The Object of My Affection

B- Directed by Nicholas Hytner Running Time: 1:50

Obviously, The Object of My Affection is going to be compared to Picture Perfect. Why? Because both movies are non-traditional love stories, starring Jennifer Aniston. So, I've decided not to re-read my review for Picture Perfect until after I write this one. And as always I warn you, take this review with a grain of salt, since I am in love with Miss Aniston you might not like the movie as much as I did, although I did try and be fair with the grade.

The Object of My Affection is set in New York. Aniston plays Nina, a woman who works as a social worker, and is involved with Vince (John Pankow). Paul Rudd is George, a first grade teacher, who is involved with Dr. Jolie (Tim Daly). When George and the doctor break up, George goes to live with Nina, a woman he hardly knows, but they hit it off immediately. Well, you can see where this is going. George is gay, but Nina falls in love with him anyway. And when she becomes pregnant, she decides she wants George to help her raise the child, instead of Vince. And while George truly loves Nina, he's not in love with her, and this leads to problems.

Aniston once again proves that she is a terrific actress, and I'm not just saying that. She has a way of controlling a scene, and a way about her that makes you want her to be happy. Rudd does a great job as George, and in fact the entire cast does a good job (except for Allison Janney as Nina's step-sister, I couldn't stand her). The problem is with the story. For the first half of the movie, you really got into it. Watching Nina and George become the best of friends was fun to watch, and it made you happy for them. But it's when all the side characters and issues came into play, that the movie got kind of bogged down. There was always a chance that Nina and George would "get together" but deep down inside, you knew it wasn't going to happen, so the only question was, what would happen. And then everyone else started to arrive. George meets a guy. Nina gets jealous. George goes back to Dr. Jolie. Nina gets jealous. George meets another guy, who is with an older guy, and George is happy, the other guy is happy, but Nina, and the older guy aren't happy. Then there was the cop who shows up for a minute, but you know he's coming back at the end. It just seemed to be too much for me. There were too many conflicts and it took away from the main story. The movie seemed to move away from its focus, and concentrate on the outer stories, but then tried to pull you back in. I wish it didn't let me out in the first place.

I did enjoy the movie, and the ending was better than I expected it to be. Was it a happy ending? Well, that's up to you to decide. But if you're looking for a movie with a heart, take a chance with The Object of My Affection.