When this film came out, it was touted as a positive portrayal of the gay community. After seeing the film, I can only say that such a description is a little overly optimistic, as Hollywood still had much to learn about gay male sexuality in 1998.
The film centers on George Hanson (Paul Rudd), a first grade teacher who lives with his pretentious partner, Dr. Robert Joley (Timothy Daly). The film opens with George arriving late to a dinner party given by Dr. Joley's friends Constance (Allison Janney) and Sidney Miller (Alan Alda), an equally pretentious couple whose main claim to fame seems to be name dropping. Finding little in common with the other guests, George is relieved to find a kindred spirit in Constance's sister, Nina Borowski (Jennifer Aniston), who, to his delight, turns out to be his dinner partner. Delight soon turns to horror when Nina, assuming that George already knows, spills the beans that Dr. Joley is about to dump George. She does this by offering George the spare bedroom in her apartment since he will need a new place to live. When George confronts Dr. Joley and finds that this is true, he takes Nina up on her offer, as he has no place else to go. They become good friends, and enroll in a ballroom dancing class together, something Nina's boyfriend Vince (John Pankow) refuses to do. When Nina finds out that she is pregnant, she realizes that while she wants to keep the baby, she doesn't want to marry Vince. George, however, would be the perfect father. She broaches the subject with George who agrees to help her raise the baby. However, she begins to read more into his willingness to help than he means, which causes a number of complications as George moves on with his life. When George finds romance with Paul James (Amo Gulinello), who is on his way out of his relationship with Rodney Fraser (Nigel Hawthorne), Nina's jealousy threatens to destroy her friendship with George. Will she be able to reconcile the obvious disparity in their relationship? Or will they go their separate ways?
It's an interesting premise, as the lines between friendship and love often do blur, even when we know we can't have someone we want. And their is much that is done well in this tale. George and Nina are both portrayed as people who we would want as friends, and their friendship with each other is a joy to watch. George's sexuality is treated in a matter of fact, and ultimately quite positive, way, and he actually does get the guy in the end. Unfortunately, while Nina's infatuation with George is perfectly believable, her stubborn insistence in pursuing him is not. She knew from the outset that he was gay. She shouldn't be surprised that he is going to try to find another man to get involved with. Yet she treats this as though it were betrayal. This makes her initial acceptance of George's sexuality disingenuous. And again, while she should know better than to try to seduce George, it's not outside the realm of possibility that she would do so. His going along with it, even for the brief time he does, is totally out of character. And it stops because a phone call interrupts it, not because he puts a stop to it. The message of this scene seemed to be that any gay man can be had by any straight woman who comes on to him. This is unforgivably weak writing, and ultimately, it was a scene that I found totally offensive. Still, for the most part, the movie is a big step forward for portrayals of gay characters on the silver screen.
The acting was quite good. Rudd and Aniston play their roles with considerable charm, and you can't help liking the characters they create. Daly's smug portrayal of Joley is perfect. Pankow's confusion and anger are quite believable. Janney and Alda are wonderfully irritating. Gulinello's young gay man is nicely done. Perhaps best is Hawthorne's portrayal of the aging gay man who loses his younger partner to a younger man. He accepts his fate with grace and nobility, not an easy task, but Hawthorne pulls it off beautifully, leaving you feeling sorry for him even while you root for his lover and George to get together.
There is much to commend about this charming film, and if you can overlook the inconsistencies of the writing, it can be quite enjoyable. Unfortunately, it's those consistencies which point out just how far the movie industry has to go in accurately portraying gay men in the movies.
The film centers on George Hanson (Paul Rudd), a first grade teacher who lives with his pretentious partner, Dr. Robert Joley (Timothy Daly). The film opens with George arriving late to a dinner party given by Dr. Joley's friends Constance (Allison Janney) and Sidney Miller (Alan Alda), an equally pretentious couple whose main claim to fame seems to be name dropping. Finding little in common with the other guests, George is relieved to find a kindred spirit in Constance's sister, Nina Borowski (Jennifer Aniston), who, to his delight, turns out to be his dinner partner. Delight soon turns to horror when Nina, assuming that George already knows, spills the beans that Dr. Joley is about to dump George. She does this by offering George the spare bedroom in her apartment since he will need a new place to live. When George confronts Dr. Joley and finds that this is true, he takes Nina up on her offer, as he has no place else to go. They become good friends, and enroll in a ballroom dancing class together, something Nina's boyfriend Vince (John Pankow) refuses to do. When Nina finds out that she is pregnant, she realizes that while she wants to keep the baby, she doesn't want to marry Vince. George, however, would be the perfect father. She broaches the subject with George who agrees to help her raise the baby. However, she begins to read more into his willingness to help than he means, which causes a number of complications as George moves on with his life. When George finds romance with Paul James (Amo Gulinello), who is on his way out of his relationship with Rodney Fraser (Nigel Hawthorne), Nina's jealousy threatens to destroy her friendship with George. Will she be able to reconcile the obvious disparity in their relationship? Or will they go their separate ways?
It's an interesting premise, as the lines between friendship and love often do blur, even when we know we can't have someone we want. And their is much that is done well in this tale. George and Nina are both portrayed as people who we would want as friends, and their friendship with each other is a joy to watch. George's sexuality is treated in a matter of fact, and ultimately quite positive, way, and he actually does get the guy in the end. Unfortunately, while Nina's infatuation with George is perfectly believable, her stubborn insistence in pursuing him is not. She knew from the outset that he was gay. She shouldn't be surprised that he is going to try to find another man to get involved with. Yet she treats this as though it were betrayal. This makes her initial acceptance of George's sexuality disingenuous. And again, while she should know better than to try to seduce George, it's not outside the realm of possibility that she would do so. His going along with it, even for the brief time he does, is totally out of character. And it stops because a phone call interrupts it, not because he puts a stop to it. The message of this scene seemed to be that any gay man can be had by any straight woman who comes on to him. This is unforgivably weak writing, and ultimately, it was a scene that I found totally offensive. Still, for the most part, the movie is a big step forward for portrayals of gay characters on the silver screen.
The acting was quite good. Rudd and Aniston play their roles with considerable charm, and you can't help liking the characters they create. Daly's smug portrayal of Joley is perfect. Pankow's confusion and anger are quite believable. Janney and Alda are wonderfully irritating. Gulinello's young gay man is nicely done. Perhaps best is Hawthorne's portrayal of the aging gay man who loses his younger partner to a younger man. He accepts his fate with grace and nobility, not an easy task, but Hawthorne pulls it off beautifully, leaving you feeling sorry for him even while you root for his lover and George to get together.
There is much to commend about this charming film, and if you can overlook the inconsistencies of the writing, it can be quite enjoyable. Unfortunately, it's those consistencies which point out just how far the movie industry has to go in accurately portraying gay men in the movies.