Kissing Jessica Stein
| Kissing Jessica Stein | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Charles Herman-Wurmfeld |
| Produced by | Eden Wurmfeld Brad Zions |
| Written by |
Heather Juergensen Jennifer Westfeldt |
| Starring | Jennifer Westfeldt Heather Juergensen Scott Cohen Jackie Hoffman |
| Music by | Marcelo Zarvos |
| Cinematography | Lawrence Sher |
| Edited by | Kristy Jacobs Maslin Greg Tillman |
| Distributed by | Fox Searchlight Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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97 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1 million |
| Box office | $10 million |
Kissing Jessica Stein is a 2001 American independent romantic comedy film, written and co-produced by the film's stars, Jennifer Westfeldt and Heather Juergensen. The film also stars Tovah Feldshuh and is directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld. It is also one of the earlier film appearances of actor Jon Hamm. The film is based on a scene from the 1997 off-Broadway play by Westfeldt and Juergensen called Lipschtick.
Twenty-eight-year-old Jessica Stein, a copyeditor living and working in New York City, is plagued by failed with men, and decides to answer a newspaper's personal advertisement containing a quote from Rilke that she had read and admired earlier. The advertisement has been placed by Helen Cooper, a thirtysomething bisexual art gallerist who is seeking a lesbian relationship to replace her unsatisfying and meaningless sex with men.
Given some of the men Jessica is shown to be test-dating at the start of the film, it's no surprise she'd want to fan out her prospects a little. As nervous as Jessica is about dating Helen, she realizes after a surprise kiss that a different experience can be good. Through the early part of their relationship, Jessica finds in Helen everything she'd dreamed of finding in a man. They are compatible, they like many of the same things, and they are caring for one another. Even when Helen gets sick—which she says earlier in the film never happens to her—Jessica is there to care for her.
The only predicament for the relationship is Jessica's nervousness concerning same-sex intimacy. Over the early weeks of their relationship, she and Helen slowly work on building up her confidence in this area by gradually extended make-out sessions. Eventually, they graduate to full intimacy, which is initiated by Jessica during an over night stay at her parents' home in Scarsdale. In spite of Jessica's happiness with Helen, she keeps the relationship secret. Jessica's secrecy means that she has to endure scenes that would not happen had she been open about the two of them. One example occurs during a dinner to celebrate her brother's engagement. Her mother had invited an IBM executive in hopes of setting him up with Jessica.
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