With baby Suri, seeing is believing

And yet, Jane Sarkin’s Vanity Fair piece suggested that that’s what Cruise and Holmes, whose entire courtship happened aggressively in front of the cameras, had always intended on doing anyway.

Sarkin wasn’t a journalist with a hot scoop, she was effectively a glorified PR agent on a press junket run by the couple’s handlers, covering Suri like she was Cruise’s latest project. (Which, well ... ) But her ability to deliver a story that was handed to her on a tightly controlled plate is being treated as though she actually broke hard news. On the “Today” show, Matt Lauer literally high-fived Sarkin for landing the interview and photo shoot. It was a disarming moment, especially in light of Lauer’s contentious interview with Cruise last June. The subtext was that even the man who has been praised for being one of the only people to challenge Cruise’s ravings directly could join in on the public celebration and announce, seemingly without irony, “We did it.”

There’s a way in which the entire situation parallels the trajectory followed over the past year or two by “Snakes On A Plane” and its attendant hoopla. The public caught wind of something outside of which it has traditionally stood (the filmmaking process vs. celebrity birth announcements), managed to write itself into the story (Samuel L. Jackson’s famous fan-written “I’ve had it with these motherf------ snakes on this motherf------ plane!” line vs. the demands to see pictures of the baby and the subsequent rumors for why none had appeared) and then cheered itself with a few hearty way-to-gos as it witnessed the fruits of its handiwork.

Slideshow   Holmes sweet Holmes See Katie's rise from "Dawson" pal to Cruise's leading lady. more photos

But there’s a funny thing about this phenomenon: There’s a point at which the public’s involvement in the process makes the product itself irrelevant. “Snakes On A Plane” was over practically the moment it opened, pulling in a tepid $15 million its first weekend and limping to a total box office in the $40 million range (which may, admittedly, be better than what its prospects would have been without the Internet buzz).

And after all of the demands to put Suri Cruise on display for the world to see, the public got its wish despite Tom and Katie having every right to deny them what they were asking. The results are underwhelming: nothing more than well-photographed images of a baby girl with her father’s eyes, her mother’s nose and her privacy violated by a mob that ultimately cares less for what it’s calling for than for the sound of its own voice.

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