| Kissing Jessica Stein | 
Rated: R
Review: 7
Showing @:
Celebration Cinemas
Mon-Thurs- 12:40, 3:00, 5:20, 8:00
Fri- 12:40, 3:00, 5:20, 8:00, 10:35
Sat- 10:25, 12:00, 3:00, 5:20, 8:00, 10:35
Sun- 10:25, 12:40, 3:00, 5:20, 8:00, 10:35
This romanitc comedy about two single women who seek each other out after growing tired of dating men is endearing, warm and funny — often laugh-out-loud hilarious.
| | | Back to movie listings |
By Christy LeMire
Associated Press "Kissing Jessica Stein" might just be revolutionary for realistically depicting relationships as fluid, amorphous phenomena - between men or women, straight or gay. The romantic comedy about two single women who seek each other out after growing tired of dating men is endearing, warm and funny - often laugh-out-loud hilarious. So it's disappointing that after providing such insight in such a charming way, its ending should feel so pat and safe. Without revealing too much, it's as if the filmmakers blushed and shied away from going all the way. Until then, "Kissing Jessica Stein" and its co-writers and stars, Jennifer Westfeldt and Heather Juergensen, more than support the buzz they've received. Eminently likable, the actresses have an easy chemistry with each other, the result of performing these roles since 1996, when they created them for the off-off-Broadway play "Lipschtick." Westfeldt stars in the title role as an extremely neurotic, Jewish copy editor for a fictional New York City newspaper. She's approaching 30. And with her brother getting married and her best friend having a baby, she's worried that she'll never find a love of her own. A funny series of futile first dates frazzles Jessica even further. Then she stumbles upon a personal ad that sings to her in the Village Voice - but it's in the Women Seeking Women section. On a whim, she calls and agrees to meet for drinks with WASPy art gallery manager Helen Cooper (Juergensen). Their nervous first moments together morph into friendship, then tentative kisses, and eventually, love - though at times, it's hard to understand what Helen sees in Jessica. She's cute and good-hearted, but admittedly miserable and painfully prudish. "I took out an ad and I end up with the Jewish Sandra Dee - I mean, what are the odds?" Helen tells two male friends at the gallery - a funny but stereotypically flamboyant homosexual couple. As they get more serious, Jessica and Helen struggle over whether to admit their affair to friends and family - notably, Jessica's matchmaking mother (an over-the-top Tovah Feldshuh), her best friend (Jackie Hoffman) and her ex-boyfriend from college (Scott Cohen), who happens to be her boss. The conflict provides some of the film's most moving moments. While the writing is sharp, the movie is technically fuzzy; the cinematography isn't as crisp as it should be. In one scene, the letters on a sign in the background are backward, the sloppy result of reversing the film. Also, director Charles Herman-Wurmfeld lets the action drag, especially toward the end, when the narrative jumps ahead in three-month spurts before reaching its conclusion. But "Kissing Jessica Stein" deserves credit for trying to innovate the hackneyed romantic comedy genre - and, mostly, succeeding. |
