F
I hated this film.

Hysterical and it has a heart. One of this centuries true romantic comedy gems.

10/10 (A+)

HOLY SHIT! TWO people have given it an F so far? What is wrong with everyone? The second person that gave it an F and didn't post probably didn't even see it . Anyway, this movie is definitely not for everyone. My friends all loved it but my brother and my sister's don't "get it." The big words were just way over their heads and they totally didn't understand the movie at all. At least it got excellent reviews though and has a big following. I myself don't see how someone could give it an F unless they didn't understand the dialogue and the movie was too fast and talky for them, OR unless they belong to a Jerry Falwell fan club and don't like it because of their extreme religious beliefs.

Alright, now another person gave this an "F", without posting of course. Now I'm definitely convinced this one was because of my last post complaining about it. Someone did it just to spite me [-(...

There are hidden posters, who can still vote but don't post, Mike.

Yeah I know. And they are obviously trashing this movie to spite me .

Maybe I am

*clicks 'F'*

MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Stop giving it bad grades I'd vote right now but my computer is being an ass

This is ridiculous . I'm sure most of the people that gave it an "F" haven't even seen it so I'd advise anyone who hasn't seen the movie yet and is thinking about seeing it to ignore those ratings.

After you guys see this, you should just let it marinate before you give it a final grade :wink:

LOL! I love using that word now .

Well-acted and generally sweet. An excellent film.

9/10 (A-)

B+


I think the best description for Kissing Jessica Stein is that it is a well-done mixture of Sex and the City and some older Woody Allen relationship dramedies. Only with lesbians (well, mostly). Unlike some other films that tried to copy Allen's style and failed, this one actually does it pretty well since it adds its own fresh note to it. Mostly, it's thanks to the great interplay between the both actresses Jennifer Westfeldt and Heather Juergensen. In particular Juergensen's exuberant and lively portrayal of Helen impressed me in this film. I also liked the way they handled the relationship between the two. Not too many clichés, not overly sweet, yet sweet enough. I liked the whole beginnings and the development of their relationship. It was not even the fact that these were two women instead of a guy and a gal that made this thing fresh, it's just the whole approach to the characters, the well-written sharp dialogue and some good bits of Allen-like humor. Overall I just liked that the film didn't really make a big deal out of the fact that this was a same-sex relationship and much rather just dealt with it as if it were your usual romcom couple. There are no gratuitous lesbian moments here, not much more awkwardness than usual. There's the typical lifelike giddiness of the first-time kiss, the blossoming romance and all that. As I said, it is sweet, but not too much so and not as cliché-ridden as most romcoms are nowadays.

The supporting characters are sadly a bit bland here as the whole film really focuses a lot on Helen and Jessica. They try to bring in something on the other characters here and their relationships with Jessica, but that just didn't work for me. On the whole I was enjoying the film a lot...until the ending. I can't tell much without spoiling things a lot, but after the whole movie and all the characters went through...well, it certainly is a Woody Allen-like approach there as well and it's a somber ending..but in this case I actually did not like that it ended this way for the characters. Ah well, I still enjoyed this film a whole lot more than I expected. If you wanna see a well-done romcom that you probably haven't seen yet - check out Kissing Jessica Stein!


Oh and four F's in the poll for it are quite ridiculous.

It's a fascinating, intelligent, and very entertaining examination of sexuality and love. KJS covers homosexuality with a blunt yet appropriate edge that is rarely found. It's witty dialogue and clever script keeps the viewer on their toes and gives them plenty to digest. The film does not take itself at all seriously, as many gay films are tempted to do, but rather allows a free flow of humor and insightfulness to run. Its a relatively simple film but its successful on all of its attempts and has a somewhat surprising ending that really wraps things up and gives a good final summary. Overall I quite loved it, and was glad to see a movie that wasn't afraid to talk about sex but at the same time didn't do it with the relish of a 9th grader.

5/5

I'm so glad you loved it . You didn't say anything about the acting though. Did you enjoy Westfeldt's performance?

I found her to be quite good at the neurotic crazy mess, but on the whole I thought both Heather Jurgensen and her character, helen, were more likeable and more fun to see on screen. All around the acting was pretty solid. The whole thing was made to feel very real and almost like a big budget version of a home video documenting someones life, and the actors all succeed at fully bringing that to light.

I'm disappointed to hear you say that . I just ADORE Jennifer Westfeldt. She is so amazing. But of course this is the first thing you've seen her in (maybe you'll jump on the Jennifer Westfeldt bandwagon after seeing Ira & Abby - she's at her most adorable in that), and I didn't ADORE her right off the bat. She grew on me a lot with repeat viewings. Hopefully this will be one you'll watch again, maybe with friends. I introduced my friends to it individually and they all loved it. Well, my straight male friend really liked it, and he didn't care for rom-coms in general so you couldn't ask for more. He found Westfeldt and her character hilarious. One of my female friends thought it was just the cutest movie ever. And I kind of agree . Go buy a copy of the DVD and share it with people you love .

There are just so many hilarious lines in this movie. One part that comes to mind is when Jessica tries to come up with a reason to give her mom as to why Helen just flew out of the bridal shop and she's like, "Oh, uh, her brother died at his wedding." It's all in the delivery .


Jessica: [telling Helen why her relationship with Larry didn't work out] He just wasn't funny, you know? That's always been my problem, I think. Not smart or not funny. Or not smart and not funny. Or smart, but in a totally unappealing way like funny stupid or funny dopy, rather than funny witty, or funny ironic or funny goofy. Or, you think they're smart- and then you realize that they're not- and that's funny. But funny tragic. And then, if you're lucky enough to find someone who's the right kind of smart and the right kind of funny, usually they're just... kinda...
Helen: Ugly?
Jessica: Ugly, exactly. Oh my god, is that awful?
Helen: No, not at all. Ugly doesn't do it for you. That's okay. See me, I'm kinda into ugly... But only if it's sexy ugly.


I love this conversation. And I even incoporated "funny tragic" and "sexy ugly" into my vocab.


Helen: Some people smoke pot, some people bungee jump, some people chant. What do you do to be happy?
Jessica: Nothing. I'm not.


Jessica: Oh, I'm a terrible insomniac.
Helen: I'm so sorry. Since when?
Jessica: Um, I don't know, since birth.


Helen: What does your therapist say about all of this?
Jessica: Oh, I could never tell my therapist.
Helen: Why not?
Jessica: Because it's private.

Jessica: [to Helen] Oh, no offense... no offense. I mean look at you. Who wouldn't want to have sex with you. I mean 'do' you.

There are so many great nuggets in there. I love when she's spilling the news to her pregnant friend and totally overreacting to everything.

It's because of Jessica Stein that I fell in love with neurotic female characters. Plus, I can be a bit neurotic myself so it's a bit relatable.


Anyway, I'd tell you to watch Ira & Abby, but I'd rather you watch it on your own and it wouldn't count as my recommendation to you. It's one I recommend on the side .