The Opposite of Sex

Sometimes what makes a film stand out is how well it's written. It's not just how the pieces of the story come together. It's also about how well the characters interact, how its many elements function. And, most importantly, how it's presented to the audience.

And sometimes it needs to have a certain bite to it. That was certainly what Don Roos had in mind when he made The Opposite of Sex. Many if not all of the lines from Dede (Christina Ricci) just drip with venom. To best describe her would require a line from Sweet Smell of Success; she's a cookie full of arsenic.

Similarly, a number of Lucia's (Lisa Kudrow) lines are among some of the script's best. Bear in mind that Friends had been on the air for a few years by that point, so people knew what Kudrow was capable of. (The same year The Opposite of Sex was released, she won an Emmy.) And much like the sitcom that made her famous, the proves that Kudrow was more that capable of stealing every scene she's in.

The Opposite of Sex features something normally not found in your average comedy: well-written roles for actresses. This was released the same year as There's Something About Mary and The Big Lebowski (where women don't really have much to do) so this was a nice change pace. (Remember: indie films have better parts for actresses.)

The Opposite of Sex has a bite to it that other films seldom try to repeat. (Gone Girl is the most recent example.) And as stated above, it provides some damn good work for any willing actress. (And yet nearly twenty years later, such roles are lacking.)

My Rating: ****