In 1997, Christina Ricci began to appear in more "mature" adult roles, beginning with Christina Ricci's role as the troubled, sexually curious Wendy Hood in Ang Lee's critically acclaimed The Ice Storm. The actress handled the part with maturity, leading many observers to conclude that Christina Ricci was truly beginning to come into her own. This assessment was solidified with Christina Ricci's subsequent roles in films like the independent hit Buffalo '66 (in which Christina Ricci played Vincent Gallo's unwitting abductee-turned-girlfriend), John Waters' Pecker, and Don Roos' The Opposite of Sex (as the acid-tongued, manipulative Dede—a delightfully loathsome girl who wreaks tabloid-style havoc on everyone Christina Ricci encounters). For Christina Ricci performance as Dede, Ricci was nominated for a Golden Globe and attained the unofficial title of the Sundance Film Festival's 1998 "It" Girl.
