Kissing Jessica Stein DVD Review:


The Movie

Fed up with her fruitless search for "Mr. Right" and tired of blind dates from hell, attractive journalist Jessica Stein (Jennifer Westfeldt) whimsically responds to a classified ad -- from Helen (Heather Juergensen)! Making and breaking new rules of dating as they go, the two women muddle through an earnest but hilarious courtship that blurs the lines between friendship and romantic love.

KISSING JESSICA STEIN included a moderate level of funny specks, but quite a few of the gags were tedious. I thought the film was useless. Perhaps the best way to describe KISSING JESSICA STEIN is “slow on the uptake”, which is perhaps the greatest problem I can imagine for this sort of outrageous gay comedy. I thought the cast stretched to try to sell the material - the cause seems thin and uninteresting for the most part. The movie never catches fire and it remains a flat and mind-numbing film.

The Video

KISSING JESSICA STEIN appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this single-sided, double-layered DVD; the image has been enhanced for 16X9 televisions.

Fox has done an exceptional job with the films presentation - the picture looked quite good. Sharpness appeared solid. The film came across nicely crisp and well defined. Jagged edges caused no concerns, and I detected no signs of edge enhancement. Some light grain showed up at times, but otherwise, the image was clean.

Colors looked natural. The film featured a rich palette, and the DVD replicated those tones well. Black levels seemed deep and dense, while shadow detail often looked clear. KISSING JESSICA STEIN sustained an engaging visual presentation.

The Audio

KISSING JESSICA STEIN contains a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack mix. The film lacked sonic ambition but this is typical for this type of film. The soundfield featured a definite emphasis on the forward channels. Music displayed good stereo imaging, while rear speaker usage largely stayed with equable reinforcement of the music and effects.

Audio quality seemed exact. Dialogue was clear and natural. Effects remained a lesser element of the mix, but they always came across clean and flawless, without distortion. Music presented the strongest aspects of the track. The songs always were nicely bright and vivid, and they displayed good low-end response as well. Bass seemed reasonably deep and tight. On the whole, the DD 5.1 complemented the film appropriately.

The Extras

- Audio Commentary by Director Charles Herman-Wurmfield and Cinematographer Lawrence Sher
- Audio Commentary by Heather Juergensen and Jennifer Westfeldt
- Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary
- Outtakes and Original Ending
- Behind-the-Scenes Featurette
- Theatrical Trailer

Overall, a nice/decent set of features.

Overall

Overall, KISSING JESSICA STEIN lacks the necessary bite to become a real success - The DVD offered a fairly solid picture and complimentary sound with a reasonably nice package of extras. Fans of the film will be generally pleased with this DVD. If you couldn’t care either way, you may want to consider a rental first.

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