8/5/02

As a rule, I don't seek out romantic comedies. I can appreciate them, laugh at them, and sometimes even get the whole warm fuzzies thing out of them. Still, I generally try to avoid them because there's often more interesting, less predictable fare out there (granted, I do tend to watch a lot of bad action/sci-fi movies, so that argument is kinda moot). With that said, let me say that Kissing Jessica Stein is definitely a romantic comedy. And a damn good one at that.

I didn't know too much about it going in, except that it involved a straight girl answering a personal ad for a woman seeking woman, and that was it was funny. It centers around 28 year old, single Jewish girl Jessica Stein. Frustrated with dating, she answers the aforementioned ad because it uses a favorite quote of hers. The girl who posted the ad, Helen, is a free wheeling art dealer who is dating at least 3 guys at once, but is looking for something else. The two are obviously opposite, not to mention new to dating women, and this makes for an interesting courtship.

Other than the lesbian part, it sounds like a pretty standard romantic comedy plot. It is. It's fairly predictable (with a couple vaguely surprising bits torward the end). Of course, that doesn't matter one bit. It's hilarious. The awkward courtship between them is so funny and involving that you don't care. The scenes where Jesscia is trying get past the concept of sex with a woman are priceless. Not to mention the whole Jewish aspect, which is exploited for some great moments.

What really made the movie work was the acting. Jennifer Westfeldt and Heather Juergensen (Jessica & Helen) wrote the script (they performed it as a play first), and it shows because they were really into the roles. Jessica is ingratiating yet endearing, some scenes you want to smack her, but you still really like the character. Juergensen's Helen is confident, but with vulnerable cracks showing through. The fact that they are friends in real life makes for excellent chemistry. Jessica's mother (played by Tovah Feldshuh - how's that for a Jewish name) steals every scene she's in, playing up the Jewish mother role as much as possible without sounding like an extra from Coffee Talk.

So yes, I really enjoyed a romantic comedy. It's not the first time in recent memory (i.e. the incredibly good Amelie, which is in a category by itself), but it still doesn't happen very often. It's too bad that this movie didn't see wide release, because it honestly could have done very well, even with the mainstream skittishness toward anything gay or lesbian.