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Kissing Jessica Stein

compiled by Jeffrey Overstreet
from Film Forum, 04/11/02

Kissing Jessica Stein is a light, whimsical romance about a young woman who meets a new romantic interest through a personals ad. The person advertising uses a quote from Rainer Maria Rilke that also happens to be a favorite line of Jessica's. The fact that her date is a woman poses a challenge, because Jessica is not a lesbian … at least not yet.

The USCCB's critic is troubled by the film: "Though director Charles Herman-Wurmfeld thoughtfully raises sensitive questions about sexual orientation, the film's positive depiction of the homosexual lifestyle sidesteps the harder moral ones by condoning the women's romance."

But Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat (the all-religions-welcome Spirituality and Health site) say, "The savvy screenplay … conveys some of the anxieties of modern day sexual politics and especially the challenges of friendships between women. Jessica's experiences with Helen enable her to break out of her cocoon and to finally face the world and other people with a courageous and confident openness."

Peter T. Chattaway (Vancouver Courier) says it "isn't the most daring or original romantic comedy ever made, but it is a sweet, funny film that wins us over through the sheer likeability of its characters. It fits quite well into that grand tradition of films about neurotic New Yorkers who look for love but don't know quite what to do with it when they find it. The dialogue occasionally turns a little sitcom-esque, but the story moves in some unpredictable directions, and it has a real sympathy for its characters."

Foreign Fare

Son of the Bride offers viewers a brief respite from disappointment. Director Juan Jose Campanella's movie introduces us to Rafael, a divorced restaurateur who is forced to change his way of life after he suffers a heart attack. With his renewed perspective, he decides to help his father fulfill his ailing mother's life-long wish to have an elaborate church wedding.