Kissing Jessica Stein
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| Kissing Jessica Stein | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover |
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| Directed by | Charles Herman-Wurmfeld |
| Produced by | Brad Zions, Eden Wurmfeld |
| Written by | Jennifer Westfeldt and Heather Juergensen, based on their play Lipschtick |
| Starring | Jennifer Westfeldt Heather Juergensen Tovah Feldshuh Scott Cohen Jackie Hoffman |
| Music by | Marcelo Zarvos |
| Cinematography | Lawrence Sher |
| Editing by | Kristy Jacobs Maslin Greg Tillman |
| Distributed by | Fox Searchlight Pictures |
| Release date(s) | April 21, 2001 (L.A. Film Festival), March 12, 2002 (USA)[1] |
| Running time | 97 mins |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | US$2.5 million[2] |
| Official website | |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Kissing Jessica Stein (2001) is a U.S. independent romantic comedy film, written and co-produced by the film's stars, Jennifer Westfeldt and Heather Juergensen. The film also stars Tovah Feldshuh and is directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld. The movie is based on a 1997 off-Broadway play by Westfeldt and Juergensen called Lipschtick.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Twenty-eight-year-old Jessica Stein (Westfeldt), a Jewish heterosexual journalist living and working in New York City, is plagued by failed blind dates with men, and decides to answer a newspaper's personal advertisement containing a quote from Rilke that she had read and admired earlier. The advertisement has been placed by 'lesbian-curious' Helen Cooper (Juergensen), a thirtysomething art gallerist who is dissatisfied by her meaningless sex with men.
Given some of the men Jessica is shown to be test-dating at the start of the film, ranging from borderline gay to nerd, some would probably say that it's no surprise she'd want to fan out her prospects a little. As nervous as Jessica is about dating Helen, she realizes after a surprise kiss that even a different experience can be good.
Through the early part of their relationship, Jessica finds in Helen everything she'd dreamed of finding in a man. They are compatible, they like many of the same things, and they are caring for one another. Even when Helen gets sick — which she says earlier in the film never happens to her — Jessica is there to care for her.
In spite of Jessica's happiness with Helen, she keeps the relationship secret. Jessica's secrecy means she has to endure scenes that would not happen had she been open about the two of them. One example occurs during a dinner to celebrate her brother's betrothal. Her mother (Tovah Feldshuh) had invited an IBM executive in hopes of setting him up with Jessica.
Helen and Jessica later get into a quarrel about Jessica's refusal to inform her family about their relationship, resulting in an apparent breakup. It isn't until later, as her brother's wedding approaches, that her mother figures out they are dating and lets Jessica know by simply saying Helen "seems like a nice girl."
Helen becomes an immediate curiosity of the other women at the wedding. It is there that Jessica gets a kiss, this one from ex-beau and current boss Josh (Scott Cohen).
Jessica and Helen move in together, but their relationship, while good in all other ways, suffers from lesbian bed death. The relationship falls apart and ends amidst a lot of Jessica's tears and Helen's realization that she wants more than Jessica is willing to offer. After moving beyond the heartbreak, Helen and Jessica remain good friends, and Jessica starts to show renewed interest in Josh at the end of the film, after both had left the firm they previously worked for.
[edit] Festival screenings
The film premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival on April 21, 2001.[1], receiving the Audience Award for Best Feature Film and a Critics Special Jury Award.[3]
The film was next shown at the Toronto International Film Festival, with screenings scheduled the day before and the day after the 9/11 attacks.[4] According to the DVD commentary track by Westfeldt and Juergensen, both screenings took place, with the second screening on September 12th producing audible gasps among audience members at the sight of the World Trade Center. The two filmmakers decided to eliminate the nine or ten scenes featuring the Twin Towers because they weren't integral to the story, and served to distract from it because of the attacks.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Release dates for Kissing Jessica Stein from IMDb
- ^ a b Kissing Jessica Stein from Variety
- ^ Awards for Kissing Jessica Stein from IMDb
- ^ TIFF 2001 review of Kissing Jessica Stein from NOW magazine
