Sarah Roberts
"Kissing Jessica Stein" starring Jennifer Westfeldt and Heather Juergensen. Directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld. Rated R. Running time 1 hr. 34 min. Playing at Varsity Theatre.
3 Gus Heads
It's the single woman's curse - every guy worth having is either married or gay. Most women have been there, and sometimes it's enough to make you say "screw it" and stay home with a good book and a glass of wine. Or a wonderfully quirky romantic comedy.
Enter Jessica Stein (Westfeldt), a 20-something New Yorker and hopeless perfectionist. A talented artist, she instead took the safe route and chose an unfulfilling career as a copy editor, where she has to endure having her bitter ex-boyfriend for a boss. Her job extends into her personal life, where she dissects dates with the same zeal she reserves for writer's stories.
This clashes drastically with her mother's standards for her, which is any guy 20-45 in good enough health to sit down for a nice Jewish dinner. Even a Day of Atonement isn't off limits for a set-up, as evidenced in a priceless opening scene.
But to be fair, there's not a lot for Jess to choose from. Her blind dates border between humorous and horrifying. There's the not-yet-out guy, the sleazy-but-thinks-he's-charming guy and a copy editor's worst nightmare - the guy who uses the phrase "self-defecating."
And then there's Helen Cooper (Juergensen), a smart, funny, sexy art gallery director who is tired of her wild sexual lifestyle. She takes out a personal ad in the "Women Seeking Women" section and quotes Rilke in the hopes of weeding out the less desirable candidates.
Jessica happens to love Rilke, and deflated from her recent forays into blind dating, decides to answer Helen's ad against all her better instincts.
What follows is a warm and witty look at two women navigating new waters. Their relationship is not an easy one, as each has to deal with her own doubts as well outside opinions. Helen is criticized for trivializing the homosexual lifestyle, while Jessica becomes increasingly paranoid about her straight-laced Jewish family finding out about Helen.
If "Kissing Jessica Stein" wanted to be a "message movie," it would have delved into the deeper, more complicated emotions involved in such a relationship. It doesn't. But the film doesn't sink into stereotypes, either. Instead, it finds a happy medium and succeeds in being funny without being trite.
The screenplay, written by the two female leads, is smart and clever. And Tovah Feldshuh, as Jessica's mother, Judy, shines while bringing humor and warmth to what is traditionally a one-dimensional role.
"Kissing Jessica Stein" isn't a shallow chick flick even though it takes a light look at lesbianism. It could be about any two people dealing with family, friendship and love and all that goes along with it ... here they just happen to be women.
Sarah Roberts can be reached at sroberts@dailyegyptian.com
Published on 11/17/05; 12:24:44 PM
