Friday, April 17, 1998 | 9:05 a.m.
* Grades: Jeff, B; Dave, D-.
* Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Paul Rudd, Tim Daly, John Pankow, Nigel Hawthorne and Alan Alda.
* Screenplay: Wendy Wasserstein.
* Director: Nicholas Hynter.
* Rated: R for adult situations and profanity.
* Running time: 111 minutes.
* Playing at: UA Green Valley, UA Showcase mall, Rancho Santa Fe 16, Cinedome 12 Las Vegas, Cinedome 12 Henderson, ACT III Boulder Station and ACT III Village Square.
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Synopsis: Nina (Jennifer Aniston) and George (Paul Rudd) have become the best of friends -- a fact that is mildly unsettling to her devoted boyfriend, a lawyer named Vince (John Pankow). But what disturbs Vince even more is Nina's announcement that she is pregnant and that she wants to raise the baby with George, her gay roommate, instead of him. Trouble is a-brewin'.
Jeff: We are all accustomed to the rigid routine about love and marriage. Our parents, the movies, romance novels all preach what we look for in a relationship. Just as with any ritual, there are rules to follow. The rules are as follows: Fall in love, get married, have children, live happily ever after. Well, rules are made to be broken, and that's just what happens in the romantic comedy "The Object of my Affection," which says the hell with the rules.
Dave: You know, Jeff, I had a long list of problems with this mess of a movie. For starters, here is this vibrant young woman who gets pregnant by her outspoken boyfriend (Pankow, who plays Cousin Ira on "Mad About You") and decides she wants to raise her child with her new gay roommate, whom she has known for less than six months. And if you tell me it's because they became the best of friends in that time, I'll laugh you right out of this column. They watch TV together, take dance lessons together, share a few secrets with one another, and, what? We're supposed to believe that they are the perfect match made in heaven? Yeah, right.
Jeff: That's the appeal, Dave. "Affection" asks: Can a relationship with love -- but not sex -- work with a gay man and a straight woman? The best element of a relationship is friendship. George is everything that Nina wants in a man. He has wonderful qualities that she can't find with a straight guy. The tension builds when she begins to have feelings and desires for him, in that brief period of time, with such intensity that it begins to tear her apart emotionally. Therein lies the conflict.
Dave: Jeff, are you reviewing the movie or the two-minute trailer the theater runs before other showings? They are two totally different things. Those elements of friendship you're referring to do not apply to a couple of selfish, inconsiderate fools who have no regard for anyone but themselves. She is blind to his needs while he ignores her demand for attention. He's oblivious to his commitment to her while she becomes dependent on it. I didn't care about either one of these individuals.
Jeff: You want to talk about being selfish? Let's talk about Nina's total disregard for the father of the baby, Vince. Her attitude amounts to tooting her (out-of-tune) feminist horn about "my body, my decision," ignoring the rights of the father. Nina proudly claims that she doesn't need the baby's father in her life to raise "her" child and she can do just fine without him. That's selfish. To Nina, men are just disposable, unfeeling baby makers whose opinions have no merit or impact. She'll just shop around until she finds the man she thinks is suitable.
Dave: You know, Aniston has made a nice transition from her successful TV show "Friends" to the big screen with such films as "She's the One" and "Picture Perfect." So why would she take on another contemporary romance that offers her no challenge? Also, why would director Hytner, who impressed audiences with his period pieces "The Madness of King George" and "The Crucible," take on the project? Your guesses are as good as mine, but they certainly were not career choices. Folks, you'll have more fun buying your ticket than you will watching this garbage movie.
Jeff: I disagree. Once again, Alan Alda steals the show with his radiant portrayal of Sidney, a literary agent who just knows every celebrity in the world. However, the film does portray gays in a positive light and doesn't give into stereotypes of characters lisping or entering a room brandishing a limp wrist. It's this touchy subject matter, I'm afraid, that mainstream America will have problems accepting.
Paul Rudd portrays George with an honest and dignified performance. Good also is Nigel Hawthorne, who plays Rodney, a gay sarcastic theater critic. The character adds respect to an otherwise ridiculed minority in the cinema. This is a movie that makes people uncomfortable and reflects the changing attitudes and morals about love and marriage in America as Generation X comes of age -- a generation whose attitude is the hell with the rules. Then they suddenly realize that rules are there for a reason -- and the old ways sometimes work better.
MOVIE BUZZ
* Keep on Trekkin': It's official! "Star Trek IX" (working title: "Prime Directive") has begun filming. The entire cast is once again reprising their roles as the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Joining the cast is F. Murray Abraham (an Oscar-winner for "Amadeus"). In this latest installment, Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the crew of the Enterprise discover a planet that may be a literal fountain of youth. When the existence of this newfound paradise is threatened, Picard faces a daunting decision: In order to protect the lives of the inhabitants of this alien world, he must commit treason and take up arms against the Federation itself. Co-star and perennial Second Officer Jonathan Frakes (Cmdr. Riker) will be taking the helm a second time as director. The latest film in the franchise will be released in November. The film's slogan will be, "Set Phasers on Fun!" Just kidding.
* Sound advice: "Godzilla" producer-directors Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich have sent letters to theater owners requesting that they show their upcoming film using Sony's proprietary sound technology SDDS, according to trade reports. "Sound is an extremely important part of the whole 'Godzilla' experience, and we would like your audiences to hear the movie as we intended," the duo wrote in a letter dated April 6. We can't wait for our eardrums to start bleeding when the big green lizard roars!
* Damon sits 'Pretty': Mega-hot star Matt Damon ("Good Will Hunting") will pocket more than $5 million to star in "All the Pretty Horses," which will be directed by Billy Bob Thornton ("Sling Blade"). Damon takes on the role of a young Texan who rides into Mexico in 1949 with a buddy. When he falls for the daughter of a wealthy ranch owner, the man has the young cowboy thrown into a Mexican prison, but the resilient lad exacts justice and becomes a man by the time he returns to Texas.
NAME THAT FLICK
"Anything you have to say about your mother-in-law, you don't have to explain to me. You know what I mean? It's like if she were a star of a real crummy horror movie, I'd believe it."
Lou Coppla belvied it. He was the first to identify the quote spoken by Jonathan Winters as the mentally imbalanced truck driver from Stanley Kramer's classic comedy, "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World!" Lou, it's buried under a BIG "W." I'm giving you the dough. Way to go, Lou!
Now, for this week's quote -- who said this and in what film: "You Americans, you are all the same. Always over-dressing for the wrong occasions"? Does it sound familiar? If it does, run -- don't walk! -- to call The Movie Guys Hotline at 225-9026 or e-mail us at [email protected]. (Not valid with any other offer). Be sure to spell your name and leave your daytime phone number, and if you're the first correct caller/e-mailer, we will print your name right here in our column, with the recognition you so richly deserve.
See you next week.
THE MOVIE GUYS, starring Jeff Howard and Dave Neil, appears every Friday in the SUN (additional material provided by Thomas Feeney). You can also read their capsule reviews of movies in Scope magazine; listen to their reviews and commentary every Friday at 7 p.m. on their radio show "Quiet on the Set" on KVBC 105.1-FM; and watch their reviews every Friday on Channel 3's 11 p.m. newscast. Plus, check them out online at: http://www.lasvegassun.com/sun/sunlife/movies/
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