These days there
is an entire market of LGBT entertainment, even a distribution label focusing
exclusively on films with these characters and themes, but it is still rare for
a movie with gay and lesbian themes at the forefront of the narrative to become
mainstream successes. What is really remarkable is that Kissing Jessica Stein still seems ahead of its time twelve years
after it was made. How many widely distributed LGBT romantic comedies have been
released since this film?
In many ways Kissing Jessica Stein just feels like a
Woody Allen film with a female perspective and a lesbian twist. Jennifer
Westfeldt stars as the title character, a neurotic Allen stand-in with an
inability to find the right guy while working as a journalist in Manhattan.
When Jessica reads a romance ad from a woman with similar tastes, she
tentatively enters in a relationship with Helen (Heather Juergensen). The film
is not dedicated to any particular plot development, leaving much of the film’s
entertainment up to the variety of vignettes about Jessica’s transition into
lesbianism.
Although there
are some structures in the film which have clearly been lifted from the
romantic comedy handbook, this is clearly an independent film. It has the
dialogue-heavy meandering that most studios would quickly replace with
melodrama. Instead we have nothing but the performances and dialogue to carry
Kissing Jessica Stein. The performances by the two leads are effortless, which
probably comes from the fact that the pair also wrote the screenplay.
The Blu-ray
release includes two audio commentaries; one by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld and
cinematographer Lawrence Sher, and another with stars and co-writers Juergensen
and Westfeldt. The deleted scenes includes in the special features also have
optional commentaries. The extras also include outtakes and an alternate
ending, as well as a behind-the-scenes featurette.
Entertainment Value:
7/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 7.5/10
Historical
Significance: 6.5/10
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