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Top > Lesbian Movie Reviews > Article
Lesbian Movie Review: Kissing Jessica Stein / Comedy, Romance (2001)
By Kaylee Larson, LesbianLoveNow.com
Kissing Jessica Stein goes beyond your ordinary romantic comedy. Instead, Director Charles Herman-Wurmfeld delivers a flick that provides a comically refreshing spin on romance, presenting same-sex love and romance as an exciting alternative to the trials of heterosexual romance.
Jessica Stein, portrayed by Jennifer Westfeldt, is a young, beautiful, and talented newspaper editor who works and lives in New York City. A sweet Jewish girl, Jessica follows a typically conservative approach to life. Unfortunately, her approach to romantic relationships can be overly neurotic at times, as she becomes a bit of a perfectionist in her choices and actions.
At the start of the movie, Jessica has been feeling down as a string of blind dates with men has not gone the way she had hoped. The men are attracted to Jessica, but she just isn’t into them, no matter their type. Jessica’s attention is then drawn to a personal ad in the women-to-women section of the Village Voice, when her coworker, Joan (Jackie Hoffman), reads an ad aloud. Jessica is so allured by the ad that on impulse she decides to answer it.
The ad has been placed by Helen (Heather Juergensen), a very attractive art gallery director. Helen has dated more men than she can handle, but has failed to accomplish any type of emotional satisfaction from her unsuccessful male encounters. Helen’s dissatisfaction leads her to look for companionship in lesbian relationships and to place an ad seeking to start a new chapter in her romantic life.
When Jessica and Helen meet, they immediately feel a connection. After very little time, they both realize how much they have in common, including their mutual captivation for each other. Their relationship grows over a few weeks, and despite Jessica’s initial reluctance to engage in same-sex intimacy, make-out sessions between these love-struck women become an increasingly regular affair. Eventually the two women go on to experience full intimacy together.
Jessica’s life with Helen, however, starts to take a more complicated turn when Jessica’s mother (Tovah Feldshuh) enters the scene. Jessica tries to hide her relationship with Helen from her mother, unwittingly hurting Helen in the process. After a surprising series of events that ensue, Jessica comes to a new and final realization regarding her feelings for Helen.
Kissing Jessica Stein appeals to viewers on many levels, as humor, romance, and real-life struggles are masterfully crafted into this light-hearted movie about sexual exploration. Although this movie would not be considered a mainstream romantic comedy, it is certainly a movie that can entertain the masses.
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