"Chasing Amy" Talkback (Spoilers)

[moreysurf8]

It's not who you love. It's how.
http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/18/CHASINGAMYREPR.JPG
"She wasn't looking for that guy anymore, she was looking for me... for the Bob" -Silent Bob


Release Date: April 4th, 1997
Studio: Miramax
Director: Kevin Smith
Starring: Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, Jason Lee, Dwight Ewell, Jason Mewes


Plot Summary: The two Garden State guys this time around are Holden (Ben Affleck) and Banky (Jason Lee). At a comic book convention, the co-creators of "Bluntman and Chronic" meet Alyssa Jones (Joey Lauren Adams), a New Jersey native who draws a comic entitled "Idiosyncratic Routine." Holden thinks they click, but proceeds to discover that Alyssa is a lesbian--then manages to convince her to take a chance on him anyway. The real conflict comes when Holden gets hung up on Alyssa's checkered sexual past. What's more, Banky mounts an anti-Alyssa campaign whose intensity and bile Holden can't understand.


http://www.viewaskew.com/chasingamy/index.html

Buy the movie! (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00003CX9D/toonzone03/)


Comments?

Arguably Kevin Smith's best film and my personal favorite, Chasing Amy was able to combine Smith's trademark humor and dialouge with a bit more maturity. While it's not his funniest movie (that would go to Clerks) it's certainly his best effort I think. Jason Lee steals basically every seen he's in and delivers a hilarious performance. Post your thoughts.

[Bud 'n Lou]

Ben Afflecks cures lesbianism. Blah. Straight male masturbatory fantasy. You can argue that there's more to the movie than this, but I will never get past it. This movie irritated me.

[Stu]

My least favourite Smith movie, it was good, but too much of a chick flick for me. I didn't think it was as funny as his other films. But it had some good acting in it, from Lee and Affleck. Lauren-Adams got on my nerves a bit, paticullary when she started shouted. I hope Jersey Girl is better than this one, because despite not being a leading character, Jason Lee was the star of this movie, easily IMO.

[Patrick Bateman]

Really good movie. It dealt with stereotypes and people from all walks of life. And it did it with a sense of humor. As in all of the View Askew flicks (with the exception of Clerks), Jason Lee is the bright spot. He's just great.


Ben Afflecks cures lesbianism. Blah. Straight male masturbatory fantasy. You can argue that there's more to the movie than this, but I will never get past it. This movie irritated me.
There was so much more to it than that. The character of Holden McNeil didn't "cure lesbianism". The woman wasn't a lesbian in the first place. She was using lesbianism as a shield. Not only that, but the fact that in the end, she doesn't end up with Holden and instead with another woman shoots down the "cured lesbian" theory.

Sorry to be so defensive, but this is one of my top 5 favorite movies. :p

[Silent Bob]

Sorry to be so defensive, but this is one of my top 5 favorite movies.

It's one of my favorite, too, and possibly my favorite Kevin Smith movie, as well. I enjoy this movie so much because I can actually relate to it. I had a similiar experience which had a huge impact on me, and this movie is a nice reminder of it. Plus the amazing acting and heart breaking 'hockey rink' sequence are unforgettable.

I recommend renting the DVD and listening to the commentary and the accompanied essay to understand this movie more.

[Mynd Hed]

"I'm a lesbian! This is who I am! How dare you try to change me!"

*two seconds later*

"Ooh, I love you, Ben Affleck!" *kissing in the rain*

Blech. That was the moment when I lost all respect for the female lead, and hence all emotional involvement in the movie and all interest in the outcome. Broadly drawn, unrealistic characters and overly melodramatic scenes like the one paraphrased above made this movie fail as a drama, and too much screen time spent on said failed dramatic aspects made this movie fail as a comedy. I love Kevin Smith movies, but I HATED this one with a passion. What happened to the brutally realistic, flawed characters in Clerks, who could manage to be side-splittingly funny one moment, then offer subtle commentary on the human condition the next, without ever affecting believability? They were nowhere to be seen in this particular farce, that's for sure.

Overall Grade: D+ (Would've been an F if not for one or two really funny scenes and the comic-fanboy fun of noticing all the little Jersey-chronicle-continuity nods to other Kevin Smith movies.)

"What, Chasing Amy? That'd never work as a movie."

-Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back

Truer words were never spake.

[Bud 'n Lou]

Really good movie. It dealt with stereotypes and people from all walks of life. And it did it with a sense of humor. As in all of the View Askew flicks (with the exception of Clerks), Jason Lee is the bright spot. He's just great.


There was so much more to it than that. The character of Holden McNeil didn't "cure lesbianism". The woman wasn't a lesbian in the first place. She was using lesbianism as a shield. Not only that, but the fact that in the end, she doesn't end up with Holden and instead with another woman shoots down the "cured lesbian" theory.

Sorry to be so defensive, but this is one of my top 5 favorite movies. :p
She's not really gay, she just hasn't found the right man yet! As I said, Blah. :0P And really...Ben Affleck? Come on. She goes straight for Ben Affleck of all people? PLEASE.

[NachoHat]

Though it's probably my least favorite of all of Kevin Smith's movies(never seen Dogma outside of Comedy Central), it's still a pretty good movie. Some of it seems a little ridiculous and I don't think it's nearly as funny as Clerks, Mallrats, or Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Still, there are some really good parts(the "There's a dollar in the middle of the road..." part comes to mind) and there's nothing horribly wrong with it.

A solid 3/5.

[moreysurf8]

She's not really gay, she just hasn't found the right man yet! As I said, Blah. :0P I don't know if you noticed this but even Kevin Smith pointed it out from the "Evening with Kevin Smith" DVD. Banky says that line, and did you ever notice Banky's pretty ignorant and homophobic, so it would make sense for him to say that..no?

[Bud 'n Lou]

I don't know if you noticed this but even Kevin Smith pointed it out from the "Evening with Kevin Smith" DVD. Banky says that line, and did you ever notice Banky's pretty ignorant and homophobic, so it would make sense for him to say that..no?
Yeah, it would. So? He seemed to be right, since she fell in love with he of the sickly grey skin. Then again, homosexuality is caused by abuse of some kind in a person's past, resulting in a hatred of the opposite sex. So I suppose that's understandable.
I will always and forever hate this movie. It represents so many of the things I hate. I will never be able to see past these things.

[Mynd Hed]

Then again, homosexuality is caused by abuse of some kind in a person's past, resulting in a hatred of the opposite sex. So I suppose that's understandable.

Can I please assume that this statement is ironic?
And, bro? The red text on the purple background is pretty hard on the eyes there.

[Bud 'n Lou]

Can I please assume that this statement is ironic?
Yes, you can.

And, bro? The red text on the purple background is pretty hard on the eyes there.
Oh.