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The Opposite of Sex

The Opposite of Sex

List Price: $27.95
Your Price: $25.16
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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Very funny - especially Christina Ricci
Review: This is a very funny movie, especially in the writer's extremely self-concious use of Christina Ricci's voiceover narration. Her character is a hoot! The movie is a little weaker when dealing with more serious pathos, which seem somewhat out of place in such an irreverent movie. The picture and sound quality of the DVD is excellent. The extra scenes and audio commentary don't give much insight into the film. I could only stomach 15 minutes of the audio commentary track which was too stream-of-conciousness for its own good.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: ;w;dw
Review: I want i

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: If you're a fan of small films that entertain without EFX
Review: I saw this film in the theater not more than a couple of months before it found its way to DVD. It might play even beter on the small screen. Christina Ricci gives a wonderful performance as the piece of white trailer trash you'll mostly hate but not completely despise. The story is engrossing and entertaining, with good writing. If you're a fan of arthouse films, leaning towards John Watters' types of character development (the film "Pecker" comes to mind, also with Ricci), you'll like this flick.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The smartest comedy of 1998!!
Review: Though not the funniest movie of 1998 (that goes to "There's Something About Mary"), this was definitely the smartest comedy of the year. Be prepared for a like/hate relationship with the lead character (Christina Ricci) as she manipulates you and everyone in the film. Whether poking fun at death scenes or voiceovers or the sympathy music in movies designed to tug at our hearts, she is a breath of fresh air in an industry full of stale, predictable characters.

Despite the fact that she seems to be a sexhound who can't appreciate love, this movie is also about real love. When Lyle Lovett says to Lisa Kudrow that "love is when you are the first thing your partner sees when he/she walks into a crowded room" (paraphrased), you realize that this not just a bitter comedy but one that also embraces true love over sex every time.

It's true that this movie isn't for everyone; but if you're willing to laugh at the crazy misfortunes that sex can bring, then this movie will have you laughing again and again. Enjoy!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Ricci's perfectly irreverent and Roos' scribe sparkles
Review: Although it did not receive a single Oscar nomination, "The Opposite of Sex" will be the kind of movie that survives long after this year's statues have been handed out. Christina Ricci, whose become the new Drew Barrymore bad girl teen of Hollywood lays it on thick as DeeDee Truitt, an atypical teen who uses sex as her weapon that is backed by an unbreakable stride, a completely selfish candor and lack of political correctness usually reserved for the most hardcore of cynics. Narrating in the beginning, she states "I don't have a heart of gold, and I don't grow one later, okay? But relax. There's other people a lot nicer coming up...we call them losers." The listless DeeDee, who hates her world, starts over when she shows up at the doorstep of Bill (Martin Donovan, exceptionally adept at the empathy), her gay half-brother in Indiana who takes her in despite apprehension. Not more than a couple of weeks go by before she hightails it out of the house, and with Bill's boyfriend, Matt (Ivan Sergei), in tow. The heartbroken Bill then goes in search of the duo along with Lucia (Lisa Kudrow), who hates DeeDee and loves Bill. Throw in further diatribe of Matt's all-talk-no-tough ex (Johnny Galecki) and the quirky Sheriff Carl Tippett (Lyle Lovett), and one has the makings of an independent classic. Discourse runs amok between these individuals, and with credit going to writer/director Don Roos, every person shines in their assorted role, no matter how big or small. Roos, making his debut behind the camera, gives a distinct edge to both the characterizations and the dialogue spark that makes everything go up like a four-alarm fire. Sympathy's hard to come by in this black comedy, because DeeDee's candid ways make one think twice before getting emotionally involved. The bonuses on the DVD include five deleted scenes, that amount to about twelve minutes' worth of footage, as well as an audio commentary by Roos, producer Michael Besman and editor David Codron, who pound themselves too hard on their own work. The tagline says it all for this unforgettable flick: "You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be offended." And it's worth it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Must see movie
Review: I love this movie, ever since I originally saw it in a college class a few years ago. Christina Ricci is an absolute dream in this, and Lisa Kudrow is about as far removed from her Phoebe character as you could possibly get. I wasn't so keen on Martin Donovan's character, Bill, so much. He was very emotionless.

It's very fast-paced, with a very sarcastic narrative from Christina's character, which isn't intrusive, and fills you in on stuff you might not have noticed/obvious stuff/stuff that isn't necessary to show in the movie, but needs to be mentioned. It is highly amusing, witty and provides the audience with a release during tense and heavily themed situations. Christina's narrative is quite funny at times, as she comments on her own comments and on the movie itself, and most of the jokes come from her spoken lines. The film is suitably gritty and very well acted. Every character (apart from Bill) is suitably addictive to watch, which you want to know about DeeDee and her life. She smokes, she drinks, she pinches her nipples so they show through her top. A girl we'd all want to be.

The director has the audience in the palm of their hand when at one point during the movie, it shows how easily we can be manipulated by mood and music as well as the points that we show in a character's life.

This movie comes highly recommended, and a must-have for your collection of DVDs. It needs to be seen (and heard) to be believed. And it's the perfect movie to watch to realise you're not the only one out there with problems.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Dark, edgy comedy with a good story
Review: I liked this film. I saw it in the theater first and bought it when it was put on home video. I've shown it to several friends and they all enjoyed it. Lisa Kudrow and Christina Ricci are great in this film. Unfortunately some people will be offended by the un-pc views of Lisa Kudrow's character, Lucia, but I guess the truth hurts. Great characters and great writing. The film touches on other lifestyles, the consequences of careless choices, and differing opinions with biting wit. The fact that this film was so good prompted me to watch Don Roos follow-up, All Over the Guy, which was one of the all-time worst films ever made.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not bad but overrated
Review: "The Opposite Of Sex" is a very strange movie. It tries a little too hard to be hip and "edgy" - mainly by having a protagonist, Dedee (played well by Christina Ricci), who's not only not a nice person, but who also tells the audience as much in the many voice-overs she does throughout the course of the movie. The problem is, the voice-overs seem to be there to keep Ricci's presence in the viewer's mind, since she's actually in very little of the movie as a visible character. There is lots of screen time given to Dedee's half-brother Bill, very well underplayed by Martin Donovan; and way too much screen time given to Lucia, the sister of Bill's now deceased boyfriend, played by Lisa Kudrow in a grating, one-note performance that has been inexplicably praised to the skies -- Some people thought she was "robbed" of an Oscar nomination for this movie, which I find laughable. Her character here is in a bad mood almost all the time, making caustic (and unoriginal) comments about everyone, but Kudrow uses the same vocal and physical mannerisms as she does on "Friends" - the farthest away from Phoebe she gets is her mousy brown hair color. She never gets Lucia to seem like a real person though. To be fair, part of the blame must be laid at the feet of Don Roos, the writer/director: Lucia's motivations are never explained, and why she follows Bill around makes no sense except as part of a (possibly incestuous) obsession she had with her own brother -- if the script bothered to explore this aspect of her character it might have been more interesting, but as it is she might as well not be in the movie at all. The same could be said for Lyle Lovett's policeman Carl (and the heavy-handedness of the dialogue right before Carl and Lucia kiss for the first time is painful). Even the motivations of Dedee are vague - making a mess out of other people's lives only makes sense if Dedee is going to get something out of it herself, but what she's really after is never made clear, so although at the end of the movie she says she's changed, it seems lame and contrived - she's just smoked and drank her way through a pregnancy and snuck off leaving the baby with her half brother, so how exactly is she different? And some of Dedee's un-PC observations (like her view of homosexuality and AIDS) are supposed to be knee-slappers, but instead they're just ... well, lame and contrived again, like a lot of the script. Also problematic is that, between Dedee's voice-overs and Lucia's non-stop ranting about everything that's happening, the viewers are constantly being told what to think and feel about characters and situations, instead of just being allowed to experience the story as it unfolds and make up their own minds.

There are some bright spots though. I'm guessing that the writer/director is a (...)male himself, because the three principal gay male characters are the most authentic and best-written characters, and consequently the best-acted as well. In addition to Donovan's strong performance (some complain that he is too low-key, but to me this makes sense for a character who's been paralyzed by grief), Ivan Sergei is terrific as Matt, the sweet but confused boy toy who is not quite as clueless as everyone thinks; and Johnny Galecki is hilarious as Jason, Matt's conniving and possessive "other" boyfriend who's a drama queen - some reviewers complained that Galecki's performance is over the top and stereotypical, but I thought he was realistic and also very funny. It seems to me that Roos could have told a more effective story by concentrating on these three characters and fleshing them out more - giving so much importance to Dedee and especially to Lucia, serves mainly to muddy everything up, IMO. Another plus for the movie is that it looks great - the cinematographer did a remarkable job. One caveat about the DVD though - the disc features a full screen transfer of the film on one side and a "widescreen" transfer on the other; however the widescreen version, while it does give a bit more picture on the left and right sides, seems to have cut off some of the top and bottom of the frame as well. So what's the point?

Although it thinks it's more profound than it really is, "The Opposite Of Sex" is not a bad movie, but it won't be everyone's cup of tea, so I would recommend renting it before buying it.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: The Opposite of Sex (1998)
Review: Interesting movie about a young woman who learns that people aren't all bad, that family and relationships can in fact be a good thing.

I have to admit this movie didn't do much for me. There were some some funny parts but overall the movie did not move me. Perhaps it's the fact that none of the characters were very believable or that I didn't identify with them or, most likely, that I found the protagonist truly annoying.

The dialog was well done, witty with a good mix of humour.

Special Features
Trailer was good and didn't give away too much of the movie. I enjoyed watching the deleted scenes and watching them again with the director's commentary.

Recommend: Maybe
Watch Again: Probably Not

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Sooo much fun!
Review: This movie is so wickedly funny. Ricci is so talented, I just adore her as an actress. This one will make you laugh out loud and say "oh no she didn't!"


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