Happy Gay Movie Monday to all of the hot men of ManPlay out there! Hopefully the temperatures are soaring where you are as well and that means two things. First off, it means everyone is stripping down into shorts and tank tops (if not topless altogether). Secondly, it means it’s prime time for your summer romance to get started. If you haven’t already been doing so, it’s a great time to get on ManPlay and check out all the hot members that can add some heat to your summer! It’s a good idea, as always, to consider upgrading to a Gold membership, because the benefits of such a membership makes it easier and easier to find the type of men that you’re interested in.

For today’s instalment of Gay Movie Monday I’m selecting a movie that might be a bit controversial for it is more likely to be on the shelves of one of your straight girlfriends’ than it is on the average gay guy’s – but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth seeing or considering. For this week I have selected the 1998 Nicholas Hytner film The Object Of My Affection. It’s important to consider the year this was made and how mainstream the film was when you consider any of the potential negatives about the film, like in case anyone laments the lack of hot gay sex scenes. The film follows Nina (Jennifer Aniston) a social worker and her gay best friend George, played by the adorable Paul Rudd. George is a first grade teacher and he and Nina quickly hit it off after meeting at a dull social function. She gets pregnant by accident with a man she is not interested in raising the child with and then decides to raise the child with George, making them parents together that do it all together – except have sex, of course. Things get complicated (even more complicated, that is!) when George gets a boyfriend and Nina is jealous…

The film received mixed reviews and was not a massive box office hit, but not a crushing disappointment either. Roger Ebert sums up one of the most interesting plot developments in his original review, saying: “Aniston and Rudd are appealing together, although [the screenwriter's] crudely written role puts him through bewildering personality shifts. But then, suddenly, a character walks in from nowhere and becomes the movie’s center of interest. This is the aging drama critic Rodney, played by Oscar nominee Nigel Hawthorne of The Madness of King George. He is gay, and Paul [George's love interest] is his young protege. They do not have sex, Paul makes clear to George. But Rodney clearly loves the young man, and there are a couple of scenes in which he says and does nothing, and achieves a greater emotional effect than is reached by any dialogue in the movie.”

It’s worth noting that this is the first film that Aniston and Rudd made together, though they would later appear together on Friends and then earlier this year in the comedy Wanderlust. It’s also worth noting that Aniston’s daughter in the film was played by none other than Sarah Hyland who would grow up to be the eldest daughter on gay fave sitcom Modern Family. It also features a young Hayden Panettiere along with excellent supporting roles from Allison Janney and Alan Alda. It may not be a perfect movie by any means, but it does raise interesting questions about what makes a family and the relationships between gay men and their straight girlfriends, which can be a difficult dynamic for certain.

What do you make of the film, men of ManPlay? Have you seen it? If not, will you make an effort to see it now? Do you think it belongs to be in the gay film canon or just another movie that makes women want to have a gay best friend? Is that a bad thing? Let me know in the comments and be sure and discuss with other members in the chat rooms!

John xo

Categories: Gay Movie Monday John