Jessica Stein (Jennifer Westfeldt) is a pleasant but somewhat neurotic writer for a Manhattan weekly newspaper. (Think of a merging of Lisa Kudrow’s Phoebe character from “Friends” with Mary Tyler Moore’s old Mary Richards persona). Her sarcastic ex-beau, Josh Myers (Scott Cohen), is her editor. Tired of being set up on dates with one loser after another, Jessica notices an intriguing personal ad in her paper containing a quote from a favorite German poet, Rilke. The only problem is that the ad was placed in “the women seeking women” personals, and Jennifer prides herself on being straight as an arrow.

Figuring she has nothing to lose, she sets up a meeting with the ad’s author, a hip Greenwich Village art dealer named Helen Cooper (Heather Juergensen). Helen has dated more men than women but, on a whim, wants to try something different. After much consternation on Jessica’s part, the two eventually become a couple.

I am sorry to disappoint the Howard Stern fans out there, but even though the plot centers around two women becoming involved, there is very little titillation here. To borrow from the “Mary Tyler Moore Show” analogy I previously used, it is as if imagining what would have happened if Mary had dated Rhoda instead of merely being her friend. The film centers around the universal problems that occur in all dating relationships, and, frankly, it becomes easy to forget that the two key characters are an experimenting couple.

You have to give director Charles Herman-Wurmfeld credit for making this film in New York on a shoestring budget, forgoing the classic trick of trying to pass off Toronto as New York.

The two lead actresses are terrific, as is veteran actress Tovah Feldshuh, who plays Jennifer’s liberal mom from Scarsdale. Scott Cohen also deserves kudos for creating a character showing that not every man Jennifer encounters is a shlep. His wry observations are a linchpin in this film.

The Verve soundtrack follows in the tradition of such romantic comedies as “Sleepless In Seattle,” “You’ve Got Mail,” and “Annie Hall,” as it features such hard-to-find standards as Blossom Dearie’s “Put On A Happy Face” and “I Wish You Love,” Ella Fitzgerald’s “Manhattan” and Dinah Washington’s “Teach Me Tonight.”

“Kissing Jessica Stein” is a class act all the way.