Movie Diary: Rediscovering 'Kissing Jessica Stein'
"Game of Thrones" season six was 100 percent the reason I recently signed up for HBO Now - its streaming library of movies was a complete afterthought. I developed a love-hate relationship with HBO's movie lineup when I had HBOGo a few years ago - HBO still pales in comparison to Netflix, but it's not without its charms.
HBO's streaming movie library is (relatively) small - but it's a nice mix of current movies (right now it has new films like "The Martian" and Suffragette") as well as some great little movies I had almost forgotten about. Case-in-point: I was flipping through HBO Now's catalog last night and was way-too-excited to find "Kissing Jessica Stein," a great indie rom-com from 2002!
I had forgotten how much I had loved this refreshing, breezy independent comedy. I was lucky enough to catch it in theaters while I was in college - and instantly loved the sharp script and the charming, jazzy soundtrack. It's buoyant, bubbly energy makes this a delightful and charming comedy that remains grounded in its two main characters (one is a sexually frustrated woman and the other is her tentatively, sexually restrained girlfriend). This commitment to character allows the comedy to be accessible to any and all audiences.
Jeez - I now realize I first saw it at a movie theater that no longer exists and own the movie (and its soundtrack) on formats that no longer mean anything (DVD and CD respectively). While formats and movie theaters come and go, it's great to see indie gems like "Jessica Stein" endure on streaming formats like HBO Now.
Have you recently re-discovered any movies you love on video streaming services?
