Review of The Opposite of Sex (1998) by Luis G — 10 Dec 2007

The Opposite of Sex is a great movie that unfortunately never got much attention when it was first released. It stars Christina Ricci as the manipulative white trash narrator who seduces her gay half-brother's boyfriend in order to blackmail him into paying for the baby she has on the way (which she claims belongs to the boyfriend). Just to be on the safe side, she steals the ashes of her half-brother's dead ex Tom (aka Tom the Dead Guy) to use as bargaining chips.

This movie is filled with quirky but believable characters, great dialog, and wonderful acting by all the cast. The narration is wonderfully written and actually plays around with the audience quite a bit. At one point the narrator is talking about how Bill (the brother) was heartbroken about his lover leaving him, and shows all the standard "heartbroken person" stuff along with sappy music. Then she tells the audience how they were tricked into feeling sorry for the guy, and points out that he also paid bills, ate, and did other stuff as well.

This is the kind of movie that could have been sappy and obnoxious, but manages to be a lot of fun to watch because it doesn't take itself too seriously. All in all, well worth watching.