MEXICO CITY (AP) – Gushing praise for one another – but ducking questions about a possible romantic relationship – “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” co-stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie briefly visited Mexico’s capital for the premiere of their new film.

The pair flew into an airport 35 miles west of Mexico City and a fleet of black and white sport utility vehicles drove them for more than an hour Wednesday to a sprawling, upscale shopping center in the Santa Fe district.

Several hundred screaming fans filled bleacher seats underneath a tent set up outside the shopping center’s movie theater complex. Hundreds more waited for hours to catch a glimpse of the couple in the parking lot.

Sporting stubble, short blond hair and a short-sleeve shirt, Pitt posed for photographers, signed autographs and called Jolie “a firecracker.”

“She’s dear to my heart,” the 41-year-old actor said. “You never know what she’s going to say.”

Jolie, who wore a low-cut black top and dark slacks, called Pitt “a great person.”

“He’s very down-to-earth and very funny,” she said, but when asked if he’s marriage material, the 30-year-old actress just giggled – and moved on.

Jolie took the stage first. When photographers called for Pitt to join her, he briefly ducked behind a massive movie cutout. He didn’t move toward the stage until Jolie was gone.

Tabloid speculation of a romance on the set of the film was fueled when Pitt and his wife, Jennifer Aniston, separated in January after 4½ years of marriage. Aniston filed for divorce in March.

Jolie said in the July issue of Marie Claire that she “thinks the world” of Pitt, but never slept with him. Pitt has called reports that Jolie played a role in the breakup of his marriage “a good story.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” which opens today, is about husband-and-wife assassins who are clueless about each other’s occupation – until each is hired to kill the other.

When asked about a shortage of steamy love scenes in the movie, Pitt smiled and said, “It’s PG-13. What are you going to do?”