Christina Ricci Movie:

Editorial Review:
Christina Ricci had a great year in 1998. The young actress continued to cast off her youthful image from the Addams Family movies and made a big splash on the independent movie scene, especially in this scathingly witty comedy in which Ricci has the central role. Here she plays Dedee, a buxom, sexually precocious teenager who's pregnant, cynical, and looking for a volunteer father for her unborn child. This takes her to the home of her gay half-brother (Martin Donovan) whose current lover (Ivan Sergei) becomes Dedee's latest target for seduction. That's just the start of the mischief that Dedee so masterfully orchestrates, and Lisa Kudrow (from TV's Friends) is also on hand to deliver some of the movie's most quotable dialogue while fending off the affection of a local policeman played by Lyle Lovett. If all this sounds rather sordid, rest assured that the movie's got a warm heart (well, sort of) beating beneath all of its sharp-edged sarcasm. Writer-director Don Roos (Single White Female) injects most of the movie's appeal and humor through Dedee's voice-over narration, which constantly reminds us that even the most familiar movie clichés can be cleverly overturned. As a result, The Opposite of Sex is the opposite of boring. --Jeff Shannon

The Opposite of Sex [Region 2] Reviews:
Wickedly evil dialogue fills this movie
2009-10-30 - I'm a long-time fan of this film and I finally took the time to read all the reviews and comments already here at Amazon to find out what others thought. Usually I don't add reviews to a film with an existing body of comments, feeling I have little to add to what others have already said, but in this case I'm making an exception.

One actor commented in another review that the performances come across as a cold read. While I agree with that opinion of some of the performances, acting is not my forte. I'm a writer and my appreciation of this film is for the wonderful script. If you like your comedy dark and uncompromising, (think Heathers) then you will enjoy some of the crackling and sarcastic dialogue waiting for you in this story.

The plot itself isn't designed to bring compelling comparisons to Citizen Kane. The characters are ignorant, easily manipulated, individuals. Contented and in some cases arrogantly complacent people have their lives turned upside down by the arrival of a trailer-trash backwater tramp. It's a common enough contrivance to twist the "fish out of water" plot, but Ricci plays her part as one who is better prepared for her new environment than those that already call it home. Her performance is a tour de force and this film was the exact transitional point in her career that allowed her to move from the "goth child" whimsy of her early films into the sexier and more adult fare she tends to favor today. Her acting is actually a cut above what she delivers in films like Monster, where she at times seemed almost in awe of her costar. Here she takes center stage and the only real competitor in sight is Lisa Kudrow, who gives an uneven but wickedly sharp-tongued turn.

An example of the dialogue I referenced earlier is provided by Kudrow in fact. Early in the film, Ricci announces she has become pregnant by her brother's gay lover. Kudrow turns to the brother and says, "I thought you were gay!" He informs her that he is bisexual and without missing a beat Kudrow retorts, "Oh PLEASE! I went to a Bar Mitzvah once and it didn't make me Jewish!" Her delivery of this line is full of such venom that half of the audience I saw it with was deeply offended while the other half, myself included, burst out in loud and approving laughter.

Such is the nature of black comedy. It walks the fine line between offense and hysteria. When it misses the mark, as is often the case in lesser scripts, the entire film suffers. When it finds the balance it delights as many people as it offends. Such is the case with The Opposite of Sex. The majority of reviewers here have adored the crisp dialogue, and a vocal minority found themselves offended or lost.

Amazon recently dropped the price of this movie and while the older $20 price tag may have made it a risky choice for someone who hasn't already seen the film, at the new lower cost it's worth every penny to give this movie the chance it deserves. If nothing else, it's a chance to watch a young talent make the successful transition into adult-flavored roles that have eluded so many other child actors and actresses.


8-)
2008-12-24 - Loved this movie! Might not be for everyone though . Amazing acting and great story.

3 stars out of 4
2008-12-18 - The Bottom Line:

A well-written and quirkily amusing comedy, The Opposite of Sex is highly recommended for anyone sick of watching the same formulaic comedies again and again and again.

The opposite of sex.
2008-02-23 - Christina Ricci is wonderful in this early movie. Some reviewers have criticized the performance of Lisa Kudrow, but I thought she added greatly to the story line.

Young Woman Wreaks Havoc
2007-01-19 - "The Opposite of Sex" is an interesting off-beat 1998 film that looks at life scenarios involving imperfect people that turn dramatic. The narrator of this story, Dede, played by Christina Ricci, has an axe to grind, presumably due to her unpleasant childhood. As the movie opens, we see Dede desecrate her step-father's casket at his funeral with a cigarette. She leaves the funeral early, and we see her jump into a convertible driven by Randy "One Ball" Cates, an outspoken born-again Christian with one testicle with whom she is romantically involved.

Upset with her family situation, she seeks out a living space with her much older gay half brother, played by Martin Donovan, a teacher named Bill who inherited a large some of money from his deceased boyfriend, Tom, who died of AIDS. Tom's sister Lucia (pronounced "Lew-shuh"), played by Lisa Kudrow, who works as a teacher at the same high school as Bill and introduced Tom to Bill, and Lucia is now a constant presence in Bill's life.

When Dede arrives at Bills house, Bill's boyfriend Matt, played by Ivan Sergei, opens the door for her. Within a few weeks of living there, Dede seduces Matt and then tells him that she is pregnant with his baby. Matt concludes he is bisexual and becomes supportive of Dede, breaking up with Bill, who feels mistreated.

Lucia and Bill are the moral compasses in this story. They are the reliable ones with the rightful claim to Tom's money, and they make sure everything turns out alright in the end.

However, everything doesn't turn alright in the end for everyone. The greedy and cavalier personalities of Dede, Matt, and Randy act as a sort of "axis of evil" when Matt and Randy get sucked into Dede's manipulative games. Dede, pregnant and emotionally unstable, is vulnerable on one hand, yet her selfish actions on the other hand ruin the lives of those to whom she should be kind.

Dede has very little conscience. Few people in real life could seem to be this mean. Yet "The Opposite Of Sex" is a caricature of how cavalier and greedy people can screw up the situation for kind and caring people.

This is a touching story because the scenario begins so normal. Then a vulnerable character, Dede, unravels a delicately strung situation into a mess for everyone. Yet in the end, things start to work themselves back out. For example, the whole dramatic scenario created by Dede helps Sherriff Carl Tippett, played by Lyle Lovett, to seek the courtship of Lucia by becoming involved with the legal scenario that Dede creates. With Matt's help, Dede steals Tom's money and Tom's ashes, which rightfully belong to Bill and Lucia, and law enforcement gets involved. Bill and Lucia turn out to be the winners in the end by having the comfort of a clear conscience.