The Object of My Affection

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The Object of My Affection

R

1998

1h 52m

Romance

Comedy

LGBTQ+

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

53%

Tomatometer

57 Reviews

51%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

New York City social worker Nina Borowski (Jennifer Aniston) invites her gay friend, George (Paul Rudd), to move into her apartment after he breaks up with his longtime lover, Robert (Tim Daly). Meanwhile, Nina gets pregnant and decides to keep the baby -- but end her relationship with the child's father, boyfriend Vince (John Pankow). As Nina and George live and raise the baby together, the two grow close -- and Nina realizes she's beginning to fall in love with her friend.

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Critics Consensus

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.

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Joshua Klein

AV Club

Dec 28, 2018

Rudd and Aniston are sad and believable as star-crossed lovers who know they can never be together for reasons beyond their control.

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Peter Travers

Rolling Stone

Dec 28, 2018

Aniston, a friend in need of a solid movie script... finally gets one courtesy of Tony-winning playwright Wendy Wasserstein.

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Michael O'Sullivan

Washington Post

Dec 28, 2018

The viewpoint may not be exactly fresh, but [screenwriter Wendy] Wasserstein... delivers the heartfelt message that, male or female, gay or straight, black or white, old or young, the important thing is to pick some one person and make it work.

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Wesley Lovell

Cinema Sight

Nov 23, 2022

3/4

Rudd is enchanting. He brings a succinct and proper attitude to a not-so-needy gay character that easily combats the traditional stereotype. He downplays enough situations and reacts brilliantly in some scenes to allow his character to come through easily

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

Oct 30, 2020

2/4

There's ultimately little doubt that The Object of my Affection fares best in its entertaining and compulsively watchable first half...

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Barbara Shulgasser

Common Sense Media

May 21, 2020

2/5

'90s romcom about non-traditional family; cursing.

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Daniel P.

@dprouty01 Nov 7, 2025

Good romance movie

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Ava S

@avawatches Aug 19, 2025

The intended message of The Object of My Affection is murky with its tonally inconsistent script, but is rescued from disaster by the charming Aniston and Rudd.

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Munkhchimeg T

@RT64187897 Jul 21, 2024

Jennifer Aniston ❤️❤️

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Jeff M

@jeffmarshallmovieblogger Feb 11, 2024

The romantic comedy genre is far from my favorite, but there's something about this one that really appeals to me. I question the actions and attitudes some of the characters illustrate and it gets overly complicated from time to time, but almost all is forgiven when you have a cadre of characters that you genuinely care about and for whom you are rooting. I'm not the biggest Aniston fan but this is one of her better performances. And Rudd, a ridiculously underrated actor, is nothing short of fantastic. They are surrounded by a rich group of supporting characters, and the script by genius playwright Wendy Wasserstein has a lot to recommend. This received lukewarm reviews and box office upon its initial release, but I consider it an underrated gem, with a bittersweet ending that could be considered borderline maudlin but I felt was painfully perfect.

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Ęxçëşș M

@ExcessMale Aug 13, 2022

Has a really solid cast, a cheeky premise and some clever flourishes here and there. It's a serviceable enough indie rom-com but it's fairly forgettable.

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Jul 21, 2020

Story seems a little created or forced, maybe overly convenient but the acting all around was solid. This movie was from 20 years ago and Paul Rudd and Aniston look almost identical today . They may well be the best aging people in all of Hollywood . 2.4. I thought it was funny when Paul Rudd went out of his way to overtly sit like a gay man would . Rudd and Aniston formed a life long friendship seemingly in a few hours which didn’t particularly feel natural

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Nicholas Hytner

Director

Jennifer Aniston

Nina Borowski

Paul Rudd

George Hanson

Alan Alda

Sidney Miller

Nigel Hawthorne

Rodney Fraser

John Pankow

Vince McBride

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Synopsis

New York City social worker Nina Borowski (Jennifer Aniston) invites her gay friend, George (Paul Rudd), to move into her apartment after he breaks up with his longtime lover, Robert (Tim Daly). Meanwhile, Nina gets pregnant and decides to keep the baby -- but end her relationship with the child's father, boyfriend Vince (John Pankow). As Nina and George live and raise the baby together, the two grow close -- and Nina realizes she's beginning to fall in love with her friend.

Director: Nicholas Hytner
Producer: Laurence Mark
Screenwriter: Stephen McCauley, Wendy Wasserstein
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: Twentieth Century Fox
Rating: R (Strong Language|Some Sexuality)
Genre: Romance, Comedy, LGBTQ+
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 17, 1998, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 15, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $29.1M
Runtime: 1h 52m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby SR, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Dolby Stereo
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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