Joey Guerra
Entertainment Editor
Review
From the opening scenes of a first-grade production of The Little Mermaid to its almost too-sweet conclusion, The Object of My Affection is swathed in irresistible, unavoidable cutesiness, and that's often not such a bad thing.
Part My Best Friend's Wedding (the Julia and Rupert part) and part Chasing Amy (the PG-13 part), The Object of My Affection skirts along on a broad, mostly appealing script from Wendy Wasserstein (The Heidi Chronicles, The Sisters Rosensweing). It's often snappy, stumbling a few times, though, by overreaching its bounds. You can't always tell if Wasserstein is making great commentary on straight people's reactions to gays or simply being too obvious.
The film is truly winning, though, whenever the extraordinarily likable duo of Jennifer Aniston (the most natural and level-headed Friend) and Paul Rudd (Alicia Silverstone's dreamy-eyed stepbrother in Clueless) are on screen. The two have a magnetic, charming chemistry that never wears down. They seem like they've known each other for years.
Without them, this rambling, overly general story of a New York gal who falls in love with her gay best friend would have been way too slight. Baggage and stress are tightly packed onto the backs of both characters, but it all doesn't completely gel.
Still, it's to Wasserstein's credit that the film is substantially richer than what's given away in previews. Nina (Aniston) is a Brooklyn resident and social worker who lives under constant pressure from her rich, meddling stepsister Constance, who wants Nina to dump her lug of a beau, Vince (John Pankow), a heady lawyer whose only crime is a receding hairline.
At one of Constance and her renowned book-publisher husband Sidney's lavish dinner parties, Nina meets Dr. Joley (Wings' Tim Daly) and his lover, George. As all gay men do upon meeting well-dressed, perky young women, Joley spills the beans about his failing relationship.
This comes as news to George, who finds out from an unsuspecting, very embarrassed Nina. Suddenly, George is moving in with Nina, the two are bonding over dancing lessons, and - wham! - Nina is asking George to take on a pivotal role in her life - surrogate father to her unexpected child. While Nina seems increasingly unhappy with Vince once George moves in, no real conflict is ever established. She just seems to be having more fun with the gay guy. It's to Aniston's and Rudd's credit, then, that their relationship seems real and devoted.
Nina does fall in love with George, and the film rides a delicate balance of emotions that it doesn't always seem to understand. Mixed signals are quite usual in the real world, but a movie shouldn't use them unless it plans to follow through. A number of supporting players give likable performances, most notably Nigel Hawthrone as Rodney, who shows up as part of the complex network of friends. Hawthorne is often heartbreaking, and his work with Aniston in a quiet, tender kitchen scene showcases both actors' talents.
The Object of My Affection isn't a benchmark in gay filmmaking. What it is, though, is a sweet, snapshot that doesn't always hit the mark. You can't blame them for trying, because Aniston and Rudd are simply too irresistible.