Search - Kissing Jessica Stein on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Adult Situations, Not For Children, Adult Language, Sexual Situations Movie Release: 2001 DVD Release: 09/17/2002 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV - Closed Captioned Audio Tracks: English, Spanish Subtitles: English, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 37 mins Studio: 20th Century Fox Total Copies: 1 Genres: Comedy Drama, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Gay & Lesbian Films

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 personal ads in the newspaper with her friends, and she sees one with a quote from her favorite poet. Jessica reads on to discover that she has a lot in common with the person who placed the ad -- too much so, since it turns out the notice is from a woman, Helen Cooper (Heather Juergensen), who manages an art gallery. Jessica figures it would at least be nice to hang out with someone who shares her interests, and she gives Helen a call. Jessica and Helen quickly strike up a close friendship that evolves into something more intimate, though neither of them has ever been involved with another woman ... and Helen is a bit more avid about her new romantic horizons than Jessica. As their relationship progresses, Jessica finds herself struggling with her feelings about her new sexual outlook, and she isn't sure how to break the news about her relationship to her mother (Tovah Feldshuh) as she tries to decide if she should bring Helen along to her brother's wedding. Kissing Jessica Stein was based on the off-Broadway play Lipschtick, which was written by Jennifer Westfeldt and Heather Juergensen, who starred in the original stage production as well as this film adaptation; the film won both the Critics' Special Jury Award and the Audience Award at the 2001 Los Angeles Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Jennifer Westfeldt - Jessica Stein
Heather Juergensen - Helen Cooper
Scott Cohen - Josh Myers
Tovah Feldshuh - Judy Stein
Jackie Hoffman - Joan

Love, lesbians and dating are explored in the independent hit Kissing Jessica Stein. Fox has done a very fine job at making sure this 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is clear and very presentable. The colors and black levels are all solid and well saturated with flesh tones appearing accurately. Aside of a small amount of edge enhancement in a few minor scenes, this transfer of Kissing Jessica Stein appears to be in great shape. The soundtrack is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround in English. Since this is a romantic comedy, it's not surprising to find a lack of bombastic surround sounds in the mix. While this track may not be overly busy, it does include some subtle directional effects whenever the music score of some ambient noise crop up. All aspects of the mix are free and clear of any excessive hiss or distortion. Also included on this disc are English and Spanish subtitles, as well as a Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround soundtrack in Spanish. Kissing Jessica Stein sports a few well produced supplements, starting with two commentary tracks: one by director Charles Herman-Wurmfeld and cinematographer Lawrence Sher, and a second by costars, co-writers, and co-producers Jennifer Westfeldt and Heather Juergensen. Both of these tracks feature a multitude of production information, though the second track by the women offers more insight and warmth than the generally dry director's track. Ten deleted scenes (presented in non-anamorphic widescreen) allow the viewer to see what was cut from the final film. While these scenes aren't all that exciting, it is fun to watch the cast crack-up and flub their lines. Finally there is a short featurette blandly titled "The Making of Kissing Jessica Stein" which is just a fluffy promotion for the film, and a full screen theatrical trailer. ~ Patrick Naugle, All Movie Guide