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Chasing Amy - Criterion Collection

Chasing Amy - Criterion Collection

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A GENDER BENDER ROMANTIC COMEDY...
Review: Director Kevin Smith does it again! This is another great film by this director-writer who has turned his sights on romantic comedy, scripting an intelligent, funny, and edgy film and deftly directing it.

The plot focuses on Holden Mc McNeil (Ben Affleck), a successful comic book artist who has yet to fall really and truly in love. While at a comic book show with his friend of twenty years and collaborator, Banky Edwards (Jason Lee), with whom he lives, Holden ends up meeting a struggling, spunky, independent female comic book artist, the gorgeous and sexy Alyssa Jones (Joey Lauren Adams). The only problem is that she claims to like women. This self-styled lesbian and Holden begin a friendship, however, that eventually deepens into something else.

Unfortunately, a strange love triangle of sorts seems to develop among Alyssa, Holden, and Banky, as Banky takes a strong dislike to Alyssa when she and Holden manage to take their relationship to the next level. The seemingly jealous Banky does his best to try to erode the bonds between the two, but it is Holden himself who does the most to erode what he and Alyssa have, with a little inadvertent help from Alyssa. It seems that the concept of unconditional love is one with which Holden has a problem.

This is a gender bender sort of film, with wonderful performances by the entire cast. Ben Affleck is well cast as Holden, giving a winning performance. Jason Lee is terrific as the erstwhile best friend with issues. Joey Lauren Adams lights up the screen every time she is in a scene. She does a terrific job with the role of the conflicted Alyssa. Dwight Ewell is sensational as Hooper LaMont, the ostensibly racist comic book artist, who has his own issues and is quite funny. Look also for a cameo by Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith). It is Silent Bob who lets the viewer in on the meaning of the film's title.

All in all, this is a highly enjoyable, off-beat and edgy, romantic comedy that fans of Kevin Smith will enjoy, as will all those film lovers who simply enjoy a great film. Bravo!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Kevin Smith's Best
Review: A small drama with some good laughs, the director/author isn't over-reaching here as he does in "Dogma"

Not, however, a film for the "morally upright brigade"

This makes me look forward to his upcoming "Jersey Girl"

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Not for a True Lesbian
Review: This movie if far from being what I would call a good Lesbian flick. It's more about the guy getting the girl and how she plays him to believe she is something she is not. I gave my copy away to my nieghbor, a Ben Afflec fan. Hope this helped.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: HILARIOUS AND JUST PLAIN FUN!
Review: I purchased CHASING AMY, directly after another great Amazon.com purchase -- a short novel called THE LOSERS' CLUB by Richard Perez -- and the similarities are mind-boggling and eerie. While THE LOSERS' CLUB centers on an unlucky writer addicted to personal ads and his infatuation with a bisexual woman CHASING AMY is about a successful "indie" comic artist who falls in love with a purported "lesbian" (if labels mean anything). CHASING AMY, like THE LOSERS' CLUB, also centers on downtown New York City clubs and deals, quite hilariously, with "relationship issues" that extend way beyond gay and straight issues. Both have a grungy, gritty quality that marks them as "indie" products, produced on the sly.

In CHASING AMY, the "fool" is actually played extremely well by Jason Lee as Banky. This actor has never been better. Those of you who have seen him in MALLRATS will find him even funnier here. In some ways, he practically steals the show as the foul mouthed, easily riled "best pal" of Holden, the main character of the flick (played very well by Ben Affleck).

This film was made for very little money -- and this "low rent" quality actually seems to help the movie. The movie pulls no punches and tries not to be "politically correct," which makes it all the more real and funny, full of unexpected turns and surprises. It may infuriate some who believe that "gay" and "straight" labels are locked in concrete. This comedy is highly recommended, Kevin Smith's best film to date. A classic 1990s flick. This is the kind of independent film I wish Miramax would produce more of. And the opening credit film score kicks ass, too!

MAKE THIS FLICK PART OF YOUR DVD COLLECTION!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Kevin Smith's brilliant stab at a romance movie
Review: Chasing Amy is a 90s love romance in the eyes of Kevin Smith. Only he could com up w/a plot so hilarious and clever. The story is about this guy Holden (Ben Affleck), and his friend Banky who create comic books together. Holden falls in love w/ a girl, Alyssa (Joey Lauren Adams), but there's one problem... she's a lesbian. So throughout the entire movie, Holden tries to win her over, despite the jealously/resentment of his best friend, her wild sex life of her past, and any other unpredictable things that come his way. The cameo by Jay & Silent Bob, a regular in all of Kevin Smith's movies, gave the film a humorous break from the romantic drama in the movie. It's a must see movie.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: WOW
Review: i recomend this film- excellent acting , excellent story. worth the money. stars ben affleck and joey lauren adams

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: ...
Review: One thing that I need to get straight--CHASING AMY is a good movie....I still love this movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the greatest films ever
Review: There is so many good things to say about this movie I do not know were to begin. Chasing Amy is one of the top three movies I have ever seen, and the DVD takes the viewing pleasure to even newer heights. You do not have to be a Kevin Smith fan to like the movie (but it helps with his sence of humor, and the humorious discussions that take place) It is one to be watched over and over again (for Outrageous comedy, drama, and to understand it more), but not if you are a conservitive. [Sorry I don't mean to get political, but it is very liberal (it deals with a man who falls in love with a lesbian) You really believe that Ben Affleck and Joey lauren Adams are in love. Like other third movies in Trilogies before it, the third is always the best. Don't get me wrong, but it is better than Smiths previous movies (although I liked them alot). It shows him growing as a director, taking on the hard task of mixing comedy and drama, which he greatly does. Jason Lee is perfect in the movie as Ben's friend and colleague. The script is phenomenal, the acting is superb, it is all in all a perfect comedy-drama.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Return to form
Review: Bouncing back from his utterly wretched sophomore outing "Mallrats", Kevin Smith makes amends with this trite little tale about love in the 90s with all the intrigues that go along with alternate sexualities.

It's more of a character piece to be sure--Jason Lee figures prominently once again, and thankfully, the script is now up to par. Joey Lauren Adams has the female lead role, and while some find her voice a tad annoying, I found her to be quite adept as a dramatic/comedic actress. Both her and Affleck exhibit chemistry, which is the lynchpin of the film.

Like him or despise him these days, Ben Affleck gets top marks for this (his best) dramatic part. He's essentially playing the straight man, but we sympathize and empathize with him up until the very end.

The DVD is jam-packed with extras, including more than a few scenes that could have (and should have, in my opinion) stayed in the original release with no discernable difference in quality. The commentary track is good, and my version features an "on-screen" ESL screen English lesson(!). Applause goes to Criterion, who are doing a wonderful job with their DVD releases.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Chasing Amy: Love among the immature
Review: There are forty-plus reviews of the film, but few hit the culture that it is seeped in: there's a point when people change tracks in their lives and become someone else. Call it maturing (ugh) or moving on (better); you can't find a better example of a small, intimate film that pulls you apart like AMY.
The new DVD release of the original laserdisc of AMY is great, though I'd recommend turning on the captioning to hear everything comfortably; this is a dialogue movie and an excellent starting point of any potential Kevin Smith fans (but blow off VULGAR). There's plenty of profanity here, but it all works into the storyline and helps guide us through the transformations of the characters as we get a good look at who is a social zero and who has evolved past their past.
Comic book fanboys will identify Mike Allred's work a mile away, and the usual cast will include a glance at Marvel honcho Joe Quesada (interviewed by this once-active comic book player a decade ago) and others. You'll get a really, truly, acuate look at the comic book culture, and even marginally, when the immature good guy can't get past the problems of releasing childish things to find true happiness with a girl who has put aside her past for him, you get the point.
In real life, Smith, like his comic book contemporaries like Quesada, Alex Ross, Steve Darnall, Linda Thompson and others that we've known moved into the real world of marriage, mortgages, and finding a quality of life outside of perennially fat or skinny Peter Pans. Comics will break your heart, sooner or later. Comics draw in a diverse and fascinating universe of characters; when they grow up, they -we- get a lot more interesting. But until those real-world characters get their acts together completely, the transitions can sometimes be scary and damned unsavory: AMY hits that mark when girl asks boy if he's ready to move past an imperfect, childish world and commit to a new one; he won't although it isn't that he can't.
Bone-headed relationships, immature habits and addictions are personal demons needed to be broken or they consume us. When Silent Bob finally speaks, we all had better listen.


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