Customer Reviews

Object of My Affection [VHS]

5 star:		(61)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

I have to admit that this is a favorite movie of mine and I'm thrilled that it's finally coming to DVD. It's hardly challenging. It's not political. There's nothing outstanding about the filmmaking technique. It's simply a pleasant diversion, and as such, I enjoy it a great deal. And while it goes out of its way not to offend anyone, it does break some new ground in terms of mainstream Hollywood movies.

The story centers around the friendship of a gay schoolteacher, George (Paul Rudd), who is dumped by his boyfriend. (...)

It's a charming movie, with terrific performances throughout. Rudd and Anniston share terrific chemistry together. White is appropriately sleazy. Allison Janney and Alan Alda as Nina's sister and brother-in-law offer hilarious support. And Nigel Hawthorne as Paul's mentor, provides the movie with heart and soul. Pulitzer-prize winning playwright Wendy Wasserstein adapts Stephen McCauley's novel, and the script is solid. Nicholas Hytner's direction is assured. The movie is filled with laughs and genuine emotion. The scene in the gym where Nina confronts Stephen packs incredible power.

Some have complained that George is too perfect and too nice--that the filmmakers were so concerned about having the mainstream audience accept him as a character that they went out of his way to make him bland and inoffensive. There might be a little truth in that, but I think Rudd's performance makes the character feel genuine at all times. (...)

However, the one thing that really pleases me about this movie is that it was the first mainstream Hollywood movie that allowed its gay character to be gay. (I exclude "Torch Song Trilogy" from this analysis as TST was about gay relationships.) Up to this point, gay characters were everybody's best friend or problem. Window dressing to offer witty banter or to show us how liberal our heterosexual leads were. The gay characters were only gay because we were told they were--they were never allowed to have a romance of their own. Their love lives were always non-existent. The fact that George not only meets another guy and dates him. They have a genuine romantic and sexual relationship, something that most mainstream Hollywood movies rarely addressed with their gay male characters, unless as a "problem."

I have no idea what, if any extras, will be on the DVD. Frankly, I don't care. I'll be happy enough just to have it on DVD. But, once it has come out (as it were), I will revisit this review to discuss said extras (should there be some of note).

If you like this movie, then I strongly recommend: "Trick", "The Broken Hearts Club", "Broadway Damage", "Just One Time", "Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss", "Torch Song Trilogy", "9 to 5" (no gay content, but a very funny comedy), and (begrudgingly as it is not nearly as good as the other movies on this list as it is very coy about the homosexuality of its characters), "In & Out".

Review (C)2001 Joe Edkin

Combine great acting, humor and a storyline that has substance, and you have the Object of My Affection. Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd put it all together with such smooth, realistic performances, that the story of a young woman falling in love with her gay roomate is presented in a truly touching manner. There are complications, of course, giving a continuous interest from beginning to end. Jennifer Aniston performs as many great actresses have: she has such an effortless, natural aura that it hardly seems like she is acting. But there is so much behind those most expressive and hypnotic eyes. Looks like that are hard to find in Hollywood. Rudd reacts perfectly and adds much realism. You know why she falls in love with him. You feel that this situation and the complications could really happen and the script and actors make you believe it.

This movie is really great, the acting is superb, especially Jennifer Aniston---she showed us that she can be more than just Rachel on Friends. It is a real contemporary love story about Nina, who asks a young gay teacher to move in with her after just meeting him at a dinner party. What we find, is that over a year of being roommates, Nina falls for George and when she gets pregnant by her controlling boyfriend, she decides she wants to raise the baby with George. It is a great storyline with a very touching ending. I read the book based on this movie, the book was based on George's point of view and so it was great to see Nina's side of the story. If you want a touching and unique love story, rent or even better, purchase The Object of My Affection, and while you're at it, read the book, is a great book!

Unfortunately this film wasn't what I was expecting. Although Aniston and Rudd work well together and their friendship is touching, if you like a perfect happy ending to your film then don't watch this.

Although the character portrayals were great the actual story left me feeling a little flat.

I didn't think I could watch a movie about a straight woman who fell in love with a gay man without a lot of cynical and not-politically-correct comments. I mean, I've seen too much of it.
But when I watched this movie, what struck me was not the sexual orientation of the characters, but the age-old bittersweet heartbreak of unrequited love. And that is what comes bleeding through in this movie.

Jennifer Anniston is a very lovely young woman who has a penchant for falling for men who aren't right for her. (Fear of commitment?) When handsome, sensitive Paul Rudd (who just happens to be a sensational dancer) comes into her life, it just figures she'll veer towards him instead of her doting but domineering boyfriend (a great supporting character in a movie full of great supporting characters). He is gay, but is clearly troubled by an attraction that just doesn't seem to fit his lifestyle (as is she). These two really love one another, but can't make it work. And is that really all so strange, in the gay OR straight world? Not at all. The dance scenes, to the Gene Kelley movie, are lovely and lyrical.

I say BAH! to all the gay reviewers out there who said this movie almost said something, but didn't. They're reading too much into it. It's about unrequited love, pure and complicated. Just look at Nina's (Jennifer's) face as she tells George she wants to marry him, that she wants him to want her just as she wants him. That's enough to make you cry.

When I rented this movie, I thought "Ah a Jennifer Aniston movie...she's gonna play the shallow but nice girl, gonna meet a guy...etc." In other words: Boy meets girl, girl likes guy, guy likes girl. Girl's confused, guy goes off, girl is sad, they come back together and that's the end. I was very off base. This is a sweet romantic dramedy (comedy/drama) that makes you want to laugh and cry at the same time. Paul Rudd plays a gay school teacher, who (after finding out his current relationship is over) moves in with his new friend (Aniston). When she discovers that she is pregnant, she decides that she wants Rudd to be the father figure for the child...which is not what her boyfriend wants. This intricate story is so delicately done, that (unlike most movies) it seems to be glass. The supporting characters are wonderfully lovable/loathsome. No revelations seem too spontaneous, but are eased into, making it a lovely and enjoyable film. One of those movies that makes you want to be in the characters world and shout "YOU SHOULD BE TOGETHER!"

I highly recommend that you add it to your collection, you will not regret it.

The Object Of My Affection is a great Flick. I am so excited it's finally on DVD. This movie takes place in New York City with our former Twin Tower buildings as the beautiful backdrop. The movie is about a women named Nina (Jennifer Aniston) who falls in love with her roommate George (Paul Rudd), but there is one problem ... he is gay. George decides to move out and move in with Nina after his boyfriend Joley tells him he is seeing another guy. Nina who has a boyfriend finds herself falling in love with George and soon she finds out she is pregnant but decides she wants to raise the child with George instead. George finally starts to fall for Nina, but after a weekend trip with his x-boyfriend Joley, George soon finds himself falling for a guy named Paul, and soon there is a decision that forces George to decide between Nina and Paul. I know it sound like a too much drama, but this is a movie worth watching, I will not say anymore other than this is a Great movie that will make you laugh and bring tears to your eyes as well. Im glad to see The Object Of My Affection has made it to DVD. Buy it it is a great flick that breaks down the walls of sexuality as you can not choose who you can fall in love with, true love just happens. (...)

"The Object of My Affection," is a very sweet film that has some interesting twists. I highly recommend it to all film buffs.

"The Object of My Affection" explores the isssue of straight women falling in love with gay men. This topic is even more prevailent in 2009, what with "American Idol" and Adam Lambert in which many women are in love with him, despite the fact that he is gay. Women have always felt a strong connection to male homosexuals for we, as gay guys, can be very affectionate, articulate, sensitive, and artistic, something that straight men can sometimes lack.
Jennifer Aniston, from TV's "Friends", stars as Nina, who is pregnant, and decides she wants to raise the child with her best friend George, who is gay and an elementary school teacher. Paul Rudd, who plays George, portrays his character in a positive manner, ignoring all the gay cliches that are sometimes prevailent in gay characterizations in films. George is straight-looking, beautiful to look at, and very much a man. He also has all the qualities that Nina's boyfriend doesn't possess, which is one of the reasons she falls in love with George, knowing a romance between them will never come to pass. "The Object Of My Affection" is a beautiful love story between two adult people who love one another, a love story unlike any I have seen in film. The writing is excellent, the performances flawless as we really feel for these people, and the directing is dead on.
The DVD comes with tons of bonuses, including the original trailer, a featurette, TV spots, dolby sound, and it comes with english and spanish subtitles. Critics hailed this movie: Rex Reed called it "absolutely enchatting", and Peter Travers says, it is "memorably funny and touching".

This rather complicated little tale has stood the test of time. It is still funny, still warm-hearted, and still daring. Aniston and Rudd make a lovable couple whom we all root for, even though we know it won't and can't work. Screenwriter Wasserstein has written a Shakepearean comedy of desperate tears that comes to a happy ending, with all the people sorting themselves out into the right mates: straights go with straights, gays with gays, and everyone lives happily ever after. The actors are 'stars' but they seem very unglamorous; Rudd and Aniston are cute without the kind of extraordinary beauty that makes some stars seem above common struggles. The actors here persuasively ordinary. He plays a school teacher, while she is a social worker. All of this is believable. The loving relationship between the two is enviably pleasant, very roommatey, indeed, reminding one of best friends in college. Seeing them lie in each other's arms without sexual arousal is the complication that sends that world into turmoil.