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Kissing Jessica Stein 2001 |
Review by Jonathan Cornwell |
Directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld
R, 94 min. (sexuality, language) |
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Starring: Jennifer Westfeldt, Heather Juergensen, Scott Cohen, Tovah Feldshuh, Jackie Hoffman
Producers: Eden Wurmfeld, Brad Zions
Screenplay: Heather Juergensen, Jennifer Westfeldt
Cinematography: Lawrence Sher
Distributor: Fox Searchlight Pictures
Released: 3.15.02 (Limited) |
Rating:
 (out of ) |
Kissing Jessica Stein is another in a growing number of gay romantic comedies to formulate a successful endeavor without
completely alienating those in the audience that are affront at the very idea of exploration. It's always a bit precarious to
present a film with homosexual tendencies because of the homophobic nature of the majority of Americans today. In other
words, a film such as this must lightly touch upon gay themes to gain a large following from the masses. To this end,
Kissing Jessica Stein is a rousing success. Not that it wouldn't be anyway, but the film is an enjoyable time in the theater,
smartly-written and finely-acted.
What makes this film appealing is it's exploration of how relatively straight people deal with deep feelings of love towards
another straight, or in this case bisexual, person. How would this person know if they are homosexual or just extremely
attracted to a specific person? Although the film asks the question, it doesn't give a detailed or even adequate answer -
maybe that's the point. But in order to raise the question effectively, the film must be cleverly constructed to allow the
audience to ask it themselves without being forced to ponder it. In this way, the film works.
Jessica (Jennifer Westfeldt) is a straight newspaper editor whose perfectionism has alienated herself from the right man. This
leads to her response to a want-ad for companionship with another woman, Helen (Heather Juergensen), to satisfy her
curiousity. Helen, who is bisexual, lives her life in the open. She's an art dealer who takes breaks during her shows to
accompany her male lover to the back room, while also looking for a deeper relationship with a woman. Jessica finds the
idea of lesbianism frightening and maybe even a little wrong. But their instant connection is undeniable and now Jessica must
make a tough decision - reveal her relationship with Helen to her conservative Jewish family and mother (Tovah Feldshuh)
and to former boyfriend and current boss (Scott Cohen). Without this revelation, Helen will leave her for good.
Interestingly, and maybe purposively, the film has no nudity or sex scenes outside that of kissing. This decision keeps the
narrative on pace with the real point of the picture - dealing with homosexuality in regards to family and friends. The film
is so taut that it would have been nice to see a longer running length. A couple of times during the film the story skips a
few months ahead to visit various stages of the relationship - beginning, middle (revelation), and end. There is actually
very little to offend anyone who sees it, except for the occasional coarse dialogue. Otherwise it's a worthwhile effort that
should attract both straight and gay audiences.
Critical to the film's success are solid performances from Jennifer Westfeldt and Heather Juergensen, who also wrote the
screenplay based on their own stage play "Lipschtick." They're able to portray innocence (Jessica) and patience (Helen)
with impressive results. Their relationship on-screen is obviously affected by their friendship off-screen, as their comfort
level with each other is tangible. Early scenes of Jessica's resistance to Helen's advances are humorous, and even includes
a racously-funny scene where Jessica brings a manual for lovers. Supporting turns from Cohen and Feldshuh are also
effective and add critical layers of depth to a complicated relationship-oriented film. The subtleties of the picture are best
envisioned in a breathtaking scene between Feldshuh and Westfeldt when mother sees the pain in her daughter and eases
her fears by her simple acceptance of who she was and what she wanted.
At a time when romantic comedies of the Hollywood variety are stale, boring, and predictable, Kissing Jessica Stein is like
a revelation of how to make a thought provoking and thoroughly entertaining film. Invariably, some viewers will shy away
from a film involving gay themes, but because of its guarded openness, the film is watchable for all audiences. More
importantly, the film explores the issues of love that comes in many forms, in this case a deep friendship. Although
Kissing Jessica Stein avoids a risk-taking catharsis, it does resolve an above-average storyline - one that entertains and
promotes discussion without falling prey to polarizing statements about sexual orientation.
© 2002 Jonathan Cornwell
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 |
 | Masterpiece - Film perfection |
 | Excellent - A Must See |
| Good - Highly Recommended |
| Fair - Worth seeing |
| Average - Viewable, but not recommended |
| Below average - View at own risk |
| Poor - Avoid at all costs |
| Very poor - An embarassment to the film industry |
| Zero | Awful - One of the worst films ever made |
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