Chasing Amy (1997)
US 113m, Colour
Director: Kevin Smith; Cast: Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, Jason Lee, Dwight Ewell, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith
As the third installment in Kevin Smith’s View Askew series of films, Chasing Amy is a verbose romantic comedy which weaves explicit sexual language and humor into a complicated plot involving three friends whose varying sexual orientations strain their friendship and feelings for one another. The story largely revolves around Alyssa, a lesbian who questions her sexuality after developing feelings for a male friend, Holden, who is best friends, roommates and business partners with his Banky – his comic book inking partner, who may also have feelings towards him. Despite the improbability of Holden’s resolution to his romantic woes, Smith’s dialogue, and the emotionally raw performances, especially from Joey Lauren Adams, are stylistically reminiscent of John Cassavetes’ cinéma vérité of the late 1960s (Klaus Ming March 2011).
4 comments on “Chasing Amy (1997)”
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i liked chasing amy a lot the first time, back when i was discovering k. smith. revisited it a while back and didn’t get very far into it. guess i’ve moved on.
I hadn’t seen it a 3 or 4 years, and while i wasn’t as enamored by it as I was the first time I still appreciated smith’s writing and Adam’s delivery. Dogma is up next.
I always thought this was one of Smith’s best films. Certainly a comeback from the disastorous Mallrats. I just watched it for the 3rd time last night and still get a kick out of it. Lee and Adams both really shine here. This is the performance that should’ve made a star of Adams if it wasn’t for her helium voice, too bad. Affleck, of course, is just his usual Mr. Bland here. Got to be one of the most dullest actors out there. SNORE!
While I wouldn’t disagree with you about Affleck’s acting style – I think he’s the perfect “slacker” in this role. and I agree, Adams’ voice is unfortunate.