The Opposite of Sex - an example of great casting...

When I first saw the opposite of sex when it came out in the theater, I wasn't sure what to expect.I knew Christina Ricci, who played the little girl in the Adam's family Movie (Wednesday?) was in it, and I knew there were gay characters, and nothing more.

It starts out with Christina's character, Dedee, starting your classical movie narrative "this is how it all began" with a cocky, bitter, (and to me more realistic) teenage viewpoint. The dialog in the narriative is directed towards us also in a way that gives us credit for having a head on our shoulders, and a sceptical eye for movies, especially when they start out with "this is how it all began.." She says something to the effect of "this is who I am, so if you're expecting a story where I suddenly grow a heart and get all gushy and you see me turn my ways, then you went to the wrong movie...".

She leaves home to stay with her gay half brother Bill (Martin Donovan), to basically live off him, expecting him to welcome her with open arms, with little respect for his good nature (he seems to be the nice type that always gets taken advantage of)or for his gay relationship with his young, cute, and as she acknowledges dumb boyfreind (Matt Siegel). She uses her brother, and has an affair with his boyfriend (in one scene...she tells the dumb boyfriend she is "late" after they sleep together, and he starts to jump up to get the car to rush her to wherever she is late too, and she says "you really are gay, aren't you? I'm late, that means I may be pregnant")Usually I have a hard time with movies that portray people with a disrespect towards gay people, but it was written in a way that you know the writer is not seriously gay-phobic, its just part of Dedee's bitter, snide character.

Lisa Kudrow (Friends, Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion) does a great job at playing Bill's cynnical, bitter, distrustful, naggy sister, watching out for Bills welfare, with sort of a thirst for the drama that ensues in the movie.

I feel like I'm giving much of the plot away, so I'll give just a little more...

So Dedee steals her brother Bill's ex-love-of-his-life's ashes (to extort money from him), runs away with his boyfriend, then hooks up with her not too smart and self-righteously crazy ex-boyfriend (who has a complex about only having one testacle), blackmails Bill, while Bill just tries to get the ashes back from her, and make his name good again.

Lyle Lovett (the country singer), and Johnny Galecki (from Roseanne) are also in the movie, and well cast for their roles.
Dedee's bitterness can get outrageously ridiculous, but you can't help but like her, even though she doesn't have the highest of morals.
And the ending is good, it feels a little quick-to-be good (like suddenly they said.."lets end this movie now") and unrealistic, but its what I was hoping for.

I bought a copy, because it is the type of movie with classic funny lines that I could watch over and over, forced my mom to watch it, and by the first ten minutes she was laughing and totally into the plot...I think its a good movie for those of us with an East-Coast sense of humor, and don't always want a rose-tinted view of life.