Stars: Heather Juergensen, Jennifer Westfeldt, Scott Cohen, Jackie Hoffman, Tovah Feldshuh, Carson Elrod, Michael Mastro

Director: Charles Herman-Wurmfield

Summary: Jessica Stein replies to a lonely hearts add and arranges to meet Helen Cooper after she loses her faith in men...

Jessica Stein (Jennifer Westfeldt) is a lovely, young, conservative Jewish girl with the perfect loft situated on New York City's Upper West Side, a fun job working for a hip newspaper, and beautiful clothes. The only thing she doesn't have is the ideal boyfriend. Not that she doesn't have tons of dates--from geeky nerds to suave sexy types, Jessica is sought after by throngs of men. She just doesn't like any of the guys that like her. When her coworker, Joan (Jackie Hoffman), reads her an ad from the personals of the Village Voice, Jessica knows she's interested. Even when she realizes that the ad is in the "women seeking women" section, she figures it's worth a try. A funny, girly, prissy, very lipstick lesbian relationship ensues with Chelsea gallery owner Helen (Heather Juergensen). When the girls aren't making out, they share makeup secrets and raid each other's closets. However, Helen's daring nymphomaniac side clashes with Jessica's conservative straight side, and the couple is forced to face some real challenges, one of which is Jessica's hilarious Scarsdale-based matchmaker mother (Tovah Feldshuh). A light, laugh-a-minute romantic comedy, KISSING JESSICA STEIN is a good fit for fans of sitcoms like Ally McBeal, Sex in the City, and Will and Grace.

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Kissing Jessica Steinis not a conventional single-girl rom-com. Woody Allen taught us that singletons are neurotic, Sex &the Cityshowed us their sass, Bridget Jonesbrought out their vulnerable side, and together they wrote the textbook of movie singledom. While Kissing Jessica Steinis clearly in on these conventions, its heroine takes an entirely different path to spice up her personal life. Impulsively answering a personal ad from another woman, Jessica Stein embarks on a tentative relationship with gallery owner Helen. But the couple have crossed purposes--Helen being more overtly sexual--leading Jessica to decide whether her ersatz sexual identity is the real thing, or if it's the companionship she's after.

Wordy and witty, it's easy to spot the film's stage origins, but also easy to attribute this level of intelligence and humour to the two charming leading ladies, Jennifer Westfeldt and Heather Juergensen. Similarly, while Jessica is almost certainly not gay, the on-screen spark between the two women is enough to justify their relationship. Kissing Jessica Steinasserts that sexual experimentation needn't lead to a massive personal revelation, nor pigeonholing oneself. At the film's heart is peoples' need to find intimacy, a sensitive subject that's treated with humour and gentle irony. This is one date that'll leave you smiling.

On the DVD:Kissing Jessica Steinhas two commentaries offering two entirely different perspectives. Director Charles Herman-Wurmfield and cinematographer Lawrence Sher provide an interesting if a little perfunctory look at how this low-budget feature was put together with the help of friends appearing as extras and loaning their apartments. Meanwhile producer/screenwriter/costars Westfeldt and Juergensen are chatty and light-hearted and clearly still excited at their film, a feeling that also pervades their documentary. Deleted scenes and outtakes come with or without commentary, and a trailer rounds off the package. --Laura Bushell

Aspect Ratio:	1.85 Wide Screen, 16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Feature Commentary By Director Charles Herman Wurmfeld, Feature Commentary By Cinematographer Lawrence Sher, Feature Commentary By Heather Juergensen And Jennifer Westfeldt, 10 Deleted Scenes, Featurette, Soundtrack Album Promo
Subtitles:	Hebrew
Year:	2001
Release Date:	March 17, 2003
Runtime:	92 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	23300 D V D
Keywords:	Comedy, General, Wide, Screen, Romantic, Jessica, Kissing, Stein
Genre:	Comedy