“The Opposite of Sex” (1998) is a small film that announces big things, namely Christina Ricci’s emergence into adult roles and Lisa Kudrow’s branching into non-“Friends” roles. Indeed, she became a go-to actress for writer-director Don Roos.
This bone-dry comedy came out in the “It’s cool to not care” un-PC-by-today’s-standards Nineties. But filmmakers were starting to get interested in LBGT culture as it inched toward mainstream acceptance — with films, of course, playing a role in that shift.
An uneasy ‘Chasing Amy’ chaser
So we end up with a movie that’s edgy by the standard of the times, going up to some taboo lines without crossing them. An accidental companion piece to 1997’s controversial “Chasing Amy” (wherein a man romances a lesbian), “The Opposite of Sex” begins with Matt (Ivan Sergei) – the 20-something boyfriend of 30-something Bill (Martin Donovan) – being seduced by Bill’s half-sister, the teenage Dedee (Ricci).
“The Opposite of Sex” (1998)
Director: Don Roos
Writer: Don Roos
Stars: Christina Ricci, Martin Donovan, Lisa Kudrow
It should of course be understood that when a movie shows a situation between two people, it’s not necessarily making a universal statement. That having been said, it’s a winking ’90s thing that after having sex with a woman for the first time, Matt is ready to marry Dedee and raise her child.
Less obvious, but along a similar thematic line, Lucia (Kudrow) seems asexual or demisexual, but in “The Opposite of Sex” it’s a case of her protesting too much. When she finally says “f*** it” – um, literally – with Sheriff Carl (Lyle Lovett), she scraps her theory that sex is overrated.
“The Opposite of Sex” doesn’t make brave new statements, but it playfully flirts with doing so, and as such is consistently watchable – even if its 105 minutes are 15 too long. Roos sometimes dodges cliches and sometimes pretends like he’s going to. The sum of these parts ends up compelling because we’re kept off balance.
A brash narrator
Narrator Dedee communicates with the audience as if she’s knows not only that we’re watching, but also what we’re thinking: “If you think I’m just plucky and scrappy and all I need is love, you’re in over your heads. I don’t have a heart of gold and I don’t grow one later, OK?” Recognizing that a movie with an unlikable narrator would be grating, Dedee’s narration assures us that other people in the story are likeable, and that is indeed true.
The casting of Ricci is cinematic trickery, because she’s one of those actresses who couldn’t make her character totally off-putting if she tried. (Woody Allen’s “Anything Else” also takes advantage of this.) As such, “The Opposite of Sex” is likeable despite its supposedly up-front intentions to be crass.
Oddly, prudish (at first blush) Lucia is the most likeable of the surrounding cast, as she immediately stands up to Dedee, not copying other characters’ excuse that she’s a child in need of help. (Indeed, the scheming Dedee is so sure of herself that it’s shocking to be reminded she is 17 – and to remember that Ricci was not much older.) Also, Kudrow gets a lot of conversation-closing zingers, and nails them.
As “The Opposite of Sex” challenges assumptions such as the relative value of sex in relationships, it likewise can’t avoid cliches such as the notion that there’s no such thing as bisexual – a person is just toggling between gay and straight till they find out which one they are.
Roos’ film is a study in opposites as it toes the line between indie cred and mass appeal. I find it to be slightly safe – and in contrast to many little gems of the era, the soundtrack and score are weak, like placeholder music. But “The Opposite of Sex” has a confident enough voice that I might check out more of the director’s work – and I can see why Ricci and Kudrow became ones to watch.