| Product: |
Kissing Jessica Stein (DVD) |
| Date: |
29/06/02 (184 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Excellent dialogue and acting, the 2 leading ladies are quite beautiful
Disadvantages: Cheesy rom-com in a cheesy rom-com way
So, if you like cheesy feel-good romantic comedies you're gonna love this. I did and I feel no shame at all, honest. For those of you who usually come out in hives at the mere sight of Meg Ryan then give this a chance, it does try to be as it claims "a fresh take on the subject of sex and the single girl" (and Meg Ryan does not feature, I promise). But we are most definitely in the land of 'Sex in the City' here, with its glamorous, wanting to be slightly dirty, and sarcastic New York approach. Jennifer Westfeldt (Jessica Stein) and Heather Juergensten (Helen Cooper) wrote, co-produced and star as the 2 leading ladies – a pretty cool feat and they do an excellent job – the dialogue and acting is sharp and very funny.
Jessica Stein is a New York neurotic type, very uptight but still endearing in a 'you want to slap her' kind of way. She works as a journalist for the New Yorker Tribune and has a very tense relationship with her colleague, Josh Myers, with whom she has had a relationship with in the past. He feels thwarted because he really wants to write creatively and she feels thwarted because she really wants to be an artist, and they take their frustrations out on each other. Layered on top of all this frustration is the well-known New York predicament of 'not being able to find someone'. In a bout of desperation, Jessica embarks on a spree of dating anything that can be dated but with no success.
Helen Cooper is a glamorous, sexy, downtown New Yorker who works in an art gallery. She has many boyfriends for many different purposes but ultimately feels that something is missing. With encouragement from her friends, she puts an ad in the personals for 'women seeking women' on the premise that this is the one experience she has not had.
After being put down by Josh for being so uptight, Jessica decides to respond secretly to Helen's ad. A first date is arranged at whic
h Jessica announces to Helen, "This is not me" and promptly leaves. Helen follows Jessica trying to engage her in conversation, Jessica explains that she was trying not to be herself but really she is herself and that doesn't involve seeing women – a first date ensues and they clearly get on with each other very well.
Neither Jessica nor Helen has had a relationship with a woman before. For Jessica, this is particularly difficult and it is many years (ok, days) before she allows things to progress beyond kissing – the 'learning to kiss' montage is very funny and well edited. So now, their relationship progresses through lurrve and lust, but whilst Helen is happy and proud (yeah, yeah), Jessica finds it all so difficult. Meanwhile, in the background lurks Josh. Things come to a head, not in a sexual way unfortunately, but everything resolves itself in a romantic comedy world way and everyone is happy, yay!
Ok, so it is cheesy in a romantic comedy way, but the story and the acting are definitely above par. The 2 leading actresses are clearly talented at comedy – the dialogue is really sharp and the lines were delivered perfectly with some excellent one-liners. I dare you to watch it and not laugh or be moved by the cheesy moving bits. And there is something for everyone, preverts and breeders alike, what more can you ask for – a truly multi-sexual rom-com?
'Kissing Jessica Stein' is on release in some cinemas but has the potential for a wider distribution like 'Amelie' or 'Mulholland Drive'. It has already won a few awards:
Special Jury Award for Writing & Acting, Los Angeles Film Festival
Audience Award, Los Angeles Film Festival
Audience Award, Miami Film Festival
The website includes a 10 minute preview which is worth watching: www.foxsearchlight.com/kissingjessicastein/
Ok, I admit it, I had a delusion of the promise of girl
on girl action, but after getting over that disappointment, I really enjoyed the film – a lot.
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