One of those films about the relationship between a straight woman and a gay man, "The Object of My Affection" tells of Nina Borowski (Jennifer Aniston) and George Hanson (Paul Rudd), best friends whose affections know almost no limits. The story is infused with the music and words of "You Were Meant for Me"--sung variously by Gene Kelly, Audra McDonald, and Sting. It's a fitting theme, romantically suggesting that perhaps a higher power or fate ordains there is one perfect match for every person. And that we cannot deny what is written in the stars. But Nina and George are somewhat confused by what the stars are telling them.Both characters are, at turns, bedeviled by confusion and/or guilt as their joint path veers from one route to another. The two actors are convincing, in a romantic-comedy way; this is not "Sophie's Choice" after all. But a tenderness pervades the film and will touch the hearts of many viewers.For fun, watch for young Hayden Panettiere in her first film appearance.

POSITIVES:I do like the vibe of the romantic-comedic movies, because they are light and happy movies. And this movie has such qualities. J-Aniston is very good and beautiful in this movie. NEGATIVES: This movie is unnecessarily vulgar. It is also not very intriguing. And it is also, kinda bland. Paul Rudd is not very charismatic here. I'm thinking he is not a lead role kinda actor. Another thing is, I didn't know this movie was about gay people, so it kinda caught me off guard. I'm not very comfortable watching relationships and flirting and touching of gay nature. Man to man. And this movie had some such moments.The plot of this movie is so - so. Too many gay twists and improbable turnarounds. Despite it all, it is somehow slightly watchable and enjoyable.So, in conclusion not exactly my cup of tea. And even from a more objective perspective this movie is mediocre at best.*************SPOILER ALERT***************At least they stayed true to the story and finished the movie with Rudd actually straight up rejecting Aniston! So, he is still gay and stays gay. And she ends up getting together with a nice black man. Real rating: 6.4MY RATING SYSTEM:9.4 - 10 = rating 10 ***** 8.6 - 9.3 = rating 9 ***** 7.8 - 8.5 = rating 8 ***** 7.1 - 7.7 = rating 76.1 - 7.0 = 6 5.1 - 6.0 = 5 4.1 - 5.0 = 4 3.1 - 4.0 = 3 2.1 - 3.0 = 2 1.0 - 2.0 = 1

Nina Borowski (Jennifer Aniston) counsels at risk girls. George Hanson (Paul Rudd) teaches little kids. His boyfriend Dr. Robert Joley (Tim Daly) dumps him and he moves in with Nina. They would make for the perfect couple if he isn't gay. Nina has an overbearing boyfriend Vince McBride (John Pankow). Everybody continually keeps trying to fix them up with people despite their resistance. When Nina gets pregnant, Vince gets on her nerves, and they break up.There is some edgy possibilities here. The problem is that it's handled like a sitcom. Paul Rudd is gay but he's barely allowed to kiss a guy for most of the movie. He does some naked spooning late in the movie but it's not anything more than PG-13. Apparently, the movie gets R for just talking about it so why be so tame? It's trying to be a subversive rom-com. The only thing subversed is this movie. This might as well be a straight up rom-com with the meek silently-pining best friend. That would be better. At least, it doesn't promise to be more than a bland conventional rom-com. Quite frankly, the movie plays it that way most of the time. Aniston and Rudd have good possible straight chemistry. Maybe he should have said bi because he doesn't really sell gay.

I know this doesn't exactly sound like a rave review, my emotions regarding this film are kinda complex. The film certainly has its flaws, and while it hasn't aged as well as one might hope, the emotion behind the film is so genuine. It may be my own experiences, but I feel that this film has something to offer more than the obvious female and gay male audience. Jennifer Aniston is very likable as Nina, which is saying quite a bit for me because I tend to not go nuts over her. There are traces of her standard Rachel character, but she proves herself much more capable in this role. Paul Rudd does a great job as George, basing his character more on genuine human emotion than gay stereotypes. The emotional dynamic between these two is the central focus of the film and is written extremely well. All in all, this film definitely has its flaws, but its genuine emotional core make it worth checking out.