The Opposite of Sex smartly lightens a bitter story with sharp insights and strong dialogue - as well as a startlingly mature performance from former child actor Christina Ricci. Read critic reviews
The Opposite of Sex
1998, Comedy/Drama, 1h 45m
43 Reviews 10,000+ RatingsWhat to know
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Movie Info
After her stepfather dies, 16-year-old Dede (Christina Ricci) moves in with her gay half-brother Bill, (Martin Donovan). Already pregnant, Dede seduces Bill's partner, Matt (Ivan Sergei), and convinces him the child is his. The couple steals $10,000 from Bill and runs off. But when an ex-student of Bill's -- who's also Matt's ex-lover -- accuses Bill of molestation, he must track down Dede and Matt with the help of Matt's sister, Lucia (Lisa Kudrow), to salvage his reputation.
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Rating: R
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Genre: Comedy, Drama, Lgbtq+
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Original Language: English
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Director: Don Roos
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Producer: Michael Besman, David Paul Kirkpatrick
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Writer: Don Roos
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Release Date (Theaters): original
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Release Date (Streaming):
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Box Office (Gross USA): $6.4M
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Runtime:
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Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
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Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby SR, Surround
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Aspect Ratio: 35mm
Cast & Crew
News & Interviews for The Opposite of Sex
Critic Reviews for The Opposite of Sex
Audience Reviews for The Opposite of Sex
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It has the kind of cynical and darkly politically incorrect humor that is among my favorite (it made me laugh out loud the whole time) and an excellent script (which I wish I had written) that makes fun of how ridiculous the characters are as they expose the worst in themselves.
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Great seductive turn for Ricci here. Another brilliant Martin Donovan performance as well. Don't get enough Donovan lately I'm afraid.
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A suburban teacher's life spiralled out of control after his gold digging half sister comes to visit. Everyone gets tangled in this black comedy about...well, sex. It wasn't very funny but Kudrow and Ricci both had excellent performances.
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The Opposite of Sex works as both a wonderful, if cruel, character study, and a parody of audience expectations. Christina Ricci plays an absolute bitch in this movie. Her life revolves around ruining the lives of others. She doesn't even seem to get that much out of it, her reward is to cause people pain. Whether that be acting out at a funeral, inviting herself to stay, getting pregnant, or stealing her half-brother's boyfriend. Ricci narrates in a self knowing tone, explaining why we feel sorry for certain characters and not others. This often works comically, especially when building sympathy for her brother, she then shows the clips where he doesn't sit around brooding. On the opposite end of the spectrum we have Martin Donovan. He is so painfully nice you just want him to lash out. He's an absolute joy of a character, bringing a chilled and relaxing counterpart to Ricci's hobag. We also have Kudrow as a woman so scared of her own life she interferes with others. She tells everyone how to live their life, and her journey is one of the sweetest as the film reaches a satisfactory and moving conclusion. This is a film about the power of sex, but also how there are other things out there. The only downsides were that it was sometimes too smart for its own good, and the homophobic and lack of knowledge concerning aids seemed very dated.
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