The Opposite of Sex (1998)

Young Woman Wreaks Havoc
'The Opposite of Sex' is an interesting off-beat 1998 film that looks at real-life scenarios involving imperfect people that turn dramatic. The narrator of this story, Dede played by Christina Ricci, has an axe to grind, presumably due to her unpleasant childhood. As the movie opens, we see Dede desecrate her step-father's casket at his funeral while smoking a cigarette. She leaves the funeral early, and we see her jump into a convertable driven by Randy 'One Ball' Cates, an outspoken born-again Christian born with one testicle with whom she is romantically involved.

Upset with her family situation, she seeks out her much older gay half brother, played by Martin Donovan, a teacher named Bill who inhereted a large some of money from his deceased boyfriend, Tom, who died of AIDS. Tom's sister Lucia (pronounced "Lew-shuh"), played by Lisa Kudrow, who works as a teacher at the same high school as Bill and introduced Tom to Bill, is now a constant presence in Bill's life. When Dede arrives at Bills house, Bill's boyfriend Matt, played by Ivan Sergei, opens the door for her. Within a few weeks of living there, Dede seduces Matt and then tells him that she is pregnant with his baby. Matt concludes he is bisexual and becomes supportive of Dede, breaking up with Bill, who rightfully feels very mistreated.

Lucia and Bill are the moral compasses in this story. They are the reliable ones with the rightful claim to Tom's money who make sure everything turns out alright in the end. However, everything doesn't turn alright in the end for everyone. The greedy and cavalier personalities of Dede, Matt, and Randy act as a sort of 'axis of evil' when Matt and Randy get sucked into Dede's manipulative games. While Dede, pregnant and emotionally unstable, is vulnerable on one hand, her actions on the other hand ruin the lives of to whom she should be kind.

Dede has no conscience. Dede's character is slightly extreme in that nobody could really be this mean, but this film is a caricature of how cavalier and unconcerned people in real-life can become recklessly extravagant and screw up the situation for many people due to their uncensored greed and egotism.

This is a touching story because the scenario begins so seemingly normal. Then a vulnerable character, Dede, unwinds a delicately strung situation into an unraveled mess for everyone. Yet in the end, things start to work themselves out. For example, the whole dramatic scenario created by Dede helps Sherriff Carl Tippett, played by Lyle Lovett, to seek the courtship of Lucia by becoming involved with the legal scenario that Dede creates. With Matt's help, Dede illegally reposesses Tom's money and Tom's ashes, both of which rightfully belong to Bill and Lucia, allowing law enforcement to get involved. Bill and Lucia turn out to be the winners in the end because they can have the comfort of a clear conscience, but it is disappointing and discomforting when Dede gets off nearly scot-free.

Strange but Interesting
Delightfully different coming of age movie. You may have thought your teenager had an odd slant on life, but this young lady takes the cake, among other things. Funny and sad.

Strange but Interesting
Delightfully different coming of age movie. You may have thought your teenager had an odd slant on life, but this young lady takes the cake, among other things. Funny and sad.