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Kissing Jessica Stein

Kissing Jessica Stein

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Sublime treat
Review: Kissing Jessica Stein is a sublime treat.

It's a romantic comedy with two New York City women (played by Heather Juergensen and Jennifer Westfeldt) who are fed up trying to date men and give it a go with each other. One woman is an experienced bisexual with a relaxed demeanor, the other is inexperienced (with women), very high-strung and neurotic.

Their opposite natures electrify on screen. The chemistry is astonishingly believable on the screen. Of course, it probably helps that the two female leads are also real-life friends, produced the film, wrote the screenplay, and originally starred in the off-Broadway play (which they also produced, wrote) that preceded the film.

Overall it's very clever and amusing. The dialogue is sharp and witty. It feels like a Woody Allen film, very much like "Annie Hall." If you're a fan of that type of a film, then you'll especially like this film. Despite that comparison, the film is still very refreshing and original. The funniest parts are scenes showing Jessica Stein's trepidation as she delves into lesbian intimacy. That along with many other things kept me repeatedly laughing aloud throughout the film.

The film doesn't have a preachy tone that some people may expect and be used to with gay-themed films. The issues are brought up but it's presented in a way that it doesn't throw the film off of its balance and pace.

The DVD has a nice batch of extras. I especially enjoyed the audio commentary provided by the films stars Heather Juergensen and Jennifer Westfeldt. Their journey of taking their play and bringing it to the screen is remarkable. This is their labor of love. This is my favorite film for 2002 so far. Buy it. Watch it, relax and enjoy.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Hilarious movie with a very lame ending!
Review: Don't get me wrong, I liked this movie a lot! It was very funny, witty and at times emotional.. I think I watched it three times in the two days that I own it... It's just the ending... That had to be the worst 7 minutes of cinema ever! Everytime I watch this movie from now on I will not be watching the ending. If it wasn't for the ending, this would be a four-star movie. Also, I would like to thank this movie for introducing me to Rilke...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Why Do Men Find This So Exciting?
Review: A very sweet, funny, charming, and engaging movie. It is refreshingly free of any obvious political axe grinding. Indeed, as hinted in the movie, it might be considered politically incorrect by some gay activists. It can hardly be said to represent much of anything in the spectrum of lesbian lifestyles. But it is a novel, refreshing, and finally a little sad, but hopeful, romantic comedy, that just happens to involve two initially straight, and very good looking, women. The "R" rating has got to be simply for the fact of the two women kissing each other: The sex is literally no more explicit than that. "Mulholland Drive" is the place to go for a steamier sex scene in a mainstream movie. "Jessica Stein" is about love, friendship, and personal growth in a very clever and light but memorable way.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: I wouldn't have minded kissing Jessica!
Review: ...I found the movie very humorous as well as very touching (the scene between Jessica and her mother, played by Tovah Feldshuh, 3 time Tony nominated acress). The close to the vest ending didn't bother me a bit. Hope others feel the same.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fun, relevant, entertaining
Review: Just out of boredom and coming off of a huge train of loser dates (who make you bust a gut laughing), Jessica Stein decides, on a whim, to answer a "Women Seeking Women" personals ad. The results: Jessica expands her horizons and is forced to a higher degree of self-awareness, as are the people closest to her.

Leaving aside any "political" statements that all gay-themed movies seem pigeon-holed toward making, "Stein" is a funny, yet touching, film. Watching Jessica's failed dates, followed by her attempts to keep her newfound lesbian relationship private, allows us the opportunity to peek into this girl's neuroses, which, let's face it, are not that uncommon.

But the beauty of this movie is how empathetic Jessica and Helen become to the viewer. I found myself truly admiring these women, and rooting for the success of their relationship, despite all odds. I honestly felt Jessica's pain on the porch of her house during that scene with her mother. The characters truly come to life on screen, almost as much as if I knew them and had brunch with them last week.

Having looked over the reviews on here -- which appear split between "it's a cop-out ending" and "it's a great ending" -- I've simply come to the conclusion that you can't please all of the people all of the time. Better that the movie gave us an ending, as opposed to some other movies I've seen ("Coming Out" comes to mind) where what happens next is completely up in the air.

Watch this movie, laugh, think - and enjoy.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Funniest in 2002
Review: I really loved this one. Very very funny.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: at least bad Sandra Bullock movies star Sandra Bullock
Review: Lifeless, predictable, trite, cliched, charmless, shallow, sloppy, not funny, maudlin, slow, uninspired...did I leave anything out? This was a huge disappointment. I didn't laugh once. What was so funny? You could see the jokes coming a mile away (cliches breed more cliches). If this was an episode of Sex and the City, you'd say to yourself "wow, that was really weak.." But somehow independent films get a pass.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Warm and funny
Review: OK, OK, I get why some people were upset by the ending, but consistently perfect endings really went out with Rogers and Hammerstein.

This movie is terrific. It captures New York, Jewish family life (the scene at Sabbath services is absolutely hysterical), straight single women's angst, coming out angst and breaking up angst. Despite all the angst, it's really a funny movie and I loved it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An intelligently and excellently acted movie
Review: A refreshing movie that could not have been better conveyed to its audience than by its writers. A slice of real life without the stereotypes and big actresses, instead with incredible refreshing new talent that makes it funny, believable, witty and well paced. The story is for you to discover, the merits to this "gem" is for you to decide, but definitely a movie to reckon with. It's so hard to find good comedy these days, you won't be dissapointed with this one. So true to New York you almost feel part of the scene.Hope to see more from this entrepreneurial duet.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Sure-Fire Winner
Review: This is, by far, one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. If you're interested in how an uncomfortable, insecure meeting turns into passionate love, followed by a transformation into true friendhip, watch this film! Funny, heartbreaking, passionate, confusing and just maybe a little bit of what you have experienced in your own life.


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