Entertainment
Every once in a while, a real hidden gem gets uncovered, and it always helps if a proto Jess Mariano is involved. You may have forgotten (or never even knew) that Milo Ventimiglia and Chris Evans starred in Opposite Sex, a 2000 teen dramedy. Honestly, the series lasted all of eight episodes, so either way I don't blame you. But now that I have your attention, perhaps you can interest you in all the wackiness that spans over the course of this short-lived series.
Aside from the overall Dawson's Creek vibe laid out by all these late '90s/early 2000s shows, Opposite Sex is intriguing for its light feminist undertones. Although it follows Jed (Ventimiglia) as the lead protagonist, he's thrown into a formerly all-girls academy filled with many strongly opinionated young ladies. All the while, he has his other fellow male students, your garden variety nerd and jock types (guess one Evans is).
I decided to re-watch the Opposite Sex pilot to truly immerse myself in what could've been and dug up some highly amusing moments along the way. The pilot doesn't feature anywhere near enough Chris Evans goodness, but there's tons of Ventimiglia in here that will make you wish that this show was back on the air.
1
The Absurd Amount Of Candles
Even with this as a dream sequence, that's, like, an egregious amount in the vein of all those swans in The Notebook.
2
The Debut Of Cool Chick Miranda And Her Choker
It's like the one you bought off Nylon Mag's shop last week, except it probably cost $20 instead of 20 cents.
3
Also When She Plays A That Dog Cover
Even for 1999/2000, that's such an obscure band to target (I just found out about them from Brooklyn's hippest, like, last week) so kudos, show.
4
The Credits, Which Are As Predictably Early '00s As You'd Think
There's at least one shot toward the end of the gang group hugging, like that's a thing I do with my friends all the time.
5
When This Chick Basically Chastises Jed For Having A Penis
OK, not really. She's all salty because she thinks letting boys into the school would tamper with its legacy, but the fact that she's wearing cashmere, pearls, and a headband makes this hard to take seriously.
6
Jed Has An Adorably Pretentious Moment Correcting His Military School Teacher About 'Heart of Darkness'
"It's a novella." But OK, this has Jess written all over it.
7
Jed Catches His Brother Having Sex, Who Says It's Not What He Thinks It Is, And Then He Says It's Not What It Looks Like
And Jed is all, "Really? Because I think it's sex, and it looked like sex."
8
Jed Complains To His Counselor That He Doesn't Want To Be That-Guy-Who-Wears-Plaid Or That-Guy-With-Weird-Hair
Not wearing plaid and not having weird hair would help with that, probably.
9
Also His Counselor Has Interesting Choices In Lipstick
What is that, like, a frosted mauve?
10
When Jed Literally Starts A Petition For Men's Rights, OMFG
It includes a vouch for hearty lunches to make strong boys, I swear.
11
This Chick Who Basically Slams Jed's Friend For Offering To Tutor Her Like She's Just Some Boob-Toting Moron
Preach.
12
Miranda's Hideous Lime Green Outfit, And How Jed Is So Smitten With Her That She's Still Wearing It In His Fantasies
Like, really, how can you take anyone seriously in an outfit like this?
13
And Then For A Moment We Think Jed's Counselor Is Sending Him Love Notes??
She's not, but it's glorious that this felt like a momentary possibility.
14
Also We Get To See A Fantasy Sequence With Her In The Green Outfit
What's wrong with this guy?
15
Cool Girl Miranda Is Revealed To Be Jed's Big Sister
Not literally. It's a junior-sophomore mentoring thing, and the best part is that Jed is Miranda's little sister (as indicative of the candy-filled baby bottle she presents him).
16
This Entire Weird Sisterhood Party
A literal Ladies' Night, with plenty of performances and a lot of randos in the crowd wearing sombreros.
17
The Sequin-Encrusted Outfits Under Their Feather-Topped Overcoats
Also, is that a belt made out of doll house figurines? What is going on?
18
When Jed Is Lifted And Spun By His Friends
He's king of the world.
19
And Then His New Blonde Friend Pops Up As Baby Spice
They share a series of longing glances, so it's obvious that he's going to put at least some of his affections on her, and that'll snowball into some sort of love triangle with our Token Cool Chick. Or not. You can definitely get to watching the series now to find out.
