Holden and Banky are comic book artists. Everything's going good for them until they meet Alyssa, also a comic book artist. Holden falls for her, but his hopes are crushed when he finds out ... Read allHolden and Banky are comic book artists. Everything's going good for them until they meet Alyssa, also a comic book artist. Holden falls for her, but his hopes are crushed when he finds out she's a lesbian.Holden and Banky are comic book artists. Everything's going good for them until they meet Alyssa, also a comic book artist. Holden falls for her, but his hopes are crushed when he finds out she's a lesbian.
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It's also a bad "hetero bro movie" or "hetero gal's night movie" because it gets into the subject of homosexuality in a way that will probably make you feel awkward with your friends.
So basically you should either watch this movie alone, or with a gay friend. Or if you are gay, congrats, you can watch it with anybody.
That said, "Chasing Amy" is a hard-hitting sex comedy from writer/director Kevin Smith who brought us "Clerks", "Mallrats", "Jay & Silent Bob" (who make a brief cameo here), and "Dogma". "Chasing Amy" is perhaps the most serious of the bunch, diving boldly into themes of homophobia, sexism and sexual double standards. Yes, there are some great gags, particularly in the first half. But the love story gets pretty intense in the 2nd half, and humor is downplayed. There are some downright upsetting arguments which shift the tone away from comedy and into heavy drama.
For you Ben Affleck fans, be forewarned he's not always the "good guy" in this flick. In fact, he represents a sort of naïve, ultra-conservative, morally-judgmental attitude of society. His love interest Alyssa (Joey Lauren Adams) is the "good guy" who represents open sexuality and free-spiritedness. The only problem is, to me, she sometimes came across as ditzy/hysterical and hard to take seriously. Although she did a very believable job of acting, I can't help but wonder if the role of Alyssa would've been better filled by an actress who is a bit more commanding: Cate Blanchett, Charlize Theron, or even Cameron Diaz. Oh well, no biggie.
With its sexual-boundary-bending approach, "Chasing Amy" has a vibe that reminds me of the classic French feminism films of the 60s-70s with Catherine Deneuve and Brigitte Bardot displaying a new sexual honesty that was unheard of until then. It brings to mind the urban dictionary definition of a slut: a woman with the morals of a man ;)
Chasing Amy is, in my opinion Kevin Smith's best movie (Clerks 2nd, Dogma 3rd) and I really don't know where to start the praise.
Traditionally, Hollywood romantic comedies are... well, bad. Really lame PG-13 comedy, with some catch phrase repeated ad nauseum, and always some sort of "hilarious" incident involving a baby or a cute dog. And the characters are just as annoying as the lame jokes, so ultimately, you don't really care about whether or not they get together in the end.
Chasing Amy is different. These characters are lifelike.This isn't a romantic comedy for teenage girls. It's a movie for adults. Almost everyone can relate to being a situation where they've loved someone so much, but due to certain circumstances, you just weren't able to have that person. And I guess that's what Amy's all about. Unrequited love. Well, Unrequited love and sexual identity, but that's another topic for another day.
The real genius of this film is that for all it's serious themes, it manages to convey it's message without being at all pretentious. Most independent films have this sort of, arrogant pretentious "I'm so artistic" feel about them.......And I hate that. Smith's success lies in the fact that his movies are meaningful, and they're actually funny as well. And Chasing Amy is no exception.
In short, you'll be hard pressed to find a more entertaining, and realistic love story than Chasing Amy. It's combination of hilarious dialogue, interesting characters, and realistic themes makes it a winner.
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]
Did you know
- TriviaKevin Smith wrote the script inspired by his experience with then-girlfriend Joey Lauren Adams, who plays Alyssa.
- Goofs(at around 56 mins) When Holden is walking back to his car shortly after Alyssa leaves him in the rain, the camera crew is reflected in the window slightly to the left of Holden.
- Quotes
Silent Bob: So there's me and Amy, and we're all inseparable, right? Just big time in love. And then four months down the road, the idiot gear kicks in, and I ask about the ex-boyfriend. Which, as we all know, is a really dumb move. But you know how it is: you don't wanna know, but you just have to, right? Stupid guy bullshit. So, anyway, she starts telling me about him... how they fell in love, and how they went out for a couple of years, and how they lived together, her mother likes me better, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah... and I'm okay. But then she drops the bomb on me, and the bomb is this: it seems that a couple of times, while they were going out, he brought some people to bed with them. Ménage à trois, I believe it's called. Now this just blows my mind, right? I mean, I am not used to this sort of thing. I mean, I was raised Catholic, for God's sake.
Jay: Saint Shithead.
[Silent Bob elbows him; Jay motions as if to start a fight]
Silent Bob: Do something.
[to Holden]
Silent Bob: So I'm totally weirded out by this, right? And then I just start blasting her. Like... I don't know how to deal with what I'm feeling, so I figure the best way is by calling her a slut, right? And tell her she was used. I'm... I'm out for blood. I really wanna hurt this girl. I'm like, "What the fuck is your problem?", right? And she's just all calmly trying to tell me, like, it was that time and it was that place and she doesn't think she should apologize because she doesn't feel that she's done anything wrong. I'm like, "Oh, really?" That's when I look her straight in the eye, I tell her it's over. I walk.
Jay: Fuckin' A!
Silent Bob: No, idiot. It was a mistake. I didn't hate her. I wasn't disgusted with her. I was afraid. At that moment, I felt small, like... like I'd lacked experience, like I'd never be on her level, like I'd never be enough for her or something like that, you know what I'm saying? But, what I did not get, she didn't care. She wasn't looking for that guy anymore. She was... she was looking for me, for the Bob. But, uh, by the time I figure this all out, it was too late, man. She moved on, and all I had to show for it was some foolish pride, which then gave way to regret. She was the girl, I know that now. But I pushed her away. So, I've spent every day since then chasing Amy... so to speak.
- Crazy creditsJay and Silent Bob will return in "Dogma" ... (promise).
- Alternate versionsMany things cut from the final version available on laserdisc/DVD editions:
- ConnectionsEdited into Chasing Amy: Deleted Scenes (2000)
- SoundtracksLet's Go
Written by Ric Ocasek
Performed by Ernie Isley
Courtesy of Elektra Entertainment Group
By arrangement with Warner Special Products
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
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- Also known as
- Multiple Mistake
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Box office
- Budget
- $250,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $12,021,272
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $52,446
- Apr 6, 1997
- Gross worldwide
- $12,021,272
- Runtime1 hour 53 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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