Well, the newsroom isn't the star of this movie, but the lead character is a journalist (and her ex-boyfriend her editor) and the fact that she and her ex are both writers is relevant to the storyline ... so I thought I'd jump in with the title, in case anyone is looking for something new to rent this weekend.
The movie is called "Kissing Jessica Stein" and it has fast become one of my favorites. It was a smaller indie film from 2002 (I rented it last fall, soon after it hit the video stores), so you may not have heard of it. But I found it to be so utterly delightful that I try to recommend it whenever I can.
I like to sum up the movie by saying "Can a straight woman find love in a non-straight relationship?" but the story is so much more than that. I think anyone who has a best girlfriend will appreciate the humor (and I laughed throughout -- it's very funny) but also the emotion of the story. There is also the subplot of Jessica's cynical ex-boyfriend, bitter because he's given up his own writing to work as an editor instead -- and who may be regretting giving up his girlfriend now, as well.
Here's the official description:
KISSING JESSICA STEIN is a fresh take on the subject of sex and the single girl. When we first meet Jessica - a sensitive but neurotic New York journalist - she is at the end of her emotional rope. Her brother's engaged, her best friend's pregnant, she hasn't dated in a year, and she can't sleep.
After an optimistic but nightmarish dating spree, she happens upon an intriguing personal ad, whose only drawback is that it's in the 'women seeking women' section. On a daring whim, she decides to answer it. She meets funky downtown hipster Helen Cooper for drinks and, to her surprise, they click instantly. Their evening of banter, connection and heated debate culminates in a kiss that confounds and intrigues even the reluctant Jessica.
With conventional gender roles absent, the two women proceed to muddle through an earnest, but hilarious courtship, making up the rules as they go along. KISSING JESSICA STEIN is a modern romantic comedy that breaks all the rules - it blurs the lines between friendship and romantic love, and finds the funny, surprising and ultimately poignant overlap between the two.
OK, so yeah, it's a chick movie <g> but my husband liked it too. We both found it clever, well-written, and very funny.
Kathy
