The film was originally titled Boy of Pigs, a reference to the political climate, not the main character's porcine tendencies. The story is set in Washington, D.C., in 1963, at the height of the Cold War. The historical footage of the era is more intriguing than the fictional story.

Adam (Cameron Bright) is a lonely 13-year-old who becomes obsessed with a glamorous blond neighbor (Gretchen Mol), whom he catches in the buff while spying through his bedroom window. He's an adolescent whose hormones have taken control of his better instincts, so we can somewhat forgive his Peeping Tom tendencies.

It turns out the mystery woman is an artist named Catherine who has just moved into his Georgetown neighborhood. Most importantly, she appears to be a paramour of then-president John Kennedy. Adam begins doing odd jobs for Catherine, and an unlikely friendship develops, which includes drinking and splashing paint on each other. It's no wonder Adam's mother (Perrey Reeves) is not keen on his hanging around with "that woman."

When the besotted Adam is not at school, he watches Catherine and spots some intrigue that adds new and preposterous angles to JFK conspiracy theories.

The film is clumsily earnest and awkwardly executed. As a political thriller, it is neither plausible nor suspenseful. In the coming-of-age portion, there's a queasy quasi-love scene between the 30ish Catherine and the 13-year-old boy. Think Summer of '42 meets JFK Lite. Bright, by the way, is no stranger to inappropriate scenes with older women: He was the boy who bathed with Nicole Kidman in Birth. You can't help but wonder about the judgment of his agent or, for that matter, his parents.

An American Affair is sordid business blandly portrayed and not worth meddling with.