THE PLOT THUS FAR
A woman searching for the perfect man instead discovers the perfect woman.
WHAT WE THOUGHT
“Kissing Jessica Stein” is setup as a pretty typical Meg Ryan romantic comedy crapfest. Then, we start following the intrigued as poor Jessica Stein dares to wonder if she fancies girls. There are arguments to be made about how easy it is to blend sexual preference and your mood of the day. But, there’s also room for political, religious and cultural influence on the matter. Ultimately, Jessica is left to wonder if she’s choosing female companionship for the right reasons. Whatever those might be.
Lesbian chic cinema really boomed after the release of this movie. Sure, a lot of people can pin the start of the trend with “Chasing Amy”, but I feel like that was more of a precursor to this. Whether it’s “Lost and Delirious” or “Imagine Me and You”, the material never really felt like it was grabbing anything close to reality. That being said, it’s not like I can attest to the reality of a young lesbian. I do have a ton of them bitching at me in the comments sections/mailings. But, what are you going to do? Every film of this nature is meant to be an idealized portrait of reality. However, I don’t get a sense of reality in any frame onscreen. It’s been more than ten years since I first saw the film and I can’t say that my opinion of the film has improved.
The Blu-Ray comes with commentaries, deleted scenes, outtakes, original ending, featurette and a trailer as the special features. The A/V Quality sports a strong 1080p transfer. The DTS-HD 5.1 master audio track is clean enough. But, the back channels barely get a workout. In the end, I’d recommend a purchase.
RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW!