So what is it that makes the difference between the couples who have what it takes and those that don’t?
It would make sense to think that creating good onscreen relationships simply depends on the ability of the actors in question. But whereas acting skill is clearly going to help, there’s a pretty big flaw here that suggests this isn’t the whole theory: yes, the examples above include Keanu Reeves and Katie Holmes, both of whom would probably struggle to create chemistry if they fell through the roof of Walter White’s RV, but they also include Christian Bale and Natalie Portman. Enough said.
We could also assume that chemistry is something to do with the attraction factor of the actors themselves, but this idea doesn’t hold up either. Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp are two of the most frequently recognized best-looking people on earth, as is Natalie Portman. Both Keira Knightley and the production of Anna Karenina are beautiful, but her onscreen relationship with Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Count Vronsky was the least substantial aspect of the whole thing – with the possible exception of Taylor Johnson’s moustache. Keira Knightley unfortunately has to have a second mention here, but only by proxy of her Elizabeth Swann’s awkward, forced exchanges with Orlando Bloom’s Legolas the Pirate throughout the The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. A particularly interesting example is Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey, who made the ultimate golden couple in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days but for some reason just couldn’t recreate this in a second outing together. Fool’s Gold indeed.
But perhaps the best evidence that looks mean nothing to chemistry comes from couples in which the two weren’t exactly dealt an equal hand in the exteriors department. Kevin James’ likeable affinity with Salma Hayek was probably the only thing that saved their 2012 film Here Comes the Boom from being almost universally re-titled Here Comes the Off Switch. Neither Woody Allen nor Adam Sandler are ever especially likely to be hunted down by Calvin Klein and yet both create something with a particular female co-star – Diane Keaton and Drew Barrymore respectively – to such a degree that they have done it again and again. Play it Again Sam and Annie Hall are just two examples of Allen and Keaton’s legendary partnership. The Wedding Singer and 50 First Dates are even among Drew Barrymore’s best titles (and may as well be Oscar nominations for Sandler). And despite the fact that Sandler and Barrymore’s most recent venture has been almost universally recognized as something that should never for the sake of all things holy have happened, it is the couple’s lasting easy charm that that justifies Blended.