Chance

I'm a huge Buffy and Angel fan. When I heard that Amber Benson wrote and directed her own film, I went crazy. Even crazier when I saw the crazy high rating on IMDB. After looking for it for over a year, I finally found it and watched it.

What resulted is a movie which is very cheap and filled with bad acting. Okay, no offense to the Buffy and Angel lovers, but that's just the truth. The film's storyline was good but the directing Job was terrible and the acting was even worse.

In summary, it was cool to see Tara, Spike, and Lorne together. But hey, just because I'm a fan of Buffy and Angel, it doesnt mean I'll automatically like a movie which has relations to them. Those who gave Chance such a high movie rating here on IMDB are blatantly full of bias, which is understandable. But honestly, this movie aint that great.

I bought this film based upon the facts that (a) I'm a huge Buffy/Angel fan (b) James Marsters fairly permanently occupies the wallpaper on my PC (c) I was heavily influenced by the other reviews here on IMDb (d) I think Amber Benson is a talented girl and I've followed other projects like The Ghosts of Albion (UK's BBC Online)

Anyway, I digress - is the film actually any good? I think so.

It's not perfect, maybe periodically a little contrived; at times I found myself wondering if Jay and Silent Bob might just appear from somewhere, as some of the characterisations aped early Kevin Smith a little too closely, although I wouldn't blame Amber for looking in that direction for inspiration, the guy is a great writer/director.

I found the principal characters of Chance and Simon likable and easy to relate to, it took me a while longer to feel comfortable with the idea and structure of some of the other characters. Maybe that was intentional, I don't know. It was fun to spot all the Buffy/Angel-related people out of context :) Amber certainly doesn't typecast...

Some of the writing was laugh-out-loud funny and quotable, and the acting was first-class in all departments. I find it hard to believe that Chance has not been able to find a distributor to date. This film, and Amber Benson, show a hell of a lot more talent than the average Hollywood offering, and coming across as a "small film" in terms of budget and production style, has all the hallmarks of a cult hit given the opportunity of more than a just few thousand getting to see it.

I wasn't disappointed in the $68 (£39) I spent getting the movie over from the US - you buy an Amber signed poster and 10x8" print and get the DVD for "free" - the system seems to work, Benson Entertainment were very efficient and I got the film in 2 weeks from start to finish - pretty impressive!

I wish Amber Benson every success in any further attempt to get Chance distributed properly, and any future productions - based on the projects she's done so far, she's got a real chance(sic) to be a big Hollywood player in the not-so-distant future.

I took a 'chance' and bought this film, but know that others may be wondering whether it is worth a view. Amber Benson does an admirable job here as writer/director/lead actor and her casting of James Marsters was inspired, if very understandable as a result of the Buffy link. He has obvious pedigree and audience appeal, which will immediately reach a greater range of viewer. But one soon realizes that you are not watching 'Spike' and that his role as Simon, the love interest, is rather engaging in it's own right. For those huge fans of James - I know there are many - this film allows him to shine ever brighter,whilst exploring a very different character. And there is sufficient romance to please. It is a real shame this film does not have a distributer. They are missing a huge market if the James Marsters web sites are to be believed. Give it a go if you can get hold of a copy. Well worth a look.

This movie was not only highly entertaining, amazingly clever, but it was silly while being poignant. That is a hard feat to pull off! You followed the life of the main character, Chance, and watched her go through the same things we all have gone through, and watched her react just a little differently than you'd expect. I loved this. The casting was great, and now the movie has been distributed by Small Planet Pictures. Amber Benson wore a lot of hats for this production, and I think she wore them all perfectly. If you are the type who only buys films that you know will be great, then trust me and buy this one. You won't be disappointed!

I just saw this wonderful film at the Sidewalk film Festival and it was awesome. Amber is so talented.....is there anything she can't do?? The film was fun and very entertaining. The script was clever. The soundtrack and score were incredible. 'Chance' was the best film I saw all weekend. Amber rocks!