The Opposite of Sex

Rating:
Summary: You really NEED to see this film!
Review: OK, first off, this review will focus on the film - not the quality of the DVD. People have reviewed this film giving it 1 Star just because of lack of extra DVD footage, poor quality etc. You're not here to review the DVD content, but to focus on the film. So in the future, please don't focus on the DVD extras, but the quality of the film. The Opposite Of Sex has to be one of the best films of the 90's. This is a scathing, dark comedy best suited for people who enjoy films that shock you and are very truthful about the society we live in. Director Don Roos does an excellent job by sparing nothing and no one. The Opposite Of Sex didn't exactly set the Box Office alight, but its distinctive tone will stay with us for years as one of the best films in quite a while.

Christina Ricci plays DeeDee Truitt. This acid-tounged, self-centered and rude teenager makes the biggest impact on the film and she also narrates the movie. This makes us see everything from her viewpoint. She comes from Louisiana, claiming to have been molested by her step-father. But because of her self-centered character, we are never sure if this is true. She goes to visit her gay half-brother, Bill, who lives in the Midwest and is a school teacher. She seduces his boyfriend, Matt. She makes him believe he's the father to her child. Not the brightest star in the night sky, he believes everything she says and leaves his boyfriend for her (he's bisexual). Lisa Kudrow stars as Lucia. She is Bill's best friend and fancies him. They both say goodbye to DeeDee and Matt. There's trouble ahead when Matt's other boyfriend, played by Jonny Galecki, demands to know where he is. Bill doesn't know where he is, so he cannot tell him. With this, Matt's other boyfriend claims that Bill tried to seduce him when he was a student at the same high school Bill teaches at.

After that, you're probably left thinking that you wouldn't watch The Opposite Of Sex if it was the last movie on the Earth. But this is a film that you HAVE to see. The acting is absolutely superb and first-rate. Christina Ricci makes a convincing change from her role as Wednesday eight years previously in The Addams Family. While Lisa Kudrow is brilliant too. She also makes a convincing case from the dizzy Phoebe in Friends to an intelligent, yet wacky, Lucia. The film moves at a fast pace to keep you shocked and entertained. But I would say the film is at its best when Christina Ricci narrates the story, keeping you up to date. At the beginning, she tells us, "I always carry a gun. You should always remember that. If you're smart, you will". This challanges the audience into thinking they can compete with her. Yet you do actually forget she keeps a gun on her at all times because you're so focused on the film. Another sign on great narration is when she is giving birth to her first child. She says, "OK, enough of that". The screen is split in two. "Here's the rest," she says. The left hand of the screen continues the story, as the right hand focuses on a mute version of DeeDee giving birth - amazing and expertly done.

This film may not be the biggest hit ever, but at least it deals with real-life issues and is frank and truthful in the telling - something you don't see in pathetic action flicks such as The Mummy or Spiderman. The Opposite Of Sex is a film you will either love or hate because it's full of sex and swearing. So love or hate, it's your choice - I went with the former...

Rating:
Summary: Sharper than most
Review: It's difficult to know quite what to make of this movie, mostly because it's hard to decide whether it's conventional or not. The set-up has Deedee (Ricci) as narrator, pregnant and landing herself on the doorstep of her half-brother Bill's only to seduce his boyfriend, convince him the baby's his and to swipe a load of Bill's cash and set him up with a sex scandal at the school he works for. Things quickly become more tangled as the real father of the child turns up and the sister of Bill's dead ex, Lucia (Kudrow) tags along for the ride.

Right from the get go you know you've got a whiz of a narrator in Ricci, this being perhaps her best role to date, as Deedee quickly informs us that she hasn't got a heart of gold and she doesn't grow one later. She ruins other people's lives and basically doesn't give a damn about them. Her dry and sardonic tone is perfect for all those moments where you think the plot will sink into clichéd territory. In addition this sets Christina Ricci out as one of the actresses of her generation (along with Kirsten Dunst), someone capable of playing diverse roles but always with a glimmering quality. It's her more than anything else that makes this movie worth watching in fact, and it's a shame that we see less of her after she escapes with Bill's money.

Although this is mostly just a conventional movie with a bit of bite, that edge does give it something else. The main flaw of the movie is that if it sets itself out as being unconventional it goes back on itself countless times. Still, there's something to be said for a movie that doesn't try and make you like its characters at all, many of whom are self-seeking, selfish or foolish, mostly all at the same time. In this perhaps it is different after all. Sure it's no classic but it's razor-sharp and, well, it's got Christina Ricci in it!

Rating:
Summary: Rorschach Test
Review: This movie is like a Rorschach Test - what you get out of it depends a great deal on what you bring to it. DeeDee starts out appearing to be very worldly wise and knowing all about sex but very little about how to be close. Perhaps the best scene belongs to Lyle Lovett who explains what you want/hope/need when your special one walks into the room. But it is true that there's a lot that goes on in this movie that does offend. It's pretty interesting to pay attention to how you react to this movie, and to what parts, even if your reaction is a yawn.

Rating:
Summary: A pretty good dark comedy
Review: This movie was quite funny. It's nice to see Christina Ricci being in a more normal movie, seeing as how she is normally playing a depressed gothic person. This movie is about a teenage girl, Deedee (Ricci), who goes to live with her half-brother,Billi, who is a homosexual. Soon, Deedee steals Bill's boyfriend, Matt, and he gets Deedee pregnant. As a result, Deedee and Matt run away to Vegas and get married. While Bill and Lucia (Lisa Kudrow) try to track the two of them down, many funny things happen along the way...but I'll just keep my mouth shut and let you be suprised. You should go see this. However, if people cursing a lot offends you, maybe you wouln't like this movie very much.

Rating:
Summary: Not a good movie!
Review: This was a very boring movie. Cristina Ricci was good, she had a new style who look good on her, she play very well the girl who fool around but she really get on my nerves and a lot of time. Lisa Kudrow was very bad in that movie, she was plain, had no character and get also in my nerves. The gay brother of Cristina in the movie is so boring, he got no personality. The movie have no real plot, the movie didn't mean nothing except it's was really boring. Well I guess it was just suppose to be a funny movie who mean nothing, well suppose to be funny I don't say it was funny!!!

Rating:
Summary: Extremely moving, and very funny!!
Review: "The Opposite Of Sex" is such an extraordinary film. If you think a comedy can't move you, and if you think a drama can't be funny, you must watch this movie. It does exactly that! The acting is top notch. While all the actors in the film deserve recognition for their work, the one that stands out the most is Lisa Kudrow. She was [cheated] out of an Oscar nomination, and win for that matter. The story is very intruiging, and original. A hard thing for a comedy these days. Also, this movie has some of the funniest lines I have ever heard, I laughed till I cried! The best thing about this film is the ending. A wonderfully poignant tapestry that will stick with you long after the movie is over. This one stays with you long after it is over, and is an unforgetable, and wonderful experience.

Rating:
Summary: Almost better than sex...
Review: With this film Christina Ricci continues her explorative string of dark little girls that she began with THE ADDAMS FAMILY. But, she's no longer a little girl - at least physically. Now she's a self-absorbed woman who will live her life by destroying others. The resulting film is a dark comedy with a surprising twist at the end.

The story structure turns standard Hollywood fare on its ear, but, like many other independent films, the plotting drags in places. Even it's own anarchy becomes status quo by the third act, watering down the shock level.

Still, this is a good film if you are tired of the regular fare, but be prepared to be offended. That's what it does best. The DVD has a good audio and widescreen video transfer.

Rating:
Summary: Opposite Attraction
Review: This Indie film from 1998 is a real winner. Deedee Truitt (Christina Ricci) pays a visit to her half brother, Bill (Martin Donovan), in Indiana. When she arrives, she turns everything upside down, with her tell it like it is style. Within in a short time, she seduces Bill's live in boyfriend, Matt (Ivan Sergei) and they run off to LA with $10,000 of Bill's money. At the same time, another of Matt's boyfriends (Johnny Galecki) blames Bill for Matt leaving with Deedee, and starts trouble with the town sheriff (Lyle Lovett). All of the performances are first rate, but Lisa Kudrow as Lucia, (she hates everything about Deedee) really is superb and makes you forget her role on T.V's "Friends".with her caustic characterization. Directed by Don Roos, OPPOSITE OF SEX, has a great understated tone that fits the film nicely. There are some genuine dramatic moments amid the chaos that will surprise you. When you are looking for a different kind of film to watch, you need look no further than this film. Just when you think you have it figured out, the storyline takes a few unexpected turns.

The DVD includes very few extras. There are a handful of deleted scenes with optional commentary from the director. The commentary will offer some great stories about filmming and trivia. Finally, viewers are given the choice of seeing the film in Widescreen or Pan and Scan. There's a lot to like about this movie, enjoy. Recommended

Rating:
Summary: opposite to Hollywood
Review: This is very unusual black comedy. There are hundreds of black humor jokes (many very smart ones) and it seems to me that the movie was made only because of these jokes (not because of some kind of interesting story). That's just how I would describe the movie. I give it 4 stars for being very funny at times and for 1 very interesting point (instead of interesting story, unfortunately) that was revealed at the very end of the movie. It's about Christina's character's real feelings. Hope this will help you.

Rating:
Summary: A most original sex comedy
Review: There were fewer than usual alternative movies released in 1998, but The Opposite of Sex makes up for half a dozen of them. It is a scathing dark comedy, best suited for people who enjoy seeing a film that writes its own formula.

Nothing and no one is spared by director and writer Don Roos, yet he still fills the story with a number of redeeming values. This is social satire rather than the nihilistic raving of a disillusioned Generation-Xer. While not destined to be seen by that many viewers, it is still a work that will be remembered long after the year's expensive formula fluff is forgotten.

Roos certainly does not hesitate to take chances. Not only is the main character Deedee [Christina Ricci] one of the rudest, self-centered teenage characters ever seen, she also narrates the movie. This means we see everything from this pathetic creature's view point. Roos and Ricci, who's come quite a distance from her days as Wednesday in The Addams Family movies, pull it off. Yes, Deedee is a dreadful young woman, but we start to see that this is all mostly a defense mechanism against a world she views as heartless and unfair. We all know people like this. They strike out furiously before the world can strike back at them.

Young Deedee leaves her rural Louisiana town, claiming later to have been molested by her stepfather. Like most of her stories, we never know for sure if this is true or not. She goes to visit her school teacher half-brother in the Midwest and promptly steals his boyfriend Matt, played with comic assurance by Ivan Sergei. Not terribly bright, he leaves town with Deedee, who's convinced him he's the father of her forthcoming child.

Her brother Bill [Martin Donovan] and his best friend Lucia [Lisa Kudrow], who has the hots for HIM, say good riddance. When Matt's other boyfriend [Johnny Galecki] shows up demanding to know where he is, Bill can't tell him because he doesn't have a clue. The lad follows through on his threat to claim Bill seduced him when he was his student at the local high school.

That should be enough about the plot to convince some people they wouldn't watch this if it were the last video on earth and to show others that, since this is obviously not a normal movie, they will have to see it.

The acting is first rate. All of the principles are people who seem to have decided at some point that it's better to be a real actor in a small, independent movie than to be a prop in a large one. They came to this project with a number of off beat films to their credit. Even Kudrow of Friends fame makes small pictures during her vacations from the series.

The story, of course, travels an improbably road. Roos keeps it fast moving, shocking and funny. Traps are laid by Deedee, the totally manipulative narrator. Things we expect to happen don't, and vice versa. The writer-director is great at making up characters. I suspect that his unflinching portrait of a trailer trash girl from Louisiana is based on some people he's known in his life. Like it or not, she's far from being a caricature. Ultimately, what really scares us about her may be her brutally honest observations about the other characters, rather than what she actually does to them.