Posted: 04/19/2002

Kissing Jessica Stein

(2002)

by Hank Yuloff

Typical dating story with the trendy New York working gal who dreams of something more…and really gets it.

Jessica Stein was a hot, mid-20’s copy editor for a trendy NY magazine. When looking through the Personals section it was always in the Women Seeking Men section. But then she stumbled upon an ad quoting her favorite poet in the Women Seeking Women area and decided to set up a meeting. That’s how Jessica eventually went from SSJF to SGJF.

The woman who “converted” her? Helen Cooper who, oddly enough, was also straight but, like Jessica, was tired of dating guys who were losers.

Heather Juergensen (Helen) and Jennifer Westfeldt (Jessica) are the stars and writers of Kissing Jessica Stein, a wonderfully funny movie that I’m sure is going to become one of my video favorites.

The story plays out over a year’s time as we follow the girls from first meeting, to friendship, to lovers, to roommates. We are even let in on the courting rituals as the two normally hetero women begin to get comfortable with the idea that breasts are a wonderful thing to touch. Actually, Jessica has a much harder time getting to the point that she is comfortable with having sex with another woman, and the men in the audience will all relate to the frustration that Helen feels as she waits for her new girlfriend to “put out.” It’s the awkwardness of high school all over again.

Thrown into the mix is Jessica’s very close family life. She comes from a Jewish home and finds that introducing her new friend Helen as a romantic addition to her life is almost as difficult as letting them know she isn’t Jewish. Her mother is played by Tovah Feldshuh. I kept waiting for her to go over the edge with the Jewish mother thing, but she kept it right between the lines by being the warm and loving and just a bit pushy mom without being obvious that she was trying to play the part of “The Jewish Mother from Scarsdale.”

This movie grew out of a scene, which became a play and other incarnations which Westfeldt (See Jane Run) and Juergensen (Facts of Life Reunion TV) wrote and expanded. I hope they stay together as a writing team (they’re not a couple… they’re straight) because I think they can approach a topic and view it from a very human angle. In Kissing, we are watching women decide to be gay instead of knowing it biologically. They have both been around miserable relationships with stereotypically miserable guys and found that they like the soft feel of a woman’s lips (…join the club). I don’t see this as a gay film. It is really more about friendship and what can happen to a relationship. I think it covers a wide spectrum of our emotions and relationships and was happy to see that my married-50-years-plus parents also enjoyed the movie.

Being an independent production, it might be hard to find Kissing Jessica Stein on your local screen, but it is worth it. It gave me everything the trailer promised and I was completely satisfied (in an entertainment way) with my time in the theater. It’s a great date flick no matter which parts of the dating alphabet you put together.

Hank Yuloff is based in Los Angeles, where he dreams of finding the two straight women who want… oh, you know…

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