The demise of Jen and Brad

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Intense media scrutiny
The media must take some of the blame. They have hounded Brad and Jen mercilessly. If they went to a restaurant, they had to make sure there wasn’t some tabloid freak at the next table with a picture phone. If they made a public appearance together at an awards show or a premiere, they had to smile all the time, even if they just had a quarrel. Do you have any idea how hard it is to smile all the time? It’s not natural, except for politicians and game-show hosts.

The media has also scrutinized them professionally, waiting for one to go up and the other to go down, like in “A Star Is Born.” Fortunately, they managed to avoid that scenario, although I think we were all a little nervous when “Troy” was released. Maybe that film simply evened things out in their relationship after “Along Came Polly.”

It’s impossible to ignore the impact that “Friends” may have had on their union. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a fine show. I know a lot of people who loved it. But the six cast members were all such friends in real life that it created some awkward situations, the most obvious being that Brad had to go on vacations with Jennifer, Courtney Cox and David Arquette.

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Courtney is terrific. But tell me, what does Brad talk about with David? Do they discuss their experiences in the business? If Brad recounts making “A River Runs Through It” or “Legends of the Fall” or “Twelve Monkeys,” does that mean he has to sit there while David explains how he prepared for his role in “Eight Legged Freaks”?

Both Brad and Jen are extremely attractive people. But Brad gets a slight edge, which must have been a source of resentment in their marriage. After all, Brad was the only actor ever named “Sexiest Man Alive” twice by People Magazine, while Jen was named one of People’s “Most Beautiful People in the World” once. Also, Brad had a stalker, a status symbol in Tinseltown. It was a young woman who, in 1999, entered his house, dressed in his clothes and stayed for 10 hours. The best Jen could boast is that David Arquette came by a few times and tried to convince her to make all her phone calls using 1-800-CALL-ATT.

It’s sad when any marriage comes to an end. The divorce rate in our country hovers around 50 percent. In Hollywood, it’s more like 95 percent. I thought Brad and Jen had a chance to be the next Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. But it didn’t work out.

Oh, well. I guess each can be comforted somewhat knowing that there are plenty of other fish in the sea. Famous, successful, gorgeous, filthy rich fish...

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