YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
by Jim Wunderle
"The Opposite of Sex"
Directed by: Don Roos
Starring: Christina Ricci, Martin Donovan, Lisa Kudrow, Lyle Lovett Rated: R
When reading about Don Roos' directorial debut, you are going to see endless adjectives along the lines of "dark," "acerbic," "cynical" and "mordant." Add to those descriptions "wickedly witty" and "one of the best films of the year," and you'll be on the right track.
A decidedly "black" comedy, "The Opposite of Sex" will not suit everyone's taste, but the dialogue, characters and brutal honesty of the narrative add up to a high point for the state of the movies, 1998.
This is Roos' first time out as a director (he also wrote the screenplay), but as a writer, he's no stranger to the Hollywood scene. His screenplay for "Love Field" got Michelle Pfeiffer an Oscar nomination in 1992.
"Boys on the Side" was a critical hit that solidified Drew Barrymore's comeback as an A-list actress, and "Single White Female" was a great psychological thriller the kind that sticks with you and gives you the creeps for days after, like the memory of a bad dream.
The only black mark on Roos' fine track record is his screenplay for the downright dreadful remake of the classic French mystery "Diabolique." Considering the stature of the original, the 1996 version
is a film that should never have been
made.
In "The Opposite of Sex," Roos brings a lot of the best elements of his previous efforts and adds a big helping of black comedy and razor-sharp dialog. The cast, a true ensemble, seems to relish this rich repartee.
Dedee Truitt (Christina Ricci) is the central character and narrator of the film. Early in her voice-over, she warns us that she's not one of those characters with a heart of gold and isn't going to grow one later in the film. We tend to believe this as the funeral scene unfolds.
At her stepfather's grave, as relatives are solemnly tossing in handfuls of dirt, Dedee flips a cigarette butt and tosses a couple of chairs in the open grave. She then tells us that it's quite appropriate that this guy "...died of cancer of the (rectum)." No, this is not your typical "sweet six-teenager."
After the funeral, Dedee runs away from her Louisiana home and tracks down her half brother, Bill, a gay schoolteacher living in a small Indiana town.
Bill is recovering from the recent death of his longtime companion, has inherited a nice house and large sum of money, and is currently sharing his bed with a young man named Matt.
After Dedee barges in on their lives, it's short work for her to push the rather dim-witted Matt into a state of bisexuality. Before you know it, Dedee is pregnant and she and Matt take off to start a "life" together.
Bill finds himself in a bit of a predicament, brought on by a young friend of Matt's, and with the help of the cynically bent Lucia (she's the sister of Bill's dead lover) he heads off to track down Dedee and Matt.
Along the way we meet Randy, Dedee's religious redneck ex-boyfriend from Louisiana; Carl, the weird deputy with a weirder past; and Jason, Matt's other boyfriend who is making trouble for his former teacher, Bill. It's a strange ensemble, but each character plays an integral part of the whole, and each actor seems made for his or her role.
Christina Ricci is no stranger to dark comedy. After playing Cher's daughter in "Mermaids," Ricci broke out in the character of Wednesday Addams in Barry Sonnenfeld's "The Addams Family."
She's no stranger to adolescent sexuality, either. Her role in last year's "The Ice Storm" marked Ricci's emergence as a young actress to be reckoned with. With that film and her role as Dedee, Ricci stands a good chance of redefining the way Hollywood views the female body.
Ricci doesn't exactly fit into the "Twiggy on a diet" body style that popular movies have been pushing as the definition of sexy for the past decade.
Martin Donovan plays Bill with the quiet dignity that he's shown us before, most notably in Hal Hartley's "Trust" and "Amateur." If there's any justice in Hollywood (ha ha) Donovan will get an Oscar nomination for "The Opposite of Sex."
Finally, more kudos to Kudrow. I've never seen her TV show but enjoyed her a lot in "Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion." Here she stretches her acting chops to be a rather spinsterish schoolmarm type with a tongue made of razor wire.
As mentioned earlier, "The Opposite of Sex" may be too dark, or too frank about sexuality for some. Those who like their comedy on the dark side (think "Harold and Maude" or "The Ref") and want to delight in the best dialogue of the year won't be disappointed.
(Jim Wunderle works at Associated Video Producers and is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician.)
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