February 14, 1999 -- This is one of those movies that never made it to Laramie, but has been touted by some to be one of the best films of the year, so I rented it.

The problem with renting a film is, unless you have a high resolution TV with a big screen, a nice sound system to go with it and a good DVD player, the viewing experience is very inferior to that of a movie theater. That makes it tough to get as good a first impression of a movie seen on television as one seen the theater.

With that caveat, I must say I found "The Opposite of Sex," to be a little tedious. It seemed as though when the screenwriter ran out of ideas, he had all the characters jump in cars and drive somewhere else. The only trouble with all this driving around is that it does not advance the plot, rather what it does is disguise the fact that this is just a situation comedy that could be done with a couple of basic living room sets. Granted, the bisexual nature of the relationships aren't standard sitcom material, but it isn't that shocking in a movie, either.

The deconstructionist manner in which the main character, Dedee Truitt (Christina Ricci of "The Ice Storm") speaks directly to the audience about the plot, what's going to be important later in the film and so on, seemed unnecessary. Don't prattle on about how clever the plot is, get on with it! Show us, don't tell us.

The other depressing fact about the film is that every character seems to be trying to blackmail, coerce, manipulate or steal from every other character. The message is that the relationships aren't about love, but about sex, power and money. There is a fine speech about the nature of these kinds of relationships near the end of the movie made by a bisexual character named Matt Mateo (Ivan Sergei). The only trouble is, the speech is totally out of character.

Mateo, who has helped steal $10,000 from his former lover Bill Truitt (played Martin Donovan) and run away, explains to Bill that his expectations for him were too high and that you can't make sense out of matters of the heart. There is one interesting relationship in the movie, however, and that is between Bill and Lucia (Lisa Kudrow). Lucia, the sister of Bill's former lover, is obviously attracted to Bill and wants to take care of him, even though he seems pretty self-sufficient.

Lucia is constantly tagging along with Bill, scolding him and mothering him and Bill kind of likes this in a way. It is a very odd relationship. Orbiting this pair is the local sheriff, Carl Tippett, (Lyle Lovett of "The Player"). Tippet, being the only straight man in the group, is kind of a foil for the rest of the action.

If you don't mind the slow way the plot develops and the meandering, pointless road trips around the U.S. and Canada, this isn't a bad film. If you mistake novelty for quality, you might even think this is a good or great film. I rate it a C+.

Click here for links to places to buy this movie in video and/or DVD format, the soundtrack, books, even used videos, games and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.