chemistry between them is truly awe-inspiring, particularly given that they are both very good actors in their own right.
This got me to thinking about some of the best and worst movie pairings of all time. I think the best for me will always be Audrey 
Hepburn and Peter O'Toole in How to Steal a Million. And while I STILL haven't seen Water for Elephants, I suspect that the pairing of Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson (she's almost old enough to be his mother and actually played his mother in an earlier film) will be amongst the worst.
What are your thoughts on the best and worst movie pairings of all time?
Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis in "Top Gun" were pretty bad, so much so that whenever I watch it on DVD, I skip all the ground scenes and just watch the flying parts.
Pierce Brosnan (aka 007) and Denise Richards in "The World is Not Enough" solely because Ms. Richards was absurdly bad, though this was a Bond movie so maybe it doesn't count as a "romantic" pairing.
On the good side, Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo in "The Thomas Crown Affair" sizzled in an unusual (for Hollywood) demographic -- those in their 40s.
Daniel Day-Lewis and Madeleine Stowe in "The Last of the Mohicans."
Posted by: Tung Yin | June 20, 2011 at 12:52 PM
"Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis in "Top Gun" were pretty bad"
Yes, but that's because that's not the "real" romantic couple in the movie!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyN8VN4BSzM
As for a good couple, I'd recommend Jean Rochefort and Anna Galiena in one of my favorite films, "The Hairdresser's Husband" (annoying not available on netflix.)
Posted by: Matt | June 20, 2011 at 02:26 PM
Some of the best movie pairings seem to feature people who have a sizzling on-screen "chemistry" with each other, such as the Hepburn & Tracy movies.
Conversely, some of the worst movie pairings seem to feature people who are Hollywood-mismatched for the theme of the movie (e.g., think about seeing Bette Midler and Jerry Seinfeld in a gory horror film; it just doesn't seem to fit with their images as performing comedians).
Ummm ... of course, there are also some other noteworthy pairings, such as the Lone Ranger and Trigger! Hahaha!
Posted by: Stephanie | June 20, 2011 at 04:39 PM
Given the quality of Portman and Christensen's other work, I'm inclined to lay the blame for their truly awful performances in Star Wars at the feet of George Lucas. But as to the question that the post poses:
I love the interactions between Cary Grant and Whoever-the-Heck-She-Is that plays his love interest in "Arsenic in Old Lace." More recently, the chemistry between Hiccup and Toothless in "How to Train Your Dragon" enchants me (shut up, don't judge me).
Worst pairings I've seen recently include Amanda Seyfried and anyone in any of her movies, ever (I loved her in "Mamma Mia," because she has that gorgeous soprano and those huge, empty eyes, but I'm not convinced she could act her way out of a paper bag); and...oh crap, Whatever-His-Name-Is and Olivia Wilde in TRON: Legacy, although that could also have to do with the fact that she played a sentient computer program.
Posted by: Matthew Reid Krell | June 21, 2011 at 07:50 PM
Arsenic and Old Lace - definitely!
Also puts me in mind of Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn in the original Charade. Another excellent pairing.
I'm surprised that no one has said Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally.
Posted by: Jacqui Lipton | June 22, 2011 at 11:28 AM