The Opposite of Sex

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Opposite of Sex
The Opposite of Sex DVD cover
Directed by	Don Roos
Produced by	Michael Besman David Kirkpatrick
Written by	Don Roos
Starring	Christina Ricci Martin Donovan Lisa Kudrow Lyle Lovett
Distributed by	Sony Pictures Classics
Release date(s)	May 22, 1998 (USA)
Running time	105 min.
Language	English
IMDb profile

The Opposite of Sex is a 1998 film written and directed by Don Roos. Starring Christina Ricci and Lisa Kudrow, it was a box office success.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The film is a black comedy, narrated by and centered around self-absorbed, manipulative, cynical teenager Dede Truitt (Ricci), who runs away from home after her stepfather's funeral and moves in with her gay half-brother Bill, a teacher. Dede seduces Bill's lover, Matt, then tricks him into believing she has gotten pregnant by him (in fact, the father of her child is her ex-boyfriend Randy Cates). She and Matt elope, leaving Bill and his uptight best friend Lucia (Kudrow), the sister of Bill's (now-dead) previous lover, to try and track them down and sort out the mess. In the meantime, Matt's "bit on the side," Jason Bock, attempts to blackmail Bill, claiming Bill sexually assaulted him while he was a student. The film's climax is set in Canada where all of the characters finally meet up, and where Dede gives birth to her son Randy Jr.

After the birth, Dede moves back in with Bill, while Matt and Jason go travelling together, and Lucia marries her old friend Carl. Narrating the ending, Dede sarcastically concludes that sex is precisely the opposite of what people should want, leading as it does to kids, disease, or worst of all, relationships. At the end of the film, the vignettes of the various caring relationships among the characters shows the Opposite of superficial sexual gratification.