Sunday, March 17, 2002

Kissing Jessica Stein (IMDB) (Netflix)
Even Jerry Falwell might approve of this Sapphic romantic comedy between Helen, a confirmed bisexual, and Jessica, who hasn't had much luck with men since, well, way too long, and tries playing on her own team. The emphasis is on the comedy, which comes from Jessica's tentativeness and how it rubs against the more self-assured Helen, who knows what she wants and goes after it. Some of the supporting characters seem a little broadly drawn initially, but round into shape in time to stay interesting, and the writing (by the leads, who did this first as a play) is smart and virtually cliché-free.

Much better than the trailer implied and very timely, given that we're caught halfway between the holiday and summer blockbuster seasons, and the pickin's are slim.