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| Kissing Jessica Stein | 
 enlarge | Director: Charles Herman-wurmfeld
Actors: Thomas Bolster, Jim J. Bullock, Scott Cohen, Tibor Feldman, Tovah Feldshuh
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Category: DVD
List Price: $9.00
Buy Used: $3.48
You Save: $5.52 (61%)
New (40) Used (28) from $3.48
Avg. Customer Rating:  114 reviews
Sales Rank: 18038
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd-video, Widescreen, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 97
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.6
MPN: D2005043D
UPC: 024543050438
EAN: 0024543050438
ASIN: B00003CYJ4
Theatrical Release Date: 2001
Release Date: September 17, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: All of our used items are 100% Guaranteed to play. Ships 1st class!!
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Blessed by casual charm and sophisticated wit, Kissing Jessica Stein does for same-sex romance what Annie Hall did for straight neurotics. The influence of Woody Allen is keenly felt on this resourceful New York comedy (expanded from an off-Broadway play), especially when cowriter and costar Jennifer Westfeldt channels Diane Keaton's "la-di-da" nervousness as Jessica Stein, a romantically frustrated heterosexual copyeditor who impulsively answers a personal ad from a bisexual woman. Helen (cowriter Heather Juergensen) is as relaxed about lesbian love as Jessica is anxious, but they click as lovers, and so does the movie's delightful exploration of their budding relationship, which is further complicated by Jessica's yenta-like mother (Tovah Feldshuh) and a former boyfriend (Scott Cohen) who's now Jessica's boss. While acknowledging the serious repercussions of Jessica's bisexual flirtation, Kissing Jessica Stein takes its characters on a smart, compassionate journey of self-discovery that's as truthfully observant as it is gently entertaining. --Jeff Shannon
Description
Sex and the single girl gets a fresh new spin in this "very funny movie"! (Joel Siegel, Good morning America) Fed up with her fruitless search for "Mr. Right" and tired of blind dates from hell, attractive journalist Jessica Stein whimsically responds to a classified ad - from Helen! Making and breaking new rules of dating as they go, the two women muddle through an earnest but hilarious courtship that blurs the lines between friendship and romantic love in this "smashing romantic comedy" (Rolling Stone)
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| Customer Reviews: Read 109 more reviews...
Kissing Jessica Stein October 7, 2008
This film is about relationships, regardless of the genders of the participants. Jessica Stein is a neurotic young woman who can't seem to find a man worth the time to date, so she answers a personals ad placed by another woman. Right off the bat the viewer sees how quirky Jessica really is. She runs out on the first meeting.
Without giving too much of the movie away, we see how this relationship finally develops then succumbs to what many couples, both gay and straight ultimately have to face, the loss of compatibility. The movie goes from highs to lows as these characters are developed into living, breathing people. I think it helps that the main actors also wrote the script. Almost anyone with a sense of humor or sense of romance will enjoy this film.
 Solid September 25, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
KJS was directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld, but written by Heather Juergensen & Jennifer Westfeldt, who star in the film as New Yorkers Jessica Stein & Helen Cooper. Despite the lesbianism there is little T&A- the leads are rather frumpy, but not unattractive, women. The story is every lesbian's fantasy- seducing a clueless straight girl fed up with the male sex. This banal premise goes nowhere. Jessica's hetero-frustration is portrayed in a montage of bad dates that could only occur in films, so right away emotional realism is tossed, & sets the film up for a failure to connect on anything but a superficial level. Helen is a bisexual fed up with men's shallowness & places 1 of those `bi-curious' personal ads. Jessica reads it, is intrigued by a quote from Rilke (she is a copy editor & bookworm), & answers. Even though the ad claims to seek `friendship or more' any person over the age of 20 (especially a copy editor) would know this is adspeak for a lesbian relationship. The 30+ Jessica is clueless, & spends the whole film never even attempting to get with it. That Jessica, as portrayed before meeting Helen, could ever be attracted to such a duplicitous & shallow sort as Helen- even if a man- undercuts the whole point of her dates-from-hell montage. Also, it's supposed to be funny that she approaches her 1st lesbian experience with a slew of `how to' books. Yes, this is a comedy, but it's not too much to ask the characters & writing to show some maturity & developmental stability.
 What is so good about it? June 15, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Brought the movie because I've read the reviews here, and I thought it would be really good. This movie disappointed me, I was watching it and ended up thinking "What the hell this movie is trying to do?". The plot is so simple: Jessica, a super-shy-lesbian-curious found a girlfriend on the ad, she loves her but she doesn't wanna have sex with her. In the end, she goes back to her co-worker which happens to be a guy. That's it! Wanna buy it? Up to you...
Honest gem of a film - real people navigating intimacy in relationships April 30, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I really enjoyed this film. It's funny but in a quiet way. I thought the relationship between Jessica and Helen felt real. Except for the portrayals of Jessica's mother and the wacky friend who gives overbearing advice, I felt the film veered away from stereotypes. I liked how the film showed that Jessica's fear of intimacy (with men and women) were the same - her refusal to divulge how Helen has become a part of her life to her mother reminds me of similar situations with straight couples - the man who refuses to introduce his mistress or girlfriend to his mother out of shame. I thought this was a well-written film about relationships.
 Move Over Woody Allen, You've Got Competition April 25, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I love Woody Allen when he's on & funny. This movie is like a female Woody Allen. Jennifer Westfeldt (Jessica) & Heahter Juergensen (Helen) co-wrote this funny, fast moving story * very thought provoking. While it may appear to be a film about two women who decide to "go gay", it's really about one woman (Jessica Stein) finding herself through "letting herself go & explore". The dialogue is great! Excellent statements are made throughout. Some of my favorite moments are...Jessica & Helen are walking the streets of Manhattan as a group of Hari Krishnas are spotted. Jessica says "Their weird!". Helen comes back with "How do you know they're weird, maybe if you believed in what they believed in they wouldn't seem weird". While I'm not inclined to follow a specific religion or cult like group, it is a good comment on how we perceive others & forget it's a two way street. Another great moment is when Seth Cohen (Josh), Jessica's ex boyfriend & current co-worker, confides in her that "Whenever you were happy, I was sad & whenever you were sad, I was happy". "It's not that I didn't want you to be happy or that I wanted you to be sad, I just wanted to be the one to make you happy". I highly recommend this film & also check out Jennifer's newest "Ira & Abby".
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