Neither one of the two principles in this movie is a lesbian, Jessica (Jennifer Westfeld) is straight. Her entire sexual history has been one of pairing with men, and the very thought of having a sexual relationship with another woman is ... well .. a little weird. Helen (Heather Juergensen), on the other hand, is ready to try bisexuality. Her primary partners are men, but there are times when she feels that she's in the mood for female companionship. When Jessica and Helen meet, Helen is on the prowl. The two do not connect romantically, but there is a spark, and it doesn't take too long for their friendship to shift to the sexual realm. Jessica is nervous about sleeping with Helen, but Helen is patient. She knows that Jessica loves her, but that crossing the line is difficult. Meanwhile, at her office, where Jessica works as a proofreader, she has to deal with her ex-lover Josh (Scott Cohen) , who frequent put-downs and pugnacious nature may hide feeling that he is unwilling to admit.
Jennifer Westfeldt and Heather Juergensen give solid, unaffected performances as Jessica and Helen, respectively. They experience no difficultly with the range required by their roles -- each seems perfectly at home with comedy and drama, and there's a tangible connection between them. The romantic scenes vary from being sweet, but not saccharine, to sexy. We buy into the couple so easily that, on the two occasions when the screen caption "Three months later" appears, we feel almost cheated. Yes, we were interested in seeing what happens later in the relationship, but we also want to observe what got them there. The film is a little over 90 minutes long, but I wouldn't have minded a little longer running length.
With the expection of Helen's gay buddies, all of the supporting characters are well developed. Leading the pack are Jessica's pushy-but-caring mother, played by Tovah Feldshuh. This could easily have been a caricature ("the Jewish mother"), but the pitch of the performance, as well as an attention to detail in the screenplay, avoids this. Scott Cohen's Josh plays an important part, although not in the way viewers initially anticipate. And Jackie Hoffman provides some added comedy as Joan, Jessica's pregnant friend and co-worker.
Kissing Jessica Stein deftly avoids the cliches associated with romantic comedies, especially in the homosexual subgenre. With its frank exploration of the boundaries between love and friendship, the film is a joy to experience. So don't kiss this film off - it's a winner!
Porculus