I'm a big fan of Kevin Smith's work in the 90's (2000's not so much with the exception of 'Clerks II'.) His movies, all set in the backdrop of Jersey, were each filled with witty dialogue, well-drawn out characters, and humor. 'Chasing Amy,' his 1997 romance movie, perfectly fits the bill as his other top achievements(mainly 'Clerks' and 'Dogma,') while establishing a signature style of it's own.
The story follws Holden (Ben Affleck), a comic book artist who writes 'Bluntman and Chronic,' with his longtime friend Banky (Jason Lee.) Holden is introduced to a beautiful woman, Alyssa (a magnificent Joey Lauren Adams) by his very flamboyant friend, Hopper (Dwight Ewell).
Holden falls in love with Alyssa in an instant. And everything is looking up when she extends him an invitation to a night club a few days after meeting. Only one problem: it's a lesbian club, and Alyssa's fits right in with the crowd.
Unlike any other Smith movie, this one poses a very poignant moral conundrum: what happens when you fall in love with someone who's attracted to a different sex? The movie constantly questions this, sometimes going a bit overboard. But, for the most part, it's a very balanced argument on the underlying nature of human sexuality preferences and what constitutes as 'love.'
But let those deep themes and morale questions scare you off. It's still not a Terrance Malick picture, there's plenty of humor throughout the 1 hour and 51 minute running time. Like many other Smith pictures, the dialogue is VERY raunchy at times. Probably not a good idea to watch this with the parents. Also, the film often mentions back to Smith's previous two efforts (Clerks and Mallrats.) Not saying it's necessary, but in order to complete a viewing experience, prior knowledge of these two will provide additional jokes.
I would highly recommend to not only fans who favor Smith's brand of hi-jinks, but too any fan of cinema. I would hesitate to simple label this a 'romantic comedy,' a term that has been soiled in recent years. No, 'Chasing...' is surprisingly more intellgient, emotional, and clever than many, movie other movies in the 'romance' department.
The story follws Holden (Ben Affleck), a comic book artist who writes 'Bluntman and Chronic,' with his longtime friend Banky (Jason Lee.) Holden is introduced to a beautiful woman, Alyssa (a magnificent Joey Lauren Adams) by his very flamboyant friend, Hopper (Dwight Ewell).
Holden falls in love with Alyssa in an instant. And everything is looking up when she extends him an invitation to a night club a few days after meeting. Only one problem: it's a lesbian club, and Alyssa's fits right in with the crowd.
Unlike any other Smith movie, this one poses a very poignant moral conundrum: what happens when you fall in love with someone who's attracted to a different sex? The movie constantly questions this, sometimes going a bit overboard. But, for the most part, it's a very balanced argument on the underlying nature of human sexuality preferences and what constitutes as 'love.'
But let those deep themes and morale questions scare you off. It's still not a Terrance Malick picture, there's plenty of humor throughout the 1 hour and 51 minute running time. Like many other Smith pictures, the dialogue is VERY raunchy at times. Probably not a good idea to watch this with the parents. Also, the film often mentions back to Smith's previous two efforts (Clerks and Mallrats.) Not saying it's necessary, but in order to complete a viewing experience, prior knowledge of these two will provide additional jokes.
I would highly recommend to not only fans who favor Smith's brand of hi-jinks, but too any fan of cinema. I would hesitate to simple label this a 'romantic comedy,' a term that has been soiled in recent years. No, 'Chasing...' is surprisingly more intellgient, emotional, and clever than many, movie other movies in the 'romance' department.