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Monday, Nov 9, 2009
But the narrative satisfactions of this tale don't end with the protagonists.
How about Aniston's purported rebound man, Vince Vaughn, who happened to play the middleman in the Pitt-Jolie vehicle "Mr. and Mrs. Smith"? How about the fact that Pitt's sylph of an ex-fiancée Gwyneth Paltrow turned up (10 years later) to helpfully chime in on how Brad and Jen were too public about their relationship? In GQ, Aniston responded to Paltrow, telling Healey, "You know, she's right. She's absolutely right." While one might wonder why these two ladies can't pick up their phones and have this conversation in private, a larger (lesser?) part of us is thrilled to be let in on it. Did I mention that Paltrow also happens to be featured in the print ads for Damiani, the jewelry company that designed the Pitts' wedding rings and that they sued in 2001 for reproducing their exclusive design? How about the fact that the four movies that Aniston is about open are called "Derailed," "Rumor Has It," "Friends With Money" and "The Break-Up?"
Who writes this stuff? It's Dickensian!
Well, if not Dickensian, then at least situation-comedic. "Oddly, her romantic life probably seems for a lot of her fans like the next season of Friends,'" said Elle's Roberta Myers. "Will she break up with Ross? Er, Brad? Or will they get back together and have that baby?" We have been so thoroughly sucked in that, just like in the days of the "I Killed Laura Palmer" T-shirts, we've made clothing that signals our investment in this tale. "I'll have your baby, Brad" T-shirts abound, while "Team Aniston" and "Team Jolie" shirts sell at Kitson.
In hooking us on cliffhangers, Aniston may have gained the ultimate victory: control of her own story. What is most remarkable about the Year of Jen is that she has become a celebrity pioneer for a new age, the only star so deft at maneuvering the twists of her own tale that she has wrested control of it from the insatiable celebrity press. As stars like Kate Moss, Nick and Jessica, Britney and Kevin, and Tom Cruise and his remote-controlled bride learned the hard way in 2005, there is no such thing as "granting access" anymore. But Aniston (along with her Jedi master publicist Stephen Huvane) teaches us that there is such a thing as power -- the power of a good story.
"It helps to find one's own narrative," said the Star's Dolce, talking about the best way to deal with the industry in which he labors. "Otherwise you're going to have the weeklies and the glossies describe your narrative for you."
In some ways, Aniston is, in addition to being a talented actress, a talented writer, an instinctual mover of the story. So, while "Rachel Green" has gone the way of syndication, the actress who played her has produced for her audience a new character, "Jennifer Aniston," who is just as (more?) endearing, whose imbroglios produce just as much (more?) sympathy, and who is just as (more?) funny and self-effacing.
How long will we keep tuning in? Well, "Friends" ran for a decade.
