Dear Angelina Jolie

It is okay to smile. Really. It won't hurt you.

I realize that going to awards shows means dealing with inane interviews where you are asked the same questions over and over. However...

THIS IS PART OF YOUR JOB. Please remember that there are countless actors out there who would give their eye teeth to endure those interviews if it meant having the opportunities and kudos you have received.

The sour expression that seems permanently attached to your face causes you to appear smug and ungrateful. No doubt, having the paparazzi follow you and your family wherever you go is frustrating and sometimes, I imagine, frightening. Quite honestly, I feel for you and other celebrities whose every move is documented. Trying to get in your car, take your kids to school, go to a restaurant while a crowd of aggressive photographers shout and grab at you would drive anyone insane. However...

When you go to an awards show, when you voluntarily put on a pretty (or not-so-pretty) dress and walk the red carpet, you know photographers will be there. You know that E! and Access Hollywood and Ryan Seacrest will be there with their microphones and obsequiousness and hyperactivity.

You lead a remarkably privileged life. Yes, you have done a great deal of charitable giving and outreach (although all the publicity about it is a bit unseemly, you know? George Clooney is quite the philanthropist but mostly he does it anonymously because he feels it's something he should do regardless of recognition, a la "To whom much has been given, much is expected").

But really, the least you could do at an awards show is try and look like you are enjoying yourself. A bit. Usually you look as though you think everyone else is beneath you and you'd rather be home or hopping to another continent to pick out a seventh baby.