Kissing Jessica Stein

I've wanted to watch this movie for a long time, but time has passed and I've always pushed for later. Well, it finally happened, and I'm glad it did.

Basically what I have to say, trying to avoid spoilers, is that the script (more specifically the dialogues) and the work of the actors are really incredible, two very talented actresses and little known to me until then, the direction is very competent, the soundtrack is quite pleasant, only the story itself is silly and forgettable, as well as the plot has some flaws and an ending with no guts in my opinion (to say that the ending has no guts is a spoiler?). So, basically, it's a movie that is worthwhile for the pleasantness of the dialogues and scenes and for the work of interpretation than for the inane story itself.

I even went to get more information about the actresses' work after this film, but one of them almost didn't work anymore and the other one only did some second-rate work. I don't know if somehow there was some prejudice with the theme of "Kissing Jessica Stein" that prevented them from taking off professionally, which would be really a shame, because they did a beautiful job here.

Overall a cute movie, 6.5 out of 10.

This movie is often described as 'When Sally met Sally...', and that is an accurate portrayal of what this movie is. It's a love story like any other, but this story is different. We have the normal 'two people meet and fall in love' scenario, but the difference here is that these two characters are the same sex, and that's what sets the film apart from it's counterparts. The central character is the lady from the title; Jessica Stein. Jessica is caught in a New York metropolis; populated by shallow people, people that are more interested in setting dates up with their friends and learning the dictionary cover to cover than they are in forming proper relations with people. This is the reason that Jessica can't find herself a man, she isn't happy to settle for second best and she wants more from a relationship than any man she knows can give her. So, after being told why she can't find herself a man by her big-headed colleague, Josh Myers; Jessica decides to step outside of her box a little and answers an ad in the 'women seeking women' section of the newspaper.

Enter Helen Cooper; the lady that placed the ad, and seasoned bi-sexual. She's sexy, quirky, funny and all together lovable; as Jessica says at one point; "Who wouldn't want to have sex with you?", and that is my thoughts entirely. At first, Jessica is cautious, she is predominantly straight at the end of the day and she's in over her head at first. However, the two hit it off almost immediately, and we get to watch their romance blossom. The fact that lesbianism (or homosexuality in general) is taboo is always apparent throughout this film. Helen is more of a free spirit, and the only friends of hers that we see are gay anyway, so she is always open about it. It's not the same story for Jessica, however; she's always been straight, so being open about such a relationship isn't so easy for her. That's the second half of this story; not only is it a comedy; it's also a social commentary, and it rings true not just for this subject; but just about anything that people do that isn't of the norm.

The two leads are played very well by Jennifer Westfeldt (Jessica) and Heather Juergensen (Helen). These two not only do the acting, but they also wrote the film. It is evident that women wrote it, as it has a very feminine feel throughout. There is no sex in the movie, which might disappoint some viewers and instead the movie focuses on the relationship between the women and the impact that it has on their lives. This is a very good thing, as what could have been lost in a myriad of nudity and sexual innuendo, actually comes off as a very personal study of a taboo relationship. The film is also very funny. The humour on offer isn't overly blatant, and is mostly very dry; but it's definitely there and certain moments of the film literally had me in stitches.

Despite all that I've so far, however; this movie isn't perfect. The character of Jessica, although obviously born of the social-conscious New York atmosphere, and therefore it is to be expected, sometimes goes over the top and can come across as being very annoying. Aside from that, the film features far too much music. It's practically saturated in it, and it's always that sad women's elevator music that I hate. The film also loses steam in it's third act, and never regains the humour and pace of the first two. Like (too) many romance films, Kissing Jessica Stein features an ambiguous ending. Call me old fashioned, but I like a film to end properly and therefore I don't like ambiguous endings, so that was a turn-off for me. However, Kissing Jessica Stein is an underrated gem and is most definitely romantic comedy at the top of it's game. See it, you won't regret it.

Superficially, one could easily be deceived into mistaking this as a story about non-conventional relationships, or for that matter, that it is a film about "women's" issues. But aside from the fact that the principal characters are women, it is about the all too common problem of relationships. Jessica is very neurotic, expecting rather too much from each relationship while yet giving too little, with the result that no relationship is ever quite "perfect" enough for her, and mostly she ends up feeling lonely. It's not that she doesn't "like" males, but that she can always find something wrong with them. Then she meets Helen, a hedonist, bored with males for different reasons, and they become launched on a journey of discovery together following an awakening in the form of a kiss.

If the film limited its scope to growth through discovery and self- realization, such that Jessica overcame her neurotic perfectionism and Helen surpassed her hedonism, it would have been a much better movie. Unfortunately, it is far too self-conscious and desultory, like Jessica herself, expecting to accomplish too much while delivering too little, wondering over far too much time, and ending without adequately addressing the relationship issues it began with. Indeed, while it "pretends" to question conventional relationship values, it actually promotes them, after a brief detour which mostly begs the question. No doubt it was intended to provoke, but like Jessica, mostly it's just a tease.

Jessica is Jewish, uptight, slightly neurotic and single. Everyone around her is married, dating, pregnant or something and she has to take grief from her family who want to see her "happy". Try as she might she can't find a guy that she likes enough to see twice. So when she sees an advertising from a woman looking for company she strangely finds herself responding and turning up to meet the bisexual Helen. The easy chat they have overcomes Jessica repulsion at the whole idea and soon they have become more than just friends. However can Jessica accept the truth herself far less be honest with others.

This is a strange mix of a film that mostly does enough to work. In some ways it seems to be a quirky independent film but in many ways it is just an OK mainstream comedy. Jessica herself seems to be a strange mix between the neurotic side of Woody Allen, the quirky side of Ally McBeal and the female side of Bridget Jones. It is a strange mix but it more or less works as a piece of entertainment even if it isn't as sassy and fresh as it thinks it is. The relationship between Jessica and Helen is delivered in a pacey fashion that doesn't quite ring true due to the lack of depth to it but it does enough to keep things moving along. Laughs are not that common but the general amusing air carries it along and, although the romance is basic and the characters thin, they it is easy viewing and they still engage if you are in an undemanding mood.

Westfeldt overplays her neurotic character a little bit but she just manages to keep her convincing. She has an easy chemistry with Lake which really helps cover up the lacking material they both have to deal with; it helps that they wrote it and were probably very in touch with what they were trying to do, even if they didn't necessarily do what they could have done. The rest of the cast pretty much match them in turning in workable but unspectacular performances – not their failing but more to do with the fact that the script is breezy and light and not something a lot of depth can be brought out of. Herman-Wurmfeld's direction matches the light material and keeps it breezy.

Overall this is a pretty sweet little film although not as fresh and fun as it thinks it is. The two leads could have done more as writers but they do have a good feel for the material and their performances help cover the material. Not many laughs or insights but it is consistently amusing and nice enough to be worth watching if you are looking for something undemanding.

I really enjoyed this movie. It was hilarious, and very familiar at some degree. Everything in the movie went well until the end. I honeslty wish it would have turned out a little differnet then it did, but otherwise, it was funny, and very touching.