In cerca di Amy

Tonight I watched Chasing Amy for the first time in about 4 or 5 years and realized that it's really a cheesy, cliché, predictable movie.

I almost wish that I hadn't seen it again, because I remembered it as a good piece of film that was really deep and meaningful, well put together and tightly written.

In actuality, aside from the self-serving in-jokes (which, as a fan of the Jersey Trilogy, I still greatly appreciate) there's really not much to it. It's the typical romantic comedy type story with a twist of gayness and comic books.

The point is: Mallrats will always be better, Clerks will always be best, and Dogma will always be the one with Chris Rock. (also, Rick Derris will always be a jerk and there will be a member of the Hicks clan around ever corner.)

Most everyone should know the plot from reading the summary, but just in case, here's the story: Holden and Banky have been best friends for 20+ years, having known each other since grade school. They now work together on a comic book called "Bluntman and Chronic", which is basically Jay and Silent Bob as superheroes (Note: It's probably best that you've seen Clerks and Mallrats beforehand, as this is the third in his interconnected Askewniverse series, which refers to characters, places, and events throughout each film and has the one constant of Jay and Bob in it.) One night, Holden falls in love with Alyssa Jones while playing darts after a comicon. The next night, he goes to see her and finds out she's a lesbian. However, they become friends and and he soon enough falls in love with her, and they start a relationship, much to Banky's disgust, throwing their friendship into the trash.

This film not only is a great story and a meaningful message about friendship, love, and accepting the past, but an allegory for the years before he made this movie. Notice how "Bluntman And Chronic" is a hit but critically slammed (in the DVD special features of deleted scenes), just like Mallrats was. Also, Alyssa is (literally and figuratively) Joey Lauren Adams, Smith's girlfriend at the time who he broke up with over her past. Holden writes the comic in the end as an apology to her, just like Smith made the movie as an apology/Valentine to Joey. All the characters are him on some level.

This movie rocks. Skip renting the video and buy Criterion's awesome DVD, with deleted scenes, an awesome commentary track, and much more

Chasing Amy tells the story of two comic book artists who have created a hit comic book called Bluntman and Chronic, based off of Jay and Silent Bob. One of them falls in love with a fellow comic book artist who turns out to be a lesbian. Throughout the film he pines for her, much to the dismay of his friend. This isn't the usual Kevin Smith View Askew film, but it's still highly enjoyable.

Kevin Smith had already proved he could make an intelligent comedy with Clerks, as well as a slapstick comedy with Mallrats. Now he proves he can make a romantic comedy with his own unique spin. All of his styles are still there. Comic books, Star Wars, etc. Only this time he adds a relationship. But this isn't your usual romantic comedy. This isn't awkward teenage boy tries to get the girl of his dreams, but instead ends up with the geeky girl that's liked him all along. No, this is the story of a successful comic book artist that unwillingly falls for a lesbian, and tries his best to win her, though the odds are against him. A romantic comedy with Smith's great style is a romantic comedy worth seeing. The story is good, the dialogue is great. My only problem with this movie was that it wasn't as much fun as Mallrats. However, it was more fun than Clerks, at least in my opinion.

The acting was pretty good. Joey Lauren Adams was good in her role, though her voice was a little annoying. Ben Affleck was very good, and Jason Lee was hilarious.

Overall, this is a very good movie for anyone that wants to see a different kind of romantic comedy, but if you're looking for a Mallrats/Jay and Silent Bob type film, this isn't it.

7/10

Miles away from his usual low level comedy, in Chasing Amy, Kevin Smith manages to deliver a great rom-com with some serious undertones.

There are the standard Smith jokes throughout the film, but this time they take a backseat to the touching tale of Holden and Alyssa. I don't know quite how he did it, but Chasing Amy feels real and unpredictable. It's not some glossy Hugh Grant/Julia Roberts production, instead it's filled with characters that feel more like real people, which is a nice relief.

The film manages to be both moving and funny, and the cast do their best work to date (Affleck and Adams at the hockey game must rank as one of my favourite scenes of all time). This may not be Smith's best known film, but it's definitely his best. [8/10]

With his third film, Kevin Smith tried to do something new for him: a grown-up film. As loved as it may (deservedly) be, Clerks is remembered for the crude humor rather than the plot, while Mallrats, which was meant to be a smart, amusing teen movie, turned out to be little more than a vehicle for Jason Lee's comedic talent. Chasing Amy is radically different: combining Smith's trademark superb dialogue, believable characters and a heartfelt story, it is one of the best, most insightful romantic comedies of the '90s, and the director's most satisfying picture aside from Clerks I and II.

Whereas his first two movies kept referencing other films as soon as there was time to do so, Chasing Amy centers on Smith's second great passion: comic-books. In fact, it all begins at a convention, where Banky Edwards (Jason Lee) and Holden MacNeil (Ben Affleck) are signing issues of their successful book Bluntman & Chronic. Afterwards, they hang out with fellow artists Hooper X (Dwight Ewell) and Alyssa Jones (Joey Lauren Adams), and while Banky spends all of his time arguing with Hooper over the racism in Star Wars (one of the funniest things Smith has ever written) or the gay subtext in Archie comics, something clicks between Holden and Alyssa, and soon enough they start seeing each other almost every day. It is obvious something deeper than friendship is in the air, and they both know it, yet there's a catch: Alyssa is a lesbian, or at least she used to be one before meeting Holden. Hence the big question: can they have a meaningful relationship with her past being such a huge burden? What kind of sacrifices will have to be made?

In another film, the boy-loves-lesbian premise would have been an excuse to deliver a 90-minute marathon of distasteful, gratuitously explicit jokes. Chasing Amy, on the other hand, is good because it really cares for its characters and whatever crudities there may be never feel excessive or out of place, but on the contrary they manage to convey the speaker's emotions more correctly (this is particularly true for Jason Lee's foolproof, energetic performance). The central love story is honest and touching, two characteristics that are evident in the realistic dialogue and acting: Adams, who hasn't managed to find a decent role ever since, portrays Alyssa as a human being, not a stereotype, and that's what makes her scenes with Affleck, always at his best when working with Smith, compelling and almost painful to watch.

Most of the time, Chasing Amy is a perfect balance between gross-out humor and tender romance, something the director kept toying with on the underrated Jersey Girl (where the jokes were less sweary than usual) and perfected with his masterpiece, Clerks II. There are, however, a few moments when Smith doesn't understand he has to stop and tells us everything about a certain character's personality, whereas he should simply have implied it. Overall, though, this feature remains one of the most hilarious, moving, revealing films of the '90s, with its best moment saved for the director himself: halfway through the movie, the mandatory Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Smith) make their appearance. In all the other View Askew flicks, they are just incredibly funny. This time, Bob breaks his silence and gives a long, thoughtful speech that explains the film's title and has more to say about love and relationships than certain movies do in their entire running time. Astonishing.

8,5/10