Kissing Jessica Stein

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 1st Floor 1-week checkout	DVD Drama Kissing	1-week checkout	Due 05-05-2024

Widescreen.
Bonus features detailed in menus.
Jennifer Westfeldt, Heather Juergensen, Scott Cohen, Jackie Hoffman, Tovah Feldshuh.
Fed up with her fruitless search for "Mr. Right" and tired of blind dates from hell, attractive journalist Jessica Stein whimsically responds to a classified ad-- from Helen! Making and breaking new rules of dating as they go, the two women muddle through an earnest but hilarious courtship that blurs the lines between friendship and romantic love.
DVD, 5.1 Dolby surround.

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Not actually a lesbian romance submitted by Jen Chapin-Smith on July 22, 2013, 10:18pm "Kissing Jessica Stein" tells the predictably unhappy story of a straight woman who, on a whim, tries to go gay. Her girlfriend wants far more from Jessica than she is able to provide, and Jessica's family does not know how to deal with the fact that she is (as it appears to them) suddenly gay.
The movie does have some funny parts and doesn't end on a completely sad note, but is disappointing in general.

Polarizing, but I Like It submitted by Meginator on August 31, 2019, 9:47pm I know the ending of this one is bound to be controversial, and I understand why this film frustrates a lot of queer women, but I’ve always appreciated its honest take on sexual fluidity- or lack thereof. The writing and acting are surprisingly good for an indie production, and you can tell throughout that this was a labor of love (if you do like it, I highly recommend Jennifer Westfeldt and Heather Juergenen’s commentary track). Tovah Feldshuh, in particular, offers one of the film’s most moving (and most relatable) moments during an intimate conversation between Jessica Stein and her mother, delivered with subtlety and a powerful honesty that creates Jessica’s own pivotal moment of self-realization. Aside from its queer twist, the film fits right in with its early 2000s rom-com peers, comfortably hitting all of the familiar plot beats and emotional arcs. With another couple of decades of queer cinema behind us at this point, It’s hard to argue for this as an essential film, but I think it has (and retains) its charms; if nothing else, it is a fun example of the form and it does include unambiguously queer characters and themes.

The first hour and twenty minutes are good submitted by Will O on August 25, 2020, 7:32pm I thought was really good until the last ten minutes and even though I like downer endings it felt like this movie tried to have its cake and eat it too with a gay/not gay romance. Not that sexuality isn't fluid and shouldn't be explored but the way the rest of the movie was told it seemed like they were telling a story of following your heart no matter if it leads to someone unexpected. Then it just sort of seemed to say Jessica wasn't actually gay after all. Which is fine, just not the story the other hour and twenty minutes was telling.
The cast was great, Jennifer Westfeldt was just the right side of a likable neurotic to have me firmly on her side and it was nice to see a movie where the mom is actually supportive of her daughter's happiness and by far my favorite scene was the mother/daughter talk.
Worth a watch but wish the end had been better or the rest of the movie had been told better to support the ending.