Kissing a Fool (1998)

Screwball romantic comedy about a philandering sportswriter who wants his fiancee to remain faithful, so he enlists his best friend to test her fidelity - with unexpected results.

Director:

Doug Ellin

Writers:

James Frey (story), James Frey (screenplay)

Stars:

David Schwimmer, Jason Lee, Mili Avital

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Schwimmer	...	Max Abbitt
Jason Lee	...	Jay Murphy
Mili Avital	...	Samantha Andrews
Bonnie Hunt	...	Linda Streicher
Vanessa Angel	...	Natasha
Kari Wuhrer	...	Dara
Frank Medrano	...	Cliff Randal
Bitty Schram	...	Vicki Pelam
Judy Greer	...	Andrea
Ron Beattie	...	Priest
Doug Ellin	...	Bartender / Springer Guest
Tag Mendillo	...	Wedding Guest at Bar / Springer Guest
Justine Bentley	...	Beautiful Woman at Bar
Liza Cruzat	...	Dara's Friend #1
Jessica Mills	...	Dara's Friend #2

Storyline

Max is a popular local sports broadcaster and his marriage with attractive Sam is already set up. Max is not sure he wants Sam to be his wife and offers his best friend Jay a test: Jay will try to seduce Sam and if he fails Max will have enough trust in Sam to go on with a marriage. Jay refuses, but soon they become professionally connected with Sam.

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Plot Keywords:

dominatrix | chicago illinois | 

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Taglines:

There are three sides to every love story.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 February 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Namoro a Três

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,308,145, 1 March 1998

Gross USA:

$4,106,588

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,106,588

Company Credits

Production Co:

Largo Entertainment, Rick Lashbrook Films

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the restaurant scene when a woman offers to sleep with Max, he turns to her and says "How you doin'?", an obvious nod to his work on the show "F·r·i·e·n·d·s", where this a recurring line.

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Goofs

In the opening scene, it sounds like the preacher is pronouncing them "Husbands and Wife." To be fair, he may be saying "Husbance", but it is definitely not "Husband."

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Quotes

Jay Murphy: [to Max] I have other depressions that don't involve you.

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Connections

Features The Jerry Springer Show (1991)

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Soundtracks

Spark of My Life
Written by Ross Bon (uncredited) and Donny Nichilo (uncredited)
Performed by The Mighty Blue Kings

User Reviews

Best Buddies Who Constantly Argue?

With those stunning camera shots of Chicago and that snappy Harry Connick, Jr. song in the title sequence, "Kissing A Fool" gets off to a great start. And I liked Bonnie Hunt as the story's narrator. But the film suffers from a plot that is too predictable and from characters whose behavior is not believable.

This is one of those movies that you can see the end coming a mile away. There are virtually no plot twists to deflect the story's straight-line trajectory. As such, the story is almost too simple and unimaginative to be worth telling. To varying degrees, most romantic comedies are fairly shallow. But "Kissing A Fool" has no subtlety at all, not in plot, not in characters, not in dialogue.

Lacking any complexity, the story relies on two main characters, Jay (Jason Lee) and Max (David Schwimmer) whose behavior toward each other is not believable. They're supposed to be best buddies. But they are constantly at each other's throats. Their constant arguing not only is annoying; it calls into question their friendship. How can they be best buddies?

The two are not at all alike. Jay is bookish and cerebral; Max is your typical arrogant, cocky self-centered sports freak jerk. All that animosity between these two guys does not lend credibility to their "friendship"; yet, it is the main contrivance that propels the film's plot. Further, it renders a story conclusion that is, by extension, also not believable.

The film's acting is a tad exaggerated. I like Jason Lee, but he tends to overact in this film. Mili Avital, as the girl in between, is okay, but she doesn't have much to do. And David Schwimmer's performance is something of a hyper-masculine strut-fest. Some subtlety in acting would have helped a lot.

For all that, "Kissing A Fool" is still worth watching, once. It has credible production values, and there are occasional lines of dialogue that are funny. And I think the film's underlying concept is fine. I just wish the script and the acting could have been a little more nuanced and subtle.