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Starring Christina Ricci, Martin Donovan, Lisa Kudrow, Lyle Lovett, Johnny Galecki, Ivan Sergei.
Written and Directed by Don Roos.
Dedee (Ricci) is a bratty 16-year-old whose step-father has died, and she is happy to see him go. Stuck in small-town Louisiana and way too frisky for her own good, she takes off to see her half-brother Bill (Donovan) living in white-bread Indiana. Bill is a gay schoolteacher who lost the man he loved, Tom, to AIDS. But the good news is that Bill inherited Tom's money. Tom was a successful stock broker who made a killing in the 80's, and Bill received their beautiful home, and lots of cash. Dedee tells us "I don't have a heart of gold, and I don't get one later" and you will soon believe her. She's an operator, out to take care of herself. Bill is currently living with good-natured, not-too-bright model Matt (Sergei). Dedee applies the charm and begins an affair with Matt. And wouldn't you know it - shortly thereafter, Matt and Dedee announce to Bill and his fellow teacher Lucia (Kudrow) that Dedee is pregnant. Lucia is Tom's sister, who introduced Bill and Tom. She is almost as angry at the world as Dedee, partly because she has not been able to attract the man she wants. Well things "get very complicated here very quick". A wimpy little extortionist (Galecki) who loves Matt arrives to mess up Bill's life. The town sheriff (Lovett) who is after one of the others, is forced to arrest Bill. There is also a southern fundamentalist friend of Dedee's from Louisiana who seems to forget a whole bunch of commandments arriving at Dedee's command. One of them gets shot and killed, and guess who the murderer is? The characters end up in Los Angeles, Palm Springs and even backwoods Ontario before things come to a conclusion back in Indiana. The strength of The Opposite Of Sex is in its writing. Roos, a homosexual himself, has included lines and characters guaranteed to offend almost everyone - women, gays, fundamentalists, school boards and the good people of Louisiana. Roos utilizes Dedee/Ricci in voiceovers to explain certain events with a smart-ass tone that mostly works, and many of the movie's key thoughts and observations are revealed this way. Dedee explains the movie's title "Sex always ends in kids or disease. Or relationships. And that's the opposite of what I want." The movie not only cuts up most aspects of American life, but skillfully examines human nature and how sex colours a lot of human decision making. It asks whether sex is really worth it. It also makes fun of how movies tend to redeem its characters by the end, and the "After that summer, I was never the same again" teen-angst cliche. Ricci played the confused, angry little teenager in The Ice Storm very effectively, and she is again excellent as the over-developed tease with an under-developed (or non-existent) conscience. But despite her obvious manipulations, her hurting people who care for her over and over, and her voiceovers insisting she has no heart of gold, you can't help but like her and hope she can get over her anger. Don't hold your breath. Kudrow plays opposite her Friends character, displaying sarcasm and raw bitterness in a very funny way, getting some of the movies best lines. Donovan and Sergei are quite solid, and Galecki is hilarious as the obviously gay opportunist. The weakness - Lovett is not a very good actor, and it is sometimes painful to watch him slow down those around him. Also, the voiceovers and manipulations are sometimes just a bit too clever and manipulative, lessening the appreciation of some of the surprise plot twists. The ending for me was a bit unsatisfactory compared to the content of the rest of the movie. But the film is briskly paced, consistently funny and entertaining, and well worth a look for those who like a black-comedy-satire with a lot of edge.  
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