Kissing Jessica Stein

Rating:
Summary: Lesbian movie that's better suited for straight people.
Review: Yes, Kissing Jessica Stein is a funny, well-acted, and well-written movie. But if your expecting a good lesbian romantic comedy, you'll be disappointed.

If you're straight, you'll love this film. If you're a lesbian, you're likely going to have mixed feelings about the movie.
In the end, this movie sends a VERY important message to straight audiences: you can't choose your sexual orientation.

It's disappointing that Hollywood can't produce a "true" lesbian film as good a Kissing Jessica Stein. (Those who watch a lot of lesbian films will know what I'm saying.) Why couldn't the writers just made Jessica Stein a lesbian????

To sum up: it's a good movie that will leave most lesbians depressed in the end. This lesbian is "Walking Out On Jessica Stein"!

Rating:
Summary: A movie that will take your heart away...
Review: Jessica Stein, a young, New Yorker, Jewish journalist, is going through a rough time. She hasn't dated for a year and is being nagged by her mother to hurry up and start dating more so that she could get married! So, she went on multiple dates with guys... all turning out for the worst. Her best friend then started reading the personal ad section out loud to her one-day during work hoping to help Jessica find 'Mr. Right'. Reading an ad out loud to Jessica, Jessica was immidiatly drawn in to only find out one problem... the ad was in the women seeking women section. Since nothing else had seemed to work for herself though, she decided to try the immposible for her... going on a date with another woman.
This is when Jessica met Helen, another girl who had thought she was perfectly straight, but decided to take a daring road herself. Jessica was very relunctant at first and almost walked out with out even saying a word to Helen. But after siting down to have a drink with her, she found Helen to be everything she was looking for in a man, except for the fact she was a woman.
Kissing Jessica Stien is a hilarious, modern, romantic movie about a girl tring to find 'Mr. Right' then tring to recoganize the diffrence in the end between real love or just being best friends.

Rating:
Summary: A romantic comedy with a brain as well as a heart
Review: This was the best romantic comedy I have seen. Don't let the lesbian aspect of the scenaro scare you away. It not so much straight versus gay as it is about love, friendship, and finding one's soulmate. While the ending is bittersweet, it is an altogether enjoyable movie. Best for those with an open mind.

Rating:
Summary: 5 Reasons to See 'Jessica Stein'
Review: A fantastic movie-going experience. Even if you're a self-defacating person, this movie will get your endomorphines pumping.

[That will seem funnier after you've seen the movie.]

Here are 5 reasons to see 'Kissing Jessica Stein':

1. Not only are Jennifer Westfeldt and Heather Juergensen superb actresses, they are persistent and talented entrepreneurs as well. They sheparded this movie through development hell and produced a brilliant movie for $980,000. To date the movie has grossed over $6 million. Let's hear it for perseverance and vision. Go out and support these two businesswoman.

2. The talent in the movie. It runs very deep - beyond the obvious talents of the two co-stars, don't forget about Tovah Feldshuh, Scott Cohen and (especially) Jackie Hoffman (hilarious as Jessica's cubicle-mate).

3. The New York City setting. Studios asked Jennifer and Heather to consider moving the filiming to Toronto and other 'cheap' locales. The girls insisted on New York. See the movie and you'll agree - this could not have been filmed anywhere but NYC. Go see the movie and get a slice of what makes New York special.

4. The stars themselves. The studios pushed to get 'name' actresses like Lisa Kudrow and Courtney Cox for the roles. The girls insisted that only they would play the parts, or the movie wouldn't get done. You'll feel rewarded by their stubborn streak when you see the film.

5. The script - these girls know comedy. Check out the "Dates From Hell" scene. You'll bust a gut. Can't wait for the DVD because I've read interviews in which Juergensen says that a lot of hilarious "Dates From Hell" material was left on the cutting room floor.

Rating:
Summary: What An Awesome Movie!!
Review: Go and see this movie! Lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, straight, ANYONE! Heartwarming, charming, adorable, wonderful! I have seen it twice already, and I'm not a lesbian, so I am living proof...not just a "chic flic" or "lesbian only" film. Fun for the whole family, well almost...too sexy for kids. Please, please, support this type of movie!

Rating:
Summary: The best made lesbian themed film yet?
Review: A good friend and fellow lesbian told me to drag my partner to this movie. She claimed it was the best lesbian film she'd seen. "And no sex, which you know is good"...

So is this really a lesbian film. The answer is yes. But it also a very funny very mainstream romantic comedy. The script is fantastic. The casting is perfect. An the portrayal of life as a single woman in New York is right on target.

Very unusual for a lesbian themed film - there is no sex. I agree with my friend that this is a blessing, since usually the sex scenes are awful. Also very unusual for a lesbian film it is actually well made. It looks like the producers had some money. There are also no stereotypes of gays and lesbians. You could even take your straight friends without being embarrassed

This film is a breath of fresh air in a genre that sorely needs it.

Rating:
Summary: Funny & quirky
Review: "Kissing Jessica Stein" is a romantic comedy/drama about a single woman, Jessica Stein, who I like to call the female Woody Allen. She is neurotic, funny, quirky, intelligent, and also very likable. Although she is much more attractive than Woody.
She becomes very downhearted about dating and decides to answer a personal ad in the "women seeking women" section because she likes the quote in the ad.
The woman who places the ad is Helen. She is funny, smart, but certainly not neurotic like Jess. She is looking for something different in her life that she hasn't tried before.
Eventually they meet....And Jessica goes from downhearted to down right happy. I am not one to totally rehash an entire movie and it's plot in my reviews. I recommend this movie because it is refreshingly funny, really funny, and just an all around entertaining time out at the cinema. Also, the acting by all the actors is great, especially the actress who plays Jessica's mother, Tovah Feldshuh. She plays the role of the overbearing mom to perfection. The script was written by the two actresses that played Jess and Helen, and it is so amazingly well written and produced. There are a lot of great lines, many comical parts to this movie, and some very tender momments between jess and her mom, and jess and Helen.
I HIGHLY recommend this!!

Rating:
Summary: I Laughed, but There Were Surprises in Store for Me
Review: I saw the previews of "Kissing Jessica Stein" and thought it looked like a funny movie about a Jewish American Princess's flirtation with the idea of embarking on a lesbian relationship. The trailers said Jessica would have to choose between "a man who's almost impossible, and the woman who's almost perfect." I thought I had figured out the movie darn near entirely from the coming attractions, and that I would be in command at the movie.

But I was wrong. The movie took some turns I didn't really expect. Frankly, I was honestly shocked that Jessica and Helen truly do become lovers--I thought it was going to remain that Jessica wouldn't be able to "go all the way", a parody of '50s cheerleaders and their Ken doll boyfriends. I wasn't prepared for the actual realization of their lesbian affair. I wasn't in control at all--I didn't know where it was going to go, and what was going to happen. But despite the unease that did cause in me, I thought this was a really funny movie, but yet not one without poignance.

I was genuinely moved by the scene between Jessica and her mom, played by Tovah Feldshuh, as the mother demonstrates a better knowledge of her daughter than Jessica suspected. She provides such an absolution to her daughter that I felt so desperately unhappy for all those who can never come out to their families, who must keep such a large and integral part of themselves unspoken.

Why only 4 stars, and not 5? Like some of the previous reviewers, I thought the ending was something of a cop-out. At the last minute, they decided to play it safe. Now, I'm a straightGal, but if I were a lesbian, I know I'd be disappointed by the last scene. However, I suppose the best way to look at it is this: The movie made a lot of strides as it was, showing attractive women as positive gay role models. I'm sure most folks would have to agree that the earliest attempts to dare depict male homosexual themes in mainstream American movies could only go so far. So why would you think that "Kissing Jessica Stein" ought to be different and could go the full distance as one of the first mainstream lesbian-themed movies?

Like John Hurt's wonderful depiction of Quentin Crisp in "The Naked Civil Servant", the two performances in "Kissing Jessica Stein" have given me something to think about in regards to attitudes towards same-sex relationships, while being very funny to boot. I'd recommend this movie to anyone except the extremely conservative, but maybe even they might be surprised by their own reactions.

Rating:
Summary: Kissing Jessica Stein
Review: This movie is so hilarious... Outstandingly funny!!! Although
the story evolved around an "unconventional" type of love relationship, the actors (Heather & Jennifer) performance were
excellent. They did the movie in very good taste. I love Tovah Feldshuh(Jessica's Mom) I think her acting was great.

Rating:
Summary: Go watch it, it's fun!
Review: This is a movie that will hit home for oh so many singletons who know the scene too well and are searching for love in other, less explored, areas. Jessica takes a plunge and, for better or worse, she ends up with an unexpected result and a better, more profound, understanding of herself.

In a way, the movie is a hymn to making your own mistakes instead of gaining wisdom from mistakes of others. But isn't that true that you get to know thyself much better through a first-hand experience? Well, Jessica does exactly that, and the result is something we all wish for - better understanding of thyself and the world around.

On a negative side, the leading actress seemed to have either a speech impediment of some sort, or she was just poorly trained in the art of speech. Whatever it was, it made it difficult to understand her a few too many times.

Overall, this is a movie for those with an open mind, conservatives will probably have hard time grasping certain points of the movie.