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“You’re
not getting any younger, you know.”
“You should meet my cousin Larry.
You’d be perfect for each other.”
“Maybe you’re just too
picky.”
Every single woman, at some time in the course of her
single-girl-hood, has most likely heard one (or all) of those lines.
Repeatedly.
Jessica Stein (Jennifer Westfeldt) definitely
has. She’s a twenty-eight-year-old New York copy editor—and an artist on the side.
Everyone around her is either engaged or pregnant. She’s been on an endless stream of
horrible dates with all the wrong men. And her mother is becoming very vocal about her
fears that Jessica will be single forever.
Meanwhile, in another part of
New York City, Helen Cooper (Heather Juergensen), an art gallery director, is tired of
the way her life is going. Sure, she’s got a man for every occasion, but none of them
really make her happy. So she decides that her friends’ alternative lifestyle might work
for her, too, so she puts out an ad in a local paper—in search of another
woman.
After being set up with a great guy who’s already in a
relationship, Jessica stumbles upon Helen’s ad and talks herself into giving this girl
thing a shot. But no matter how well she and Helen get along, Jessica is embarrassed,
nervous, and neurotic—but she’s also the happiest she’s been in ages. Her friends and
family start begging to meet this new guy—and her boss/ex-boyfriend starts to get
jealous. But Jessica has no intention of telling everyone that this wonderful new guy’s
name is Helen.
I’m not going to beat around the bush here. This is quite
possibly the best movie I’ve seen in a long time. I mean, really. Let’s face it. How
many of you, somewhere in the course of singlehood, ever joked about altogether giving up
on men and switching to women? I know I did. Kissing Jessica Stein just takes
that one step further.
But this isn’t just a girl-meets-girl movie.
It’s a movie about discovering who you really are. Sure, it’s about love and friendship,
but, more importantly, it’s also about figuring out who you really are—and doing what
makes you happy (even if it’s a little unconventional and risky). And not only is it
inspirational and all that deep and meaningful stuff, but it’s light and funny, too.
Though Jessica annoyed me a bit with her extreme neuroses and wishy-washy-ness, I have to
admit that her nervousness was a major source of humor in the movie. I laughed almost to
the point of tears when, on her second date with Helen, she arrived with a collection of
books and pamphlets about lesbianism to peruse and discuss.
Kissing
Jessica Stein is an excellent movie for any woman who’s ever woken up and decided
that she wasn’t happy with her life—and that she needed to make a change. And if you’re
one of those women (and really—who isn’t?) who’s gone on one too many bad dates, you’ll
like it, too. Give yourself a manicure, get yourself a pint chocolate ice cream and a
spoon, and watch this movie—you deserve it.
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