Skip to main content

The Screen Queen Presents: The Incredible Jessica James


by Dana Muwwakkil

Jessica James is one dope chick and she knows it. Bursting with confidence and oozing raw, feminine, energy (as she puts it), Jessica is both funny and sharp. Played by the enchanting Jessica Williams, the character is a theater teacher who is well-loved by the students she inspires, but struggles to find the same recognition as a Big Apple playwright that she did in her hometown. When we meet her, we find that her dream of directing her own plays has been met with a series of rejection letters. Although she seemingly takes them in stride, rejection is one area of life that our lead feels a bit insecure about.

Still haunted by the ghost of a past relationship (she stalks her ex’s Instagram account), her love life also causes distress. While reluctantly agreeing to go on a blind date, she finds an intriguing connection with Boone (played by the charming Chris O’Dowd). The budding romance is adorable, but it’s not the main focus of Jessica’s life or her story.

A Netflix original that shies away from the generic formula of most romantic comedies, The Incredible Jessica James still serves up a little sweetness and lots of laughter. Both fun and smart with a lead as complex as she is vibrant, it is well worth adding to your queue.

Screen Queen Dana Muwwakkil tackles social trends and movies in her blog and for other publications. She, her husband and their three children live in Ulster County. This review originally appeared in the Jan/Feb 2018 Issue.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Movers & Shakers: Laura Bagnarol and the Pigskin Princess Project

In mid 2014, Laura Bagnarol, a social worker from Dutchess County who worked with survivors of child sex abuse and domestic violence, began looking for a summer program for her daughter. “There weren’t a lot of choices and everything was hyper-feminine. There was only cheerleading, dance, gymnastics, soccer and T-Ball,” she says. “Then I was like, why don’t we take the most masculine sport, flip it on its head and introduce it to girls?” By summer, the Pigskin Princess Project – a football empowerment program for girls who would rather be on the field than on the sideline – began with a group of 10 5- to 7-yr-olds. By spring 2018, there were 50 girls between the ages of 3 and 10 registered. The Pigskin Princess Project gets young girls up and moving – even those who may not be that big into sports at all – by teaching them the basics of football through fun drills, challenging agility exercises and scrimmaging. It also highlights community involvement project...

The Screen Queen Presents: Love Beats Rhymes

by Dana Muwwakkil Meet Coco (rapper Azaelia Banks), the self-assured wordsmith looking to get a record deal for her music group. A natural leader, she is the only female rapper in her group and her ability to string together words effortlessly is important to her because music – particularly rap – is her life. While Coco considers herself a bit of a master of her craft, her social life is at a standstill as she is hung up on Mahlik, a young man in her group who doesn’t seem to be interested in anything more than their casual hook ups.    Coco is hustling to get a demo together for a potential agent and waiting tables at her mom’s cafe, but her mother hounds her to finish school. Coco concedes to her mother’s wishes and signs up for classes at her local community college. Only a few credits shy of getting her degree, she decides to take what she assumes will be an easy course called Poetry 101.  Immediately Coco and Professor Dixon (Jill Scott) butt heads ove...

Handling Rude Service Professionals

by Tri-County Woman Magazine Staff Most people have probably come in contact with a less-than-friendly cashier, waitress or salesclerk at one time or another, but is it expecting too much not to be made to feel like a bother?  “For service professionals, rude behavior could be ignoring you, not giving you any eye contact, talking to someone else while helping you or what have you,” says Lydia Ramsey, business etiquette expert and author of  Manners That Sell: Adding the Polish that Builds Profits . “It doesn’t matter if that person had a rough night’s sleep or fought with their boyfriend. It should never affect the level of service you receive.” So even if your server just got evicted from his home, just had difficulty with the customers in front of you and has a toothache, you should not be treated as if those difficulties are your fault. And suffer in silence you shouldn’t, either. There are plenty of things you can do to keep the ugly behavior to a minimu...