The Object of My Affection
Encyclopedia
The Object of My Affection is a 1998 romantic comedy
film, adapted
from the book of the same title by Stephen McCauley
, and starring Jennifer Aniston
and Paul Rudd
. The story concerns a pregnant New York social worker who develops romantic feelings for her gay
best friend, and the complications that ensue. The film is directed by Nicholas Hytner
, the screenplay written by Wendy Wasserstein
.
The movie was filmed in 1997 in various locations around New York City
, New Jersey
, and Connecticut
.
) is a bright young woman living in a cozy Brooklyn
apartment. Nina attends a party given by her stepsister Constance (Allison Janney
) and her husband, Sidney (Alan Alda
). There Nina meets George Hanson (Paul Rudd
), a young, handsome, and gay first grade teacher. Nina tells George that her stepsister is constantly trying to fix her up with somebody from higher society, completely ignoring the fact that Nina has a boyfriend, Vince (John Pankow
). During the conversation, Nina offers George a room in her apartment as she has just heard from his boyfriend, Dr. Robert Joley (Tim Daly), that George is looking for somewhere to live. George, not knowing about Robert's plans, is taken aback and heartbroken, and after the party the two split up. George accepts Nina's offer and moves into her apartment.
The two soon become best friends; they watch films together and go ballroom dancing. Everything is perfect until Nina announces that she is pregnant. Vince (the baby's father) wants to marry her, but his constant care drives Nina crazy; she leaves him and asks George to help her bring up her child. For some time, they live together in her apartment in Brooklyn. Everything is perfect again until Nina finds that her love for George is growing every day, especially after he tells her he had a girlfriend in high school, leading her to believe he might change his ways.
One afternoon, George and Nina are about to have sex when George gets a phone call from Robert who tells him how much he has missed him and invites him away for the weekend. George is confused but agrees to go. Nina feels threatened and gets jealous. George and Robert do not get back together, but George meets Paul James (Amo Gulinello), a young actor, and the two fall in love and have sex. Meanwhile, Nina is staying with Constance at a vacation mansion and is extremely moody. She has a horrible time and decides to head back home and asks George if he would return as well. She is mugged on the way back through the city, and then gets a ride home from a friendly police officer, Louis (Kevin Carroll). Nina and George decide to invite Paul and his elderly acting mentor, Rodney, over for Thanksgiving
. Paul stays the night and has sex with George, resulting in a fallout between George and Nina.
The following day, they start arguing again at George's brother's wedding. Nina fully explains to George her feelings for him. George, who loves Nina as his best friend, tells her that he wants to be with Paul. A few hours later, Nina gives birth to a beautiful girl whom she names Molly. Vince comes to visit the hospital, ecstatic, but, soon after arriving, he leaves to fill out paperwork leaving Nina and George alone with Molly. Nina asks George when he plans to move out to which he replies that he doesn't know. She asks him to please move out of her apartment before she gets home from hospital, stating that it would hurt her too much to have him stay any longer knowing that he doesn't love her.
The end of the film takes place at George's school eight years later, in which all of the characters go to see Molly in a musical production that George has directed. Nina is now in a relationship with Louis, and George is with Paul, both of them now happy. The film ends as Nina, George, and young Molly (Sarah Hyland
) (who refers to George as her "Uncle George") walk together down the sidewalk, hand-in-hand, on their way to get coffee.
in 1,890 theaters, averaging $5,146 per theater. The film went on to gross $29,187,243 in the United States alone, over a span of five weekends. The film continued to open in European countries throughout the fall and winter of 1998, and ultimately grossed $17,718,646 outside of the United States.
gave the film two stars, saying "The Object of My Affection deals with some real issues and has scenes that work, but you can see the wheels of the plot turning so clearly that you doubt the characters have much freedom to act on their own." Ruthe Stein of the San Francisco Chronicle
said the film "occasionally borders on being too clever. But that's a small quibble about a movie that gets so much right."
The film currently holds a rating of 50% on the film critic site Rotten Tomatoes
.com
Romantic Comedy
Romantic Comedy can refer to* Romantic Comedy , a 1979 play written by Bernard Slade* Romantic Comedy , a 1983 film adapted from the play and starring Dudley Moore and Mary Steenburgen...
film, adapted
Film adaptation
Film adaptation is the transfer of a written work to a feature film. It is a type of derivative work.A common form of film adaptation is the use of a novel as the basis of a feature film, but film adaptation includes the use of non-fiction , autobiography, comic book, scripture, plays, and even...
from the book of the same title by Stephen McCauley
Stephen McCauley
Stephen McCauley is an American author. He has written six novels to date including most recently Insignificant Others...
, and starring Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Joanna Aniston is an American actress, film director, and producer, best known for her role as Rachel Green on the television sitcom Friends, a role which earned her an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.Aniston has also enjoyed a successful film career,...
and Paul Rudd
Paul Rudd
Paul Stephen Rudd is an American actor and screenwriter. He has primarily appeared in comedies, and is known for his roles in the films Clueless, Wet Hot American Summer, Anchorman, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Dinner for Schmucks, The Object of My...
. The story concerns a pregnant New York social worker who develops romantic feelings for her gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
best friend, and the complications that ensue. The film is directed by Nicholas Hytner
Nicholas Hytner
Sir Nicholas Robert Hytner is an English film and theatre producer and director. He has been the artistic director of London's National Theatre since 2003.-Biography:...
, the screenplay written by Wendy Wasserstein
Wendy Wasserstein
Wendy Wasserstein was an American playwright and an Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University...
.
The movie was filmed in 1997 in various locations around New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, and Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
.
Plot
Social worker Nina Borowski (Jennifer AnistonJennifer Aniston
Jennifer Joanna Aniston is an American actress, film director, and producer, best known for her role as Rachel Green on the television sitcom Friends, a role which earned her an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.Aniston has also enjoyed a successful film career,...
) is a bright young woman living in a cozy Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
apartment. Nina attends a party given by her stepsister Constance (Allison Janney
Allison Janney
Allison Brooks Janney is an American actress, best known for her role as C.J. Cregg on the television series The West Wing.- Personal life :...
) and her husband, Sidney (Alan Alda
Alan Alda
Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo , better known as Alan Alda, is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and author. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is best known for his role as Hawkeye Pierce in the TV series M*A*S*H...
). There Nina meets George Hanson (Paul Rudd
Paul Rudd
Paul Stephen Rudd is an American actor and screenwriter. He has primarily appeared in comedies, and is known for his roles in the films Clueless, Wet Hot American Summer, Anchorman, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Dinner for Schmucks, The Object of My...
), a young, handsome, and gay first grade teacher. Nina tells George that her stepsister is constantly trying to fix her up with somebody from higher society, completely ignoring the fact that Nina has a boyfriend, Vince (John Pankow
John Pankow
John Pankow is an American film and stage actor. He is perhaps best known for a supporting role on the sitcom Mad About You .-Early life:...
). During the conversation, Nina offers George a room in her apartment as she has just heard from his boyfriend, Dr. Robert Joley (Tim Daly), that George is looking for somewhere to live. George, not knowing about Robert's plans, is taken aback and heartbroken, and after the party the two split up. George accepts Nina's offer and moves into her apartment.
The two soon become best friends; they watch films together and go ballroom dancing. Everything is perfect until Nina announces that she is pregnant. Vince (the baby's father) wants to marry her, but his constant care drives Nina crazy; she leaves him and asks George to help her bring up her child. For some time, they live together in her apartment in Brooklyn. Everything is perfect again until Nina finds that her love for George is growing every day, especially after he tells her he had a girlfriend in high school, leading her to believe he might change his ways.
One afternoon, George and Nina are about to have sex when George gets a phone call from Robert who tells him how much he has missed him and invites him away for the weekend. George is confused but agrees to go. Nina feels threatened and gets jealous. George and Robert do not get back together, but George meets Paul James (Amo Gulinello), a young actor, and the two fall in love and have sex. Meanwhile, Nina is staying with Constance at a vacation mansion and is extremely moody. She has a horrible time and decides to head back home and asks George if he would return as well. She is mugged on the way back through the city, and then gets a ride home from a friendly police officer, Louis (Kevin Carroll). Nina and George decide to invite Paul and his elderly acting mentor, Rodney, over for Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
. Paul stays the night and has sex with George, resulting in a fallout between George and Nina.
The following day, they start arguing again at George's brother's wedding. Nina fully explains to George her feelings for him. George, who loves Nina as his best friend, tells her that he wants to be with Paul. A few hours later, Nina gives birth to a beautiful girl whom she names Molly. Vince comes to visit the hospital, ecstatic, but, soon after arriving, he leaves to fill out paperwork leaving Nina and George alone with Molly. Nina asks George when he plans to move out to which he replies that he doesn't know. She asks him to please move out of her apartment before she gets home from hospital, stating that it would hurt her too much to have him stay any longer knowing that he doesn't love her.
The end of the film takes place at George's school eight years later, in which all of the characters go to see Molly in a musical production that George has directed. Nina is now in a relationship with Louis, and George is with Paul, both of them now happy. The film ends as Nina, George, and young Molly (Sarah Hyland
Sarah Hyland
Sarah Jane Hyland is an American actress, currently starring as Haley Dunphy on the ABC comedy Modern Family.-Life and career:...
) (who refers to George as her "Uncle George") walk together down the sidewalk, hand-in-hand, on their way to get coffee.
Cast
- Jennifer AnistonJennifer AnistonJennifer Joanna Aniston is an American actress, film director, and producer, best known for her role as Rachel Green on the television sitcom Friends, a role which earned her an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.Aniston has also enjoyed a successful film career,...
as Nina Borowski - Paul RuddPaul RuddPaul Stephen Rudd is an American actor and screenwriter. He has primarily appeared in comedies, and is known for his roles in the films Clueless, Wet Hot American Summer, Anchorman, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Dinner for Schmucks, The Object of My...
as George Hanson - John PankowJohn PankowJohn Pankow is an American film and stage actor. He is perhaps best known for a supporting role on the sitcom Mad About You .-Early life:...
as Vince McBride - Allison JanneyAllison JanneyAllison Brooks Janney is an American actress, best known for her role as C.J. Cregg on the television series The West Wing.- Personal life :...
as Constance Miller - Alan AldaAlan AldaAlphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo , better known as Alan Alda, is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and author. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is best known for his role as Hawkeye Pierce in the TV series M*A*S*H...
as Sidney Miller - Tim Daly as Dr. Robert Joley
- Steve ZahnSteve Zahn-Early life:Zahn was born in Marshall, Minnesota, the son of Zelda, who worked for the YMCA, and Carleton E. Zahn, a retired Missouri Synod Lutheran pastor. Zahn spent part of his childhood in Mankato, Minnesota, attending Kennedy Elementary School...
as Frank Hanson - Nigel HawthorneNigel HawthorneSir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne, CBE was an English actor, perhaps best remembered for his role as Sir Humphrey Appleby, the Permanent Secretary in the 1980s sitcom Yes Minister and the Cabinet Secretary in its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister. For this role he won four BAFTA Awards during the 1980s in the...
as Rodney Fraser - Gabriel MachtGabriel MachtGabriel S. Macht is an American actor. Macht is known for playing The Spirit in the film of the same name, and lately for his role as Harvey Specter on the USA Network series Suits.-Personal life:...
as Steve Casillo - Sarah HylandSarah HylandSarah Jane Hyland is an American actress, currently starring as Haley Dunphy on the ABC comedy Modern Family.-Life and career:...
as Molly - Hayden PanettiereHayden PanettiereHayden Leslie Panettiere is an American actress and singer, best known as cheerleader Claire Bennet on the NBC television series Heroes. She began her acting career by playing Sarah Roberts on One Life to Live , and Lizzie Spaulding on Guiding Light , before starring at age 10 as Sheryl Yoast in...
as Mermaid - Liam AikenLiam AikenLiam Padraic Aiken is an American actor who has starred in a number of films, such as Stepmom and Good Boy!. He starred as Klaus Baudelaire in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, based on the series of books....
as Nathan - Amo Gulinello as Paul James
- Bruce AltmanBruce AltmanBruce Altman is an American film and television actor. He is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama.-Film:*Regarding Henry - Bruce*My New Gun - Irwin Bloom*Glengarry Glen Ross - Larry Spannel...
as Dr. Goldstein - Kevin Carroll as Louis
- Samia ShoaibSamia ShoaibSamia Shoaib is an actress, filmmaker, and writer. She was born in Pakistan and raised in England. She moved to the United States where she studied English and Theater at the University of California and George Washington University. She studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London...
as Suni - Audra McDonaldAudra McDonaldAudra Ann McDonald is an American actress and singer. She currently stars in the ABC television drama Private Practice as Dr. Naomi Bennett. She has appeared on the stage in both musicals and dramas, such as Ragtime and A Raisin in the Sun...
as wedding singer - Paz de la HuertaPaz de la HuertaMaría de la Paz Elizabeth Sofía Adriana de la Huerta , better known by her professional name Paz de la Huerta, is an American actress and model...
as 13-year-old Sally
Box office
The Object of My Affection was released in US theaters on April 17, 1998, and took in $9,725,855 on its opening weekend, coming in at #2 at the box officeBox office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
in 1,890 theaters, averaging $5,146 per theater. The film went on to gross $29,187,243 in the United States alone, over a span of five weekends. The film continued to open in European countries throughout the fall and winter of 1998, and ultimately grossed $17,718,646 outside of the United States.
Critical reception
Critical reaction to the film was mixed. Roger EbertRoger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the film two stars, saying "The Object of My Affection deals with some real issues and has scenes that work, but you can see the wheels of the plot turning so clearly that you doubt the characters have much freedom to act on their own." Ruthe Stein of the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
said the film "occasionally borders on being too clever. But that's a small quibble about a movie that gets so much right."
The film currently holds a rating of 50% on the film critic site Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
.com