"Chasing Amy" (1997)
A Film Review by Jason Wallis
"Chasing Amy" * * * * (out of four) Starring Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, Jason Lee, Dwight Ewell, Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes Directed by Kevin Smith
Usually, when naming the greatest romantic comedies of all time, films like "It Happened One Night" or "Annie Hall" spring immediatly to mind. Of all the discussions I've had with people regarding this genre, not once has Kevin Smith's brilliant "Chasing Amy" come up. My question is this: why? This one of the most perfect films I have ever had the pleasure of seeing. If there is one problem with most movies in the 90s, it's that alot of them have characters that we really don't give a rat's ass about. But with "Chasing Amy", Kevin Smith has created no less than three of the most memorible characters in recent cinema. Holden (Ben Affleck), an intelligent, down-to-earth comic book artist with a very insecure and immature best friend, Banky (Jason Lee, worthy of a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination come Feburary). Together, they make a comic series called "Bluntman and Chronic", supposedly based on Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith, respectivly), characters who pop up in all of Smith's films. The film begins at a comic book convention in New York, where Holden and Banky are autographing copies of their books and listenting to some Q&A for a fellow artist, Hooper X (Dwight Ewell), an apparently wacked-out Black Panther wannabe. This results in possibly the funniest moment in any film of the 90s as they argue and fight about whether or not the "Star Wars" trilogy were films trying to bring down the black man. Hooper X pulls out a gun and pretends to shoot Banky, making all the fans run screaming out of the building. As it turns out, Hooper is actually a friend of Holden and Banky's and is not even a dangerous nutcase at all. On the contrary, he is only a gentle gay black man who just does this kind of stuff for publicity. It is little touches of humor like this opening that makes this film as memorable as it is. Soon, Hooper introduces them to Alyssa (Joey Lauren Adams - another Oscar worthy performance), yet another comic artist. Ben and her really hit it off well and even go out for drinks afterwards while Hooper and Banky search for "Archie" comics so Banky can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Archie was not Jughead's bitch and was by no means having sex with Mr. Weatherby. Meanwhile, Holden is falling head over heels for Alyssa, who, unbeknownst to him, is (gasp!) a lesbian. How's that for a plot? Well, he finds out the next night when Alyssa starts making out with another chick (in by far the best lesbian kiss since "Bound"). But Alyssa doesn't see why, just 'cause they can't have sex, they can't be friends. So the two start hanging out alot together and we can gradually see Alyssa making her mutation from lesbian to straight woman. I will say no more because part of the magic of "Chasing Amy" is letting the story unfold before you. And like I said, the main reason why this is such a great film is that it has three terrific, fascinating main characters. I mean, Banky is probably the coolest, most hillarious person to come out of recent cinema. And as for Joey Lauren Adams (one of the hottest women living, in my opinion - but she does have a bad, whiny voice that sounds kinnda like Jennifer Tilly with larengitus; but that's okay), I think if she gets the right scripts, she could be the next Sanrda Bullock, except she can actually act and not just show off her cute little butt. I guess what I'm trying to say is that this film spoke to me like no other romance has before. Even though they have different sexual preferences (or the same; it all depends on how you look at it), we can still see that these two people belong together. And even though it doesn't have the happiest ending in the world, it is a very touching film and easily the best to come out of 1997 so far. I seriously doubt that you will see a better film all year.
Visit Jason Wallis' "Filmaholics Anonymous" web page at
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Boulevard/7475
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