Kissing Jessica Stein (2002)
Average Rating: 7.1/10
Reviews Counted: 118
Fresh: 100 | Rotten: 18
A trite but refreshing and comical spin on nature of love.
Average Rating: 7.4/10
Critic Reviews: 33
Fresh: 29 | Rotten: 4
A trite but refreshing and comical spin on nature of love.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.2/5
User Ratings: 16,134
My Rating
Movie Info
A woman searching for the perfect man instead discovers the perfect woman in this romantic comedy. Jessica Stein (Jennifer Westfeldt) is a woman with a solid career as a copy editor, but her love life isn't much to write home about; she's been through a long series of disastrous first dates that refuse to evolve into second dates, and the well-intended advice of her best friend Joan (Jackie Hoffman) and former boyfriend Josh (Scott Cohen) isn't helping a bit. One day, Jessica is scanning
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Cast
-
Jennifer Westfeldt
Jessica Stein -
Heather Juergensen
Helen Cooper -
Scott Cohen
Josh Myers -
Tovah Feldshuh
Judy Stein -
Jackie Hoffman
Joan -
Thomas Bolster
Cheesy Pick-Up Guy -
Jim J. Bullock
Not-Yet-Out Gay Guy -
Tibor Feldman
Roland -
Allen Fitzpatrick
Matthew -
Vinny Vella Sr.
Cab Driver -
Ben Weber
Larry -
Julie Lauren
Josh's Date -
Michael Showalter
Stephen -
Kevin Sussman
Calculator Guy -
Ilana Levine
Helen's New Girlfriend -
Jon Hamm
Charles -
John Cariani
Chuck -
David Aaron Baker
Dan Stein -
Idina Menzel
Bridesmaid -
Michael Ealy
Greg -
Robert Ari
Sidney Stein -
Nick Corley
Howard -
Michael Mastro
Martin -
Alysia Reiner
Schuller Gallery Artist -
Jennifer Carta
Rachek Dan's Fiancée, ... -
Brian Stepanek
Peter -
Carson Elrod
Sebastian -
Esther Wurmfeld
Grandma Esther -
Hillel Friedman
Rabbi -
Ben Feldman
Ben Feldman -
Christopher Berger
Malaprops Guy -
Hayden Adams
Weird Smooth Guy -
Naomi Sablan
Seductive Woman At Gall... -
Jimmy Palumbo
Cheesy Pick-Up Guy -
Peter Hirsch
Stanley -
Adele Reichman
Grandma Interrogating H... -
Amy Wilson
Bookstore Saleswoman -
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Kissing Jessica Stein Trailer & Photos
All Critics (122) | Top Critics (33) | Fresh (104) | Rotten (19) | DVD (20)
The cast is wonderful and the story is commendably free of the sectarian us-versus-them tone of many romantic gay movies.
Director Charles Herman-Wurmfeld's movie knows what it wants, what its limits are, and delivers its delights accordingly.
Pure pleasure.
Westfeldt and Juergensen's wordy script tries for both mainstream and offbeat, but gets lost in between.
Top CriticWestfeldt and Juergensen are both appealing actresses.
Venturesome yet unthreatening, this movie is box-office smart enough to seem cutting-edge without ever drawing blood.
Sweet comedy about when a girl meets girl.
Charles Herman-Wurmfeld's comedy remains the best film spawned by "Sex and the City." This sharp-tongued story about emotional curiosity and the politics of passion draws on the words of a dead Austrian poet to muse about modern romance.
What neither the trailers nor the newspaper features written about Kissing Jessica Stein will have prepared you for is quite how funny it is.
It's the best kind of chick-flick, fun and intelligent without being pandering.
Three years of writing, rehearsing, and performing Jessica together helped develop the film organically for Westfeldt and Juergensen.
Funny, sweet, and intelligent.
Esta baboseira com pretensões intelectuais possui um roteiro (escrito pelas duas protagonistas) cheio de absurdos e um vocabulário rebuscado que denuncia sua própria arrogância.
An indie romantic comedy that never makes it past first base.
This charming, thought-provoking New York fest of life and love has its rewards.
I'd be interested to see these women star in another movie, but I'm not crossing my fingers that they write another one.
Audience Reviews for Kissing Jessica Stein
Super Reviewer
Westfeldt as Jessica is so adorably neurotic and girl-next-door-pretty. My perennial favorite, Scott Cohen, is mean and tough but also sweetly anguished. Jessica and Helen's romance blossoms awkwardly and hilariously at first, but the moment Jessica comes over to take care of Helen when she's sick is a nice turning point. The movie debates homosexual politics a bit, but it doesn't end with a clear message about whether one should be with her own sex or the other. It also doesn't cheapen Jessica's lesbian relationship as a dalliance.
I also love how the script sneaks in bunches of word-nerd humor and suffering artist philosophy. Judy's monologue about how Jessica quitting the school play because she thought her costar wasn't good enough - and only really hurting herself - is a metaphor for her dating life is eloquent and insightful. Josh's realization at his happiness for Jessica's painting and his own novel writing is a necessary reminder for all creative artists. Blech.
Super Reviewer
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- Judy Stein: And you came home after the first day of rehearsal and said to me, 'Mommy, I'm not gonna do it. I quit.' And I said, 'Jessie, my love, why?' And you said, 'Because my co-star isn't good enough. And if my co-star isn't good enough, then the play won't be good enough. And I don't want to be part of any play that isn't good enough.' And I thought to myself, oy. This child will suffer.
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- Helen Cooper: What'd you do to be happy?
- Jessica Stein: Nothing. I'm not.
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