Cinematically, a mix of two genres must be good at both to succeed. So, if a film is a mystery/thriller, it's supposed to be both mysterious and thrilling.
Using that reasoning, the comedy-drama "The Object of My Affection" is only partially successful. Admittedly, the comedic elements are very funny - much funnier than the trailers and TV ads would indicate. But when the plot becomes more dramatic, things start to fall apart.Still, you have to admire the cast and director Nicholas Hytner ("The Crucible") for trying. And screenwriter Wendy Wasserstein (adapting Stephen McCauley's novel) doesn't change things greatly for the sake of a "Hollywood ending."
(It should be noted that audiences expecting a "traditional" romantic comedy are in for a big surprise. The majority of the storyline deals with one of the leads' homosexuality, though it isn't handled as exploitatively as it might have been in the hands of less-talented filmmakers.)
Jennifer Aniston (from TV's "Friends") stars as Nina Borowski, a teen counselor who's great at solving everyone's personal problems - except her own, of course. Witness her latest relationship, with attorney Vince McBride (John Pankow), which seems to be going nowhere.
Vince is understandably perturbed when Nina offers her spare room to attractive elementary school teacher George Hanson (Paul Rudd), at least until he finds out the man is gay. Vince even keeps cool when Nina and George quickly become inseparable friends and companions, since their relationship is supposedly platonic.
But when Nina discovers she's pregnant, she proposes that George, rather than Vince, act as "father."
The arrangement seems to work well until George begins dating an aspiring actor (Amo Gulinello), which forces Nina to confront the fact that she's in love with a man she can never have.
The filmmakers attempt to balance the humor and drama, which works for most of the first hour. But things quickly become predictable in the second half, in which Hytner's direction is far too obvious.
He's helped by the actors - except for Tim Daly, who's distractingly wooden as one of George's former lovers.
Aniston is surprisingly good, and Rudd never resorts to stereotypical behavior. And the fabulous ensemble supporting cast (which includes Alan Alda, Nigel Hawthorne, Allison Janney and Steve Zahn) nearly steals the show.
"The Object of My Affection" is rated R for profanity, some vulgar references and talk, brief violent fistfighting and drug use.