Editing The Object of My Affection

{{about||the novel|The Object of My Affection (novel)|the album by Faron Young|The Object of My Affection (album)|a song composed by Pinky Tomlin in 1934|Pinky Tomlin}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = The Object of My Affection
| image          = objectofmyaffectionposter.jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Nicholas Hytner]]
| producer       = [[Laurence Mark]]
| screenplay     = [[Wendy Wasserstein]]
| based_on       = {{based on|''[[The Object of My Affection (novel)|The Object of My Affection]]''|[[Stephen McCauley]]}}
| starring       = {{plainlist|
* [[Jennifer Aniston]]
* [[Paul Rudd]]
* [[Alan Alda]]
* [[Nigel Hawthorne]]
* [[John Pankow]]
* [[Tim Daly]]
}}
| music          = [[George Fenton]]
| cinematography = [[Oliver Stapleton]]
| editing        = [[Tariq Anwar (film editor)|Tariq Anwar]]
| studio         = [[20th Century Fox]]
| distributor    = 20th Century Fox
| released       = {{Film date|1998|04|17}}
| runtime        = 111 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $15 million<ref name="numbers">{{cite web |title=The Object of my Affection (1998) - Financial Information |url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Object-of-My-Affection-The#tab=summary |website=[[The Numbers (website)|The Numbers]] }}</ref>
| gross          = $46.9 million<ref name="mojo" />
}}
'''''The Object of My Affection''''' is a 1998 American [[romance film|romantic]] [[comedy-drama]] film directed by [[Nicholas Hytner]], and starring [[Jennifer Aniston]] and [[Paul Rudd]] alongside [[Alan Alda]], [[Nigel Hawthorne]], [[John Pankow]], and [[Tim Daly]]. The film was adapted from [[The Object of My Affection (novel)|novel of the same name]] by [[Stephen McCauley]] and the screenplay was written by [[Wendy Wasserstein]]. The story focuses on a New York social worker who, after becoming pregnant by her boyfriend, develops romantic feelings for her new [[gay]] flatmate and decides she would rather raise her child with him.

It was filmed in 1997 in various locations around [[New York City]], [[New Jersey]], and [[Connecticut]]. The film received mixed reviews and was a moderate box office success grossing $46.9 million against a production budget of $15 million.

==Plot==
Social worker Nina Borowski is a young woman living in a [[Brooklyn]] apartment. Nina attends a party given by her [[stepsister]] Constance and her husband, Sidney. There, Nina meets George Hanson, a young first-grade teacher, who is gay, and his boyfriend Dr. Robert Joley. Nina tells George that her stepsister is constantly trying to fix her up with somebody from higher society, since she disapproves of Nina's boyfriend Vince. Then Nina offers George a room in her apartment as she has just been told by Robert that George is looking for somewhere to live. Since this is news to George, he 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 good friends, watching films together and going [[ballroom dancing]]. When Nina announces that she is pregnant. Vince, the baby's father, wants to marry her, but she declines and they break up. George offers to help raise the child. For some time, they live happily together in her apartment, 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 they might develop a romantic relationship.

One afternoon, George and Nina kiss and start to become intimate when George gets a phone call from Robert, telling George he has missed him and inviting him away for the weekend. George is confused but agrees to go. Nina feels rejected and jealous. Over the weekend, George and Robert do not re-establish their relationship, but George meets Paul James, a young actor, and the two are attracted to each other. Meanwhile, Nina stays with Constance at a vacation mansion and is extremely moody. Not enjoying herself, she decides to head back home on a late bus, and phones to ask George to go along with her, but he wants to stay with Paul. Back in Brooklyn, her purse is snatched and a friendly police officer, Louis, gives her a ride home.

Nina invites Paul and his older acting mentor with whom he lives, Rodney, for [[Thanksgiving]], after a rather prickly brunch with a late arriving George, his brother Frank, and his brother's latest fiancée. After the evening winds down, Paul stays the night with George, resulting in a heated argument between George and Nina, and heartache for Rodney.

At Frank's wedding, Nina and George continue their discussion as Nina begins to realize the reality of their situation. Nina fully explains to George her feelings for him. George, who loves Nina as his best friend, tells her that, ultimately, he wants to be with Paul. A few hours later, Nina gives birth to a baby girl she names Molly. Vince, ecstatic, visits her in the hospital, but when he leaves to complete paperwork, Nina and George remain alone with Molly. Nina asks George to move out of her apartment before she gets home from the hospital, stating that it would hurt her too much to have him stay while knowing that he doesn't love her the same way she does him.

Eight years later at George's school, everyone goes to see Molly in a musical production that George has directed. George is now the principal of the school, Nina is in a relationship with Louis, and George is still with Paul. Rodney is also there, still considered 'one of the family' by Louis and Nina. Nina, George, and young Molly (who refers to George as her "Uncle George") walk together, hand-in-hand, on their way to get coffee and talk.

==Cast==
{{Cast listing|
* [[Jennifer Aniston]] as Nina Borowski
* [[Paul Rudd]] as George Hanson
* [[John Pankow]] as Vince McBride
* [[Allison Janney]] as Constance Miller
* [[Alan Alda]] as Sidney Miller
* [[Tim Daly]] as Dr. Robert Joley
* [[Joan Copeland]] as Madame Reynolds
* [[Steve Zahn]] as Frank Hanson
* Amo Gulinello as Paul James
* [[Kevin Carroll (actor)|Kevin Carroll]] as Louis Crowley
* [[Nigel Hawthorne]] as Rodney Fraser
* [[Kali Rocha]] as Melissa
* [[Gabriel Macht]] as Steve Casillo
* [[Sarah Hyland]] as Molly
* Holli Marie Connors as the girl at the zoo
* [[Hayden Panettiere]] as Mermaid
* [[Liam Aiken]] as Nathan
* [[Bruce Altman]] as Dr. Goldstein
* [[Daniel Cosgrove]] as Trotter Bull
* [[Samia Shoaib]] as Suni
* [[Audra McDonald]] as wedding singer
* Lauren Pratt as Sally
** [[Paz de la Huerta]] as 13-year-old Sally
* [[Salem Ludwig]] as Mr. Shapiro
* [[Antonia Rey]] as Mrs. Ochoa
* [[John Roland]] as TV Anchor
* [[Rosanna Scotto]] as TV Anchor
* [[Kia Goodwin]] as Juliet
}}

==Production==
[[Paramount Pictures]] optioned McCauley's book in the late 1980s.<ref name=par/> In 1993, Nicholas Hytner was brought in as director.<ref name=par/> [[Winona Ryder]] was offered the role of Nina,{{citation needed|date=September 2024}} but turned it down so [[Uma Thurman]] was cast opposite [[Keanu Reeves]].<ref name=par>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Daily Variety]]|date=November 8, 1996|page=3|last=Busch|first=Anita M.|title=Par ousts 'Object'}}</ref> Paramount dropped the project in November 1996 and later Reeves and Thurman also dropped out.<ref name=par/> Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd were cast instead.

The shooting took place from June to July 1997, in New York.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gettyimages.fr/license/907682|title = JenniferAniston plays a pregnant woman in a scence from her new movie| date=4 July 2002 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gettyimages.fr/license/908197|title = Jennifer Aniston on the setof Object of my Affection on location in| date=4 July 2002 }}</ref>

==Release==
===Box office===
''The Object of My Affection'' was released in US theaters on April 17, 1998, and took in $9,725,855 during its opening weekend, coming in at No. 2 at the [[box office]] 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.<ref name="mojo">{{cite web |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=objectofmyaffection.htm |title=The Object of My Affection |work=[[Box Office Mojo]] |publisher=IMDB.com |access-date=June 22, 2012}}</ref> 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 Ebert]] 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."<ref name="Ebert">{{cite web |date=April 17, 1998 |last=Ebert |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Ebert |title=The Object of My Affection |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-object-of-my-affection-1998 |website=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |publisher=RogerEbert.com }}</ref>
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."<ref>[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/1998/04/17/DD84455.DTL ''''Unusual Romance Told With Great `Affection' – Rudd, Aniston sparkle in gay-straight love story"''] Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle, 17 April 1998</ref>

The film holds a rating of 52% on the review aggregation website [[Rotten Tomatoes]] based on 58 reviews. The site's consensus states: "Despite heartfelt performances from Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd, ''The Object of My Affection'' suffers from too many plot contrivances and frequent turns into rom-com sappiness."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/object_of_my_affection|title=The Object of My Affection - Rotten Tomatoes|accessdate=May 27, 2025|website=www.rottentomatoes.com}}</ref>
[[Metacritic]] gave the film a weighted average score of 51% based on 18 critics.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-object-of-my-affection |title = The Object of My Affection |work=[[Metacritic]] }}</ref>

=== Accolades ===
In efforts of the film it received a [[GLAAD Media Award|GLAAD Media award]] nomination for [[GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film – Wide Release|Outstanding Film (Wide Release)]], and won the [[London Film Critics' Circle|London Critics Circle Film award]] for British Supporting Actor of the Year awarded to actor Nigel Hawthorne.<ref>{{Citation |title=The Object of My Affection|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120772/awards |access-date=2018-04-14}}</ref>

== Soundtrack ==
{{Infobox album
| name         = The Object of My Affection OST
| type         = soundtrack
| artist       = [[George Fenton]]
| cover        = 
| alt          = 
| released     = January 1, 1998
| genre        = [[Film score|Score]]
| length       = 36:50
| label        = [[Ark 21 Records]]
| producer     = 
| prev_title   = [[Dangerous Beauty]]
| prev_year    = 1998
| next_title   = [[My Name Is Joe]]
| next_year    = 1998
}}

{{Track listing
| all_writing = [[George Fenton]]
| title1 = The Object of My Affection
| length1 = 2:31
| title2 = The School Show (Front Titles)
| length2 = 2:21
| title3 = Schon Rosmarin
| length3 = 1:54
| title4 = Off To Work
| length4 = 1:40
| title5 = Nina's News
| length5 = 1:34
| title6 = The Dance Class (You Were Mean For Me)
| length6 = 1:55
| title7 = Father And Son
| length7 = 1:04
| title8 = Jolie Calls/Off To College
| length8 = 4:29
| title9 = The Announcement (You Were Meant For Me)
| length9 = 0:40
| title10 = Home From The Hamptons Part 1
| length10 = 2:44
| title11 = Home From The Hampstons Part 2
| length11 = 1:16
| title12 = Berceuse
| length12 = 2:03
| title13 = New Friends
| length13 = 2:18
| title14 = Lewis Reflects
| length14 = 1:16
| title15 = George Moves Out
| length15 = 1:05
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| total_length = 28:50
}}

=== Additional Music ===

{{Track listing
| all_writing = 
| title1 = [[You Were Meant for Me (1929 song)|You Were Meant for Me]]
| length1 = 3:49
| music1 = [[Sting (musician)|Sting]]
| title2 = You Were Meant for Me (New York Version)
| length2 = 4:11
| music2 = Sting
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| total_length = 8:00
}}

==See also==
* ''[[Wanderlust (2012 film)|Wanderlust]]'' a 2012 film starring Aniston and Rudd.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb title|0120772}}

{{Nicholas Hytner}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Object Of My Affection, The}}
[[Category:1998 films]]
[[Category:1998 LGBTQ-related films]]
[[Category:1998 romantic comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:20th Century Fox films]]
[[Category:American LGBTQ-related films]]
[[Category:American pregnancy films]]
[[Category:American romantic comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:Films based on American novels]]
[[Category:Films directed by Nicholas Hytner]]
[[Category:Films produced by Laurence Mark]]
[[Category:Films scored by George Fenton]]
[[Category:Films set in New York City]]
[[Category:Films shot in Connecticut]]
[[Category:Films shot in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Films shot in New York City]]
[[Category:Gay-related films]]
[[Category:LGBTQ-related romantic comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:1990s pregnancy films]]
[[Category:1990s English-language films]]
[[Category:1990s American films]]
[[Category:English-language romantic comedy-drama films]]