Review: The Opposite of Sex (1998)

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The Opposite of Sex

Rating

Director

Don Roos

Screenplay

Don Roos

Length

1h 45m

Starring

Christina Ricci, Martin Donovan, Lisa Kudrow, Lyle Lovett, Johnny Galecki, William Lee Scott, Ivan Sergei, Megan Blake, Colin Ferguson, Dan Bucatinsky, Chauncey Leopardi, Rodney Eastman

MPAA Rating

Basic Plot

A young girl insists on playing her relatives for fools and does everything she can to get her way.

Review

Family dysfunction doesn’t usually find its way out of the home, but when it does, trouble is around every corner.

Dedee Truitt (Christina Ricci) is a young woman whose step-father has just died, leaves home to get away from her alcoholic mother. She seeks out her half-brother, Bill (Martin Donovan) and weeds her way into his life and ultimately causes problems.

She falls in lust with Bill’s new gay lover, Matt (Ivan Sergei). Matt hasn’t been able to get as close to Bill as he’d hope, because Bill’s last lover, Tom, died of AIDS. Tom’s sister, Lucia (Lisa Kudrow) has never been able to cope with Tom’s death and has latched onto Bill simply because she misses him.

Yet underneath Lucia’s dour façade, is a lonely woman who desperately wants to love and be loved in return. That kind of emotion seems foreign to Dedee as she tries to convince Matt that he’s not gay and that all he has to do is sleep with her to prove it. Eventually he does and Dedee’s plans are set into action.

When Matt and Dedee leave, one of Matt’s lovers, Jason (Johnny Galecki) drops by threatening Bill if he doesn’t tell him where Matt went. Since Bill is as clueless as Jason is on their whereabouts, he cannot provide the information, which prompts an angry Jason to swear Bill had sexually molested him when he was a student.

This sets into motion a long road of denial, treachery, love, hate and murder. Along for the ride, attempting to either prove or disprove Jason’s allegations, is Sheriff Carl Tippett (Lyle Lovett). He longs for Lucia who doesn’t even seem to know he’s alive…or even interested.

From there on, there are various twists in the plot and any other discussion of the film might give away an important conclusion.

“Opposite of Sex” is a fantastic movie about love and lust between men and women, both gay and straight. It’s a marvelous look at how no matter who or what we are, we all have a basic desire to feel wanted and even loved. Which is something that we spend our lifetimes in search of.

Ricci is fantastic in her latest adult film role. She continues to prove that her terrific job in the Addams Family movies wasn’t just a shot in the dark. She has blossomed into a serious screen actress who will one day take home an Oscar for her terrific work.

Kudrow also has something to prove with this movie. She proves that she doesn’t have to be a ditzy blonde (her characters on TV’s “Mad About You” and “Friends”) in order to be an affecting actress.

Donovan is a great welcome to this film. He is so sympathetic and naïve that it’s sometimes hard to figure out what he truly wants. Lovett has never been better. Sergei is also a wonderful addition to the film. He is ultimately stupid, yet intelligent with all the charm and beauty that would make him the desire of any man or woman.

The weak link in the cast is Galecki. He had such promise when he appeared on TV’s “Roseanne,” but isn’t able to make the transfer to the big screen. With two films this past year, “Suicide Kings” and this movie, Galecki has been both good and annoying. Here he is simply annoying. He isn’t ultimately believable and his stereotypical gay portrayal seems like a half-hearted attempt at humor.

First-time director Don Roos does a good job at bringing these characters to life. He’s previously written several films, one of which is the wonderful “Boys on the Side” which also deals with a homosexual element. Roos knows his way around the ideas of homosexuality as well as the human condition. He’s able to tug at the right heartstrings while dousing his screenplays with enough humor to keep them afloat.

“The Opposite of Sex” is one of the year’s small gems.