The Opposite of Sex
A movie review by "Average Joe" Barlow
(c) Copyright 1998
STARRING: Christina Ricci, Lisa Kudrow, Lyle Lovett, Martin Donovan,
Ivan Sergei
DIRECTOR: Don Roos
WRITER: Don Roos
RATED/YEAR: R/1998
Actress Christina Ricci closes a door on her life in Don Roos' brilliant new film, "The Opposite of Sex." Gone forever are the days of Wednesday Addams and "That Darn Cat"; here, Ricci delivers a performance that is strong, confident, memorable, and more adult than we have any right to expect from an actress her age. (The end credits actually carry a message assuring the audience that "no minors engaged in any sexual activities" during the filming of the movie.) To say that sixteen year-old Dedee, the character Ricci plays, is a bad seed would be a gross understatement. She's sassy, mean, tough, and so resentful of her parents that she hurls stones and obscenities at the coffin during her stepfather's funeral. She chain-smokes, has no real friends, and is so fond of the physical aspects of life that when she suddenly finds herself pregnant, it's anybody's guess who the father is. Hating the atmosphere at home, Dedee flees to the house of her rich gay brother Bill (Martin Donovan), a man she has seen exactly once in her life. Putting on her most pathetic-looking face, the manipulative Dedee tearfully asks to stay for a few weeks. Bill, taken in by her charm and apparant helplessness, caves in at once. The poor guy doesn't realise he's making the biggest mistake of his life. All goes well until Dedee takes a liking to Bill's boyfriend Matt (Ivan Sergei). The two forge an uneasy friendship, with the homophobic Dedee trying to convince Matt that he'd enjoy sex with a woman if he'd only try it. She offers him her body, and eventually Matt succumbs... which gives Dedee the opportunity to name Matt as the father of her child. Matt, who isn't exactly the sharpest stick in the bunch, believes her completely. All this takes place in the first few minutes of the film; the rest of the movie depicts Bill and his friend Lucia (Lisa Kudrow) chasing Matt and Dedee across North America as her pregnancy develops. Along the way the characters will fall in and out of love with each other, commit numerous felonies, and wonder what the hell they're doing. As well they should. That capsule summary may make the film sound like nothing more than an empty-headed teen-comedy, but the film is much more than this; it's closer to "Taxi Driver" than "Cannonball Run." Roos, who also wrote "Single White Female," presents us with equal parts film-noir and in-your-face comedy. This is a staggeringly funny movie, driven by a fierce intelligence. And though it's an undeniably dark and twisted ride, it contains the highest joke-to-scene ratio of any film since "Clerks." The movie's split-personality is a big part of its charm. The film is narrated by Dedee, who constantly reminds us that we're not supposed to like her. She knows she's a bitch and couldn't care less. "I don't have a heart of gold and I don't grow one later," she warns in the opening voice-over, and it's true. But amazingly, Dedee never feels like a caricature or stereotype. Ricci plays the role with all her heart, giving us a memorable character that manages to grow and change over the course of the movie despite her best efforts not to. Dedee will never be Mother Teresa, and that's fine, but neither is she a one-note heroine/ villain. The life Ricci brings to the part has to be seen to be believed. There's already talk of an Oscar nomination for her, and I couldn't agree more. Ricci is obviously getting the most attention of the film's cast, but she's not the only one doing admirable work. Just try not to smile at the amiable Carl (Lyle Lovett), a shy policeman who only has eyes for Lucia... who in turn only has eyes for Bill... who's still in love with Matt... who ran off with Dedee... who feels alone. Moments like this are exactly why the film works so well: it knows that love isn't always a wonderful thing. It frequently hurts, disappoints, offends, and frustrates. Carl is easy to love; Lovett's portrayl conveys the sense of longing we've all felt, wanting someone who doesn't know we exist. Lisa Kudrow also manages to charm as Lucia, the former ugly-duckling who only wants to be loved... but would sooner die than admit it to anyone. This is admittedly not a film that has much use for political correctness; it will offend as many as it thrills (indeed, it already has). But if you're not afraid of a movie that shows no fear, get to a theater immediately. This is by far the best film I've seen this year.
RATING: 4.5 stars (out of a possible five)
This review was originally written: July 6, 1998 Revised: July 7, 1998
Copyright (c) 1998 by Joe Barlow. This review may be freely distributed as long as ABSOLUTELY NO CHANGES are made and this disclaimer remains attached. It may not reproduced for profit without the written consent of the author. If you have comments or questions, please send them to: jbarlow at earthling dot net (substituting the appropriate symbols, to discourage spam).
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"Average Joe" Barlow MiSTie #73097
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