Page
1 / 2 - Home
The
movie swings from witty to poignant to sexy, without
ever looking like it's trying too hard (the "sexy ugly"
conversation and the seduction in the restaurant are particularly
memorable scenes), and the acting by both the principal and supporting
cast members is generally excellent.
The
two lead actresses (both heterosexual in real life) are convincing
in their roles, although the character of Helen seems like two
entirely different people (before and after she meets Jessica)
to the point of being distracting. Ditto the male love interest,
Josh, whose Mr. Sensitive, good-guy persona in the second half
of the movie is a little hard to mesh with the tyrannical, unlikable
character he is in the first half.
Also,
the chemistry between Jessica and Josh seems a little forced,
especially on her part, and the ending is a little too neat. It
would have been better if the last few scenes had been set a year
later, rather than after just three months have passed.
But
these are minor flaws in a film that more than more than makes
up for them with sharp, witty dialogue, good acting, and a compelling
story.
The
issues Kissing Jessica Stein raises
about bisexuality make it especially significant, since as much
as I complain about all the bad lesbian movies
out there and the lack of lesbian visibility in mainstream movies,
it's even worse for bisexual visibility (unless you count the
frequent evil/homicidal bisexuals
that abound in mainstream films such as Basic Instinct,
Diabolique, and Wild Things).
Chasing
Amy is really the only mainstream successful movie that has
tackled the subject, and although it did a pretty decent job of
exploring some of the issues, it never used the word "bisexual"
once in the entire film, and it focused more on the male experience
of dating a bisexual woman.
Within
lesbian movies, a few films such as Go Fish and Bar
Girls have tried to address the subject of lesbian bi-phobia.
But most either portray bisexuality as an avoidance/denial of
lesbianism (as with the chracter of Maria in Everything
Relative, who marries a guy because she can't deal with
being gay) or skip right over it entirely, so that a woman who
was previously only involved with men for years is suddenly a
lesbian who announces she was never really attracted to her boyfriend/husband
in the first place (as in Claire of the Moon and Desert
Hearts.)
Of
course, many women don't realize they are lesbians until later
in life - but many also don't realize they are bisexual
until later, too, a fact which is conveniently ignored in lesbian
films.
Kissing
Jessica Stein is unique because it manages to generate positive
images and discussion of bisexuality, and does so without boring
or preaching to the viewer.
The
key to experiencing this film, I realized after I watched
it, is in how you approach it. If you want to, you can see this
as a "lesbian movie" in which the women's relationship
fails because one of the women "goes back to men" (basically,
just another illustration that bisexual women can't be trusted).
Or you can view it as justification of the idea that women like
Jessica only dabble in women while waiting for the right man to
sweep them off their feet.
I
believe these are inaccurate readings of the movie, and really
missing the point, but many lesbians and bisexual women will still
choose to see it this way, anyway (especially if the many online
message board rants are any indication).
But
if you approach Kissing Jessica Stein
as a mainstream movie that explores the sexuality-as-continuum
theory, you are quite likely to find yourself watching a ground-breaking
and entertaining film. Even if you don't like the story this movie
tells, at least it is contributing to the dialogue around sexual
attraction and relationships between women. And all without a
single dead body.
Page
1 / 2 - Home
