It will become clear to some people that Kissing Jessica Stein, despite the fact that most of the kissing is done by two women, was not created by a militant “gay” filmmaker. This is not a straight-bashing film, or the type of film that revels in lesbian activity. In fact, it is the sort of film that is intended for straight people, who want to be amused by a sexy romantic comedy with a twist, but who don’t want to be “grossed out”. Of course, this isn’t always a bad thing. I’m a straight person, and I enjoy seeing two women kissing any day of the week. But I’ve also seen some more “genuine” lesbian dramas, and my feeling is that Kissing Jessica Stein was made by somewhat of an outsider.

The film is about Jessica, a copy editor at a newspaper, and lonely in love. She is fixed up on many disastrous dates by her friend at the paper. In her view, all of them are idiots in one way or another. But one day she is intrigued by a personal ad read aloud by the friend; which includes a quote from one of her favorite authors. She is fascinated, but the friend says, damn, it’s a woman seeking woman ad. But, for some unexplained reason, Jessica is drawn to the ad. And she calls the woman up, and plans to meet her.

That woman is Helen; she placed the ad, not out of loneliness, but out of a desire to try a new sexual experience. She’s a try-sexual, if you will -- as the movie begins, she is seen fooling around with three different men (not at the same time, of course!), and now wants to try something different. She is the sort that would tell you not to knock something until you’ve tried it. So, what we have here is two apparently straight women who for some reason decide to try out a lesbian relationship, much as someone would try, say, bungee jumping. Let’s see how it all works out, shall we?

Well, at first, things are really weird, no doubt because of Jessica’s personality. She is the epitome of the stereotypical neurotic Jew. Woody Allen looks like a figure of cool compared to this chick. She speaks in a nervous, twitchy fashion, and sounds as if she is about to hyperventilate. She is so afraid of trying new things -- even such things as computers. Sure, she uses one at work.. she has no choice. But she never uses email... she’ll receive it, but never reply. She gives us reasons for not accepting computers, but they sound more like excuses for not using them, rather than strong philosophical beliefs.

Once these two women get together, sparks do not fly. There’s a montage of kissing scenes, which are not passionate, because Jessica is not passionate. The romance seems like a game, where the two can compare notes on how good it was, and how far they ought to go next time.

But, for some reason, the two women do start to like each other. They enjoy each other’s company, and, after a while, even the viewer begins to accept them as actually in a relationship, and not in a gimmick. This becomes more apparent later on in the film, when Jessica has to deal with the relationship outside the private protection of the apartment. Jessica’s brother is about to get married, and Jessica doesn’t invite Helen to the wedding, because she is unable to go public with this lesbian relationship.

This movie can be difficult to get into for one reason: Jessica Stein. The actress playing her either is a complete basketcase, or a really good actor, because the character is so genuinely neurotic, and flustered, and nervous, that it can be off-putting. I was a bit wary at first, but after a while, I accepted her, because she seemed so real. She is a woman who has a lot of problems, and that seems to be the point of the movie. This isn’t a movie about lesbianism, but about a person who has to decide whether to take charge of her life, and whether to actually live in the world. It isn’t just the promiscuous woman who tells her that she ought to get out of her rut and change her life. Jessica’s boss also suggests this as well.... you see, the two used to date a number of years ago, and the guy still has some resentment over the breakup. During a get-together with friends, the guy tears her apart, saying that she is too picky, that the reason her dates have been disasters is because of her uptight personality, and not because of the men at all. (For some inexplicable reason, I had to applaud this speech... I think it’s because when you’ve been rejected many times, you have to acquire the delusion that it’s due to them and not due to you!)

We also discover that Jessica has a hidden artistic talent that she’s too scared to show to the world. In fact, there’s a lot of things that she keeps hidden, and one of the tensions of this relationship is how Helen complains that Jessica seems to hide elements and feelings concerning herself.

So .... could you call this a sexy romantic comedy? Well, while the women kiss, there is really nothing shocking; nothing that would make a non-lesbian really uncomfortable. In fact, the scenes are rather strange.... Jessica shows Helen a handout dealing with lesbian accessories, and the two romance almost like this is a test to see if they are really lesbian, rather than as if they really were lesbians. The fact that we do not see any sex between these woman is disappointing from a purely lurid sense (ha ha!), but is also somewhat disappointing from a character-driven POV as well, because we don’t really know how these two straight women react in having sex with each other. Was it uncomfortable? Was it better or worse than they expected? Were they both scared? This is the part of the film that isn’t quite convincing.

The one big thing that tips you off to the fact that this isn’t a “real” lesbian movie is the presence of Jessica’s boss. Most lesbian dramas are either the coming-out-of-the-closet variety, or the I’ve-always-been-lesbian variety, with men fully out of the picture. But this movie never suggests that the main character has locked herself into women-only love, or that she could never reverse course, so to speak.

One thing that impressed me is the depiction of Helen. She is a promiscuous woman; she had three male lovers before meeting Jessica; she talks to her friends about how frustrated it is that she can’t get any “p-ssy” from this uptight, neurotic person -- in short, she’s pretty sex-obsessed, yet the movie treats it as a non-issue. It’s just who she is. Jessica herself is the heart of the movie, and, while it does take a while to get used to her, once you do get used to her, you start to like her.

The film is fairly unpolished, and wobbly at times, but is certainly entertaining enough, and was obviously a labor of love for the two actresses, who also wrote and produced this film. I think it’s kind of interesting that these two straight (at least, that’s what is claimed in articles about them) women would be able to write and act in a film where they flirt with lesbians -- maybe it’s just my lurid male attitude coming through, but somehow I think it would be easier for two women to do this, than for two men to produce and star in similar material.

Overall, Kissing Jessica Stein is a pretty good, fluffy, and unique romantic comedy. The film is low-budget, unpolished, and the premise is gimmicky, but the story has enough warmth that it will get you through to the end.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Good Date Movie