The Opposite of Sex . Memphis Flyer . 07-27-98

The Opposite of Sex

DIRECTED BY: Don Roos

REVIEWED: 07-27-98

The Opposite of Sex is a mordant black comedy in which the narrator, an amoral 16-year-old slut (Christina Ricci) cuts a ragged swath through several lives, extorting money, indirectly getting a sometime boyfriend killed, stealing her brother’s current lover and stealing the ashes of his former. DeeDee is a busy, if self-absorbed, girl.

As written and directed by Don Roos, the film itself is too busy, too contrived, too desperate to be hip. But viewers who stick it out to the final credits (which include Martin Donovan as the kind schoolteacher brother and Lisa Kudrow as his dead lover’s sister), may be surprised by the intelligence, wit, and thoughtfulness that has accrued through these characters’ picaresque adventures. A film and a narrative anti-heroine that pride themselves on deadpan cool and remote cynicism end up in a place we might not have expected, somewhere nearer the heart.

As the goodhearted brother, who is gay, Donovan gives an interestingly low-key performance and Ricci seems almost eerily accurate as the street-wise, foul-mouthed, burned-out Lolita, who has run away from an abusive home to a future she has no reason to believe in. But the real revelation of The Opposite of Sex is Kudrow’s funny, very touching performance as the smart, insecure sister who has an ongoing quarrel with everyone in the film, most querulously (and hilariously) with herself.

--Hadley Hury

Interviews
The Opposite of Sex

Full Length Reviews
The Opposite of Sex
The Opposite of Sex
The Opposite of Sex
The Opposite of Sex
The Opposite of Sex

Capsule Reviews
The Opposite of Sex
The Opposite of Sex
The Opposite of Sex
The Opposite of Sex

Film Vault Suggested Links
Little Voice
Slums of Beverly Hills
The Van

Rate this Film
If you don't want to vote on a film yet, and would like to know how others voted, leave the rating selection as "Vote Here" and then click the Cast Vote button.