Chasing Amy
1997 Directed by Kevin Smith
Synopsis
It's not who you love. It's how.
Holden and Banky are comic book artists. Everything is going good for them until they meet Alyssa, also a comic book artist. Holden falls for her, but his hopes are crushed when he finds out she's a lesbian.
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This is all gonna end badly.
-Banky EdwardsIn 1994 Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier put themselves on the map with their critical hit, the low budget indie flick Clerks. The next step was a studio film for Universal Pictures in Mallrats. While I like Marllrats to be honest, it was critically panned and worst of all a huge box office bomb. It didn't even make back half of it's $6 million budget. Not only did most people not wonder about Kevin Smith's next project, most people didn't care or think their would actually be a "next project".
This created the perfect environment for the creation of Chasing Amy. If Mallrats had been successful they would have moved on to…
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"See that man right there? He the devil. Never take your eye off the man."
I swear, I fucking love Hooper X (in a totally hetero way though). He's just an awesome character. I'd seriously pay to see a spin off film of him. If Kevin Smith can make a Jay and Silent Bob film and make it work, he can do the same for the modern Lando himself, Hooper X.
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"Top 100 of all time Selection"
"Top 50 of the 90's Selection"
"Top 10 of 1997 Selection""I'm going to prove to you beyond the shadow of a doubt that Archie is all about pussy. "
Kevin Smith with 'Chasing Amy' encapsulated a moment in time the same way Richard Linklater did with 'Dazed and Confused'. The dialogues are rich and entertaining, funny and crude when they need to be, the cast for most of the film worked, specially the chemistry between Jason Lee and Ben Affleck.
Without 'Chasing Amy' we wouldn't have the Judd Apatow,the David Gordon Green films, the Chapelle show or so many iconic films and shows since this films was release, that's the legacy that Smith will leave to cinema (I hope).
"My favorite film from 1997, I never seen a film like this before or since" - Quentin Tarantino.
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Kevin Smith explores the complexities of relationships, love, and sexuality with his distinctive gift for dialogue and characterization. Every character is richly developed in an authentic way where you can understand not only their actions but their unique quirks. Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams and Jason Lee have a trio of charming performances that are powered by dialogue that layers their personalities. Smith takes the rom-com subgenre and turns it upside down, bashing cliches and honing in on the harsh truths of life. Instead of allowing the film to take the typically predictable road, he goes in a more heartbreaking direction that could have easily ended up coming off a cynical, but instead is a touching conclusion to a complicated…
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I'm interested to find out if Woody Allen saw this film and what he thought about it, it seems like a film that follows his type of stories and messages, just with crasser dialogue.
Studying sexuality and people's approach towards it, Chasing Amy is about relationships in modern day and people aiming to be polite to other sexual preferences. The relationship the film revolves is destined to fall apart from the start when we see Ben Affleck's character trying to be as inoffensive as possible, parading as accepting, instead coming off ruder than he thinks.
This continues around the film with Affleck struggling to come to terms with anything until the end, where he proposes one of the funniest problem solving scenes in cinema, which goes suitably wrong due to his incompetence.
It's clever, it's risky and it's highly recommended. The only problem it has is the humour isn't as consistently toned as his other films.
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An interesting look at relationships by director Kevin Smith, whose comedy really compliments the film's romantic premise. With fantastic performances from Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams and Jason Lee, the leading trio play strongly developed characters who have brilliantly evolving relationships.
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This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.
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Terrible, derivative nonsense. Feels like more of a student project than a feature film.
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WHY DOES BEN AFFLECK NOT HAVE FACIAL HAIR ON THE COVER?
That's bothering me.No, this was a cute movie though.
Do you like talk of sex? Do you like lesbians? Do you like romantic comedies?
If so, then this, my friends, is your cup of tea. -
I hate every character in this movie.
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This i my first time watching it in 7 years or so and it is 90's as FUCK. Feels like a movie made in 94, not 97.
This is the one I always say is and has been my fav Smith joint and you know what? I think it still is. Still suffers from Kevin Smith's need to write cool shit for people to say without it really mattering what they say, as long as it's cool.
It feels a lot rougher than I remember. I don't think that's bad, just the type of movie it is and when it was made. Affleck is really good, though. And so is Lee, in an asshole yelly way. As is Adams, although she doesn't have a good angry voice. I like her, though. Smith is better in this than any of the other movies he's acted in.
Still good, just dated. Off putting at time.
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Watched this for the second time in two months and wow, this really is a movie with multiple subtexts. It felt freaking brilliant the second time, not that it wasn't amazing earlier. Romance, humor, satire and a mature social stance blend together seamlessly, the end product of which is immensely gratifying. Must watch for all cinema lovers.
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The only drama Kevin Smith film I've seen. It was okay.
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Kevin Smith tiene un problema con los finales o la manera para llegar a éstos.
Salvo esto, Chasing Amy es un guión perfecto y un desarrollo cabal magnífico.
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Sharply written, honestly human, full of heart, many strong laughs, and it always hits the right notes. This is easily the strongest effort from Kevin Smith's filmography and his ability to convey the conflicts of each character's struggling situation is done intimately, intensely and meaningfully. With terrific performances across the board, memorable monologues and the inevitable emotional land mines - Chasing Amy perfectly handles the acceptance of sexual barriers and the cynicism which can face both friendships and intergender relationships. I've always adored how this movie is able to make me feel and it's definitely one of my favourites.