Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Dedee Truitt, a wild, rebellious Louisiana teenager, runs away from home after her stepfather's funeral and moves in with her half-brother Bill. Bill, who is much older than his sister, is a gay teacher living in an affluent suburban community in Indiana with his young lover, Matt. Dedee takes a fancy to the good-looking Matt who, unknown to Bill, is actually bisexual, and seduces him, then elopes with him, after tricking him into believing that he has got her pregnant. (She is pregnant, but by another man). To make matters worse for Bill, he is falsely accused of sexually assaulting Jason, one of his former students.The plot gets a lot more complicated than that, but I won't set out all its twists and turns. Three other characters who play an important part are Randy, Dedee's ex-boyfriend and the real father of her child, Lucia, the sister of Bill's deceased partner Tom, and Carl, a policeman who is romantically interested in Lucia. (Lucia is always apologising for the fact that her name is not pronounced in the Italian way, which she seems to think was an error on the part of her parents, but in fact the pronunciation she uses, "Loosha", was the traditional English form of the name, and is still preserved in the name of the Caribbean island of St Lucia). The film was both written and directed by Don Roos. It was the first film to be directed by him, although he had previously written a few scripts. These included "Diabolique", that dreadful remake of Clouzot's "Les Diaboliques", and "Single White Female", an enjoyable if not particularly original thriller, but "The Opposite of Sex" is far more imaginative than either of those.(It perhaps has some similarities with Roos's quirky script for "Love Field"). The film has been described as "politically incorrect" for its view of gay life, and was even marketed under the slogan "You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be offended". I did not, however, find anything about the film particularly offensive. Certainly, Jason is a fairly unpleasant character, and Matt a bit of an airhead, but the idea that no gay or bisexual character can ever be shown in anything other than a positive light is a patronising one, like the idea that no film can ever have a black villain. In any case, Jason is treated in a much less negative way in this black comedy than a character making false allegations against a teacher would have been treated in a serious drama, and the film has one positive gay character in the shape of the decent, kindly and likable Bill. Bill is also portrayed as quiet, sober and conservative, something unusual in Hollywood which generally prefers gay characters to be camp, witty and flamboyant. There is a quite remarkable performance from the eighteen-year-old Christina Ricci as Dedee. Ricci had already made her name as a child star in films like "The Addams Family" and its sequel and "Casper", and had made the transition to more adult roles in "The Ice Storm" the previous year. Dedee is a wonderful character- rude, cynical and with no respect for anyone, but possessed of a certain intelligence and a ready wit. She says that she will not turn out to have a heart of gold, and means it, but we sense that her crude, rebellious nature is the result of an unhappy childhood, the details of which we never precisely learn. The title of the film derives from one of her sarcastic observations about life, that sex is precisely the opposite of what people should want, as it leads to kids, disease or, "worst of all, relationships". Ricci received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy; watching this film reminded me of how surprised I was to learn that she has never won, or even been nominated for, an Oscar. But then, "The Opposite of Sex" is the sort of clear-eyed, unsentimental film that the Academy has never much cared for. Of the other actors the one who most impressed me was Martin Donovan as Bill. Johnny Galecki as Jason was a bit annoying and Lisa Kudrow as Lucia occasionally reminded me too much of her Phoebe from "Friends", even though the characters are supposed to be quite different. The American cinema- and this was as true in the nineties as it is today- is often criticised for its conservatism- not in the political sense but in the sense that it can become excessively reliant on the familiar and the tried and tested. Occasionally, however, Hollywood can come up with something brilliantly new, and there were a number of such films in the late nineties, Peter Weir's "The Truman Show" and Sam Mendes's "American Beauty" being two particularly outstanding examples. "The Opposite of Sex" is perhaps not in the same class as those masterpieces, but it is nevertheless a refreshingly cynical black comedy with an original take on human relationships. 8/10

Personally, it annoys me when a film is marketed as something it's not. For the most part, these films disappoint because of unrealized expectations. There's no reason for studios to do this; they're marketing their movies to people who wouldn't like them (which leads to bad word of mouth), and alienates the audience that would actually like the film. The trailer for "The Opposite of Sex" promises a gleefully wicked and twisted comedy, but what the film offers is anything but.DeeDee Truitt (Christina Ricci) is a sixteen-year-old who after the death of her step-dad, takes off from her Alabama home and heads to Indiana to with her gay half-brother, Bill (Martin Donovan). To avoid giving anything away, I'll stop at saying that this leads to a number of complications.As much as I griped about the film being horrifically mismarketed, I still liked the film. I'd give it a weak recommendation, but I wouldn't hesitate in doing so. It's well acted, and I actually felt for a lot of the characters.Christina Ricci has completely rejected Hollywood, and instead concentrated on perfecting her craft instead of becoming a tabloid queen. Her hard work has paid off; few performances are different from DeeDee Truitt and any of the wholesome characters she's played in Disney movies. DeeDee is the ultimate problem child: foul-mouthed, slutty, and completely amoral. Yet Ricci allows us really feel for DeeDee on some level. As Bill, DeeDee's half-brother, Martin Donovan is like Ned Flanders, only not as obnoxious (and gay instead of evangelical Christian). He's too nice for his own good, but he's not a complete doormat either. He's still pining over the death of his lover, Tom (Colin Ferguson), which is affecting his relationship with Matt (Ivan Sergei). Speaking of, Matt is a self-acknowledged dim bulb, but he's not as dumb as he first seems. Small, but over the top, performances by Johnny Galecki and William Lee Scott are also effective.Many people have been raving about Lisa Kudrow's performance as Tom's sister, Lucia. It's effective, but for the most part not much different than her usual characters. She's just more cynical and less ditzy than her other characters. But the differences aren't all that noticeable. Kudrow is effective, but Sheriff Carl Tippett, played by Lyle Lovett, is the one I felt for the most. He's earnest and really cares for Lucia, although she is too busy looking after Bill to realize it.The film, written and directed by Don Roos, is effective, but a little too twisted and convoluted for its own good. It's all a little much, and it's possible to become lost at some point. Still, I liked it. Just don't expect the blistering comedy that the trailer promises.

OK, now I understand the reason why many people will dislike this movie. It deals with many taboo issues, such as underage sex/pregnancy, homosexuality in a unfavourable light, murder, profanity, mischief and illegality. Writer/director Don Roos gambled the movie's entire ideologies in order to get the important message across. Lets face it, it's not as if Roos is an inexperienced scriptwriter of this ilk. After all, he penned the screenplay to another "Anti-women's liberation" movie, 'Single White Female'. He seemed the perfect guy to translate the honesty of lower/middle class America to the screen; and the style he chose to produce the movie in needn't be mentioned at this stage. Now, onto the film itself...Didi Truitt (Christina Ricci) is the most cynical and sarcastic of all teenage girls. She believes the world owes her favours and should pay dividends. Her step-father passes away and so she leaves her mother and goes to find her long-lost step-brother Bill Truitt (Martin Donovan) in hope that he will take her in and give her the life of Riley, which she never had at home. She takes a gun with her...She knocks at his front door - his boyfriend answers; this shakes Didi up, but nevertheless she is in desperation, although she never lets it transcend. Her step-bother is an English teacher at the local high school: He is a pushover of a man who has no discernible masculinity whatsoever. He lost a very close ex-boyfriend to AIDS a year before which is obvious to the viewers that this wrecked his life, but to his "handsome airhead" of a boyfriend, Matt Mateo (Ivan Sergei), it is not.Due to the close relationship he held with his ex, he has since adopted a possessive and maniacal "sister-in-law" figure, Lucia (Lisa Kudrow), who wholeheartedly disapproves of Didi right away. Lucia is a dominant presence in Bill's life and she takes the helm whenever any crisis is imminent. Many people hate Lucia - she doesn't care.Didi and Matt have a crush on each other and basically, they end up in bed together. After months of sneaking around behind Bill's back, Didi announces that she is pregnant, and that Matt is the father. They steal Bill's $10,000 stashed in his safety deposit box and elope to Los Angeles where Matt takes up a minimum wage job to support Didi and the unborn child. Matt quits his job after running into Bill and comes home early one day to find Didi in bed with Randy (the guy with one ball). She announces to Matt that the baby is in fact Randy's. The latter has a terrible temper and he and Matt begin to rumble. Didi and Randy leave together and set up home elsewhere. He and Didi have a confrontation in which she ends up killing him.Matt visits and they leave together to escape the law. Didi has the baby and the audience's expectations are toyed with again here. The narrator (a monotonous and cynical Didi) tries to convince the viewers that she dies during childbirth. This is held for about 15 seconds, then the truth is revealed.At the end of the movie, Didi goes back to school - more bad-tempered than ever - and Bill is left with the child, while he becomes involved with Didi's parole officer. The final shot is where Didi shouts "Go!" to the audience. A sign of anxiety and depression, or just plain swings-and-roundabouts for a troubled teen? Anyway, I've missed out a bit involving a character called Jason and the media circus that he erupts on Bill's already sucky life. But just in case you read this before watching the movie, at least there's a couple of surprises in there for ya.All in all, an excellent, if complicated, movie (of course, in my opinion). There are not enough honest movies like this one. In a time when the only teenagers Hollywood churned out were those from 'American Pie' and 'Cruel Intentions', it was a breath of fresh air. I am a firm believer in that people should be taught the importance of self-discipline when growing up. Knowing how to deal with certain situations, etc. I also believe that Hollywood perhaps shouldn't gloss over things as much as they do. It is really important that some people have access to a film that deals with adolescence frankly; and as far as the message goes - It leaves a deep mark that you won't soon forget.Great Movie - ****

I love, love, love this movie! Granted, you have to be able to appreciate an independent film and all that goes with it (some bad acting, strange random actors and a left-of-center plot line), but quite frankly this is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. You don't sympathize with the main character, but you're not supposed to. It's not a feel good movie and it's pretty much going to make you want to kill her, but Christina Ricci is great at pulling off the bad girl. But it is easy to sympathize with her brother and it offers a lot of laughs about completely inappropriate topics. If you like indie films, Christina Ricci or movies that appeal to the gay community, then I would highly recommend it.