Chasing Amy - A review

"honesty never seen before and tragedy never felt."

Chasing Amy

Kevin Smith's first film, the Cannes Film Festival award-winning
Clerks, a film shot completely at night in the store Smith worked at,
showed that inventive camera work was achievable on a low budget. Smith
followed up with Mallrats, a film he now calls "a six million dollar
casting call for Chasing Amy". Mallrats shows that when presented with
too much money Smith does not know what to do with half of it and what
was left is a collection of inconsequential jokes and uninspired
filmmaking. Despite this I still find myself forcing this film onto
others as an honest reflection of American slacker culture and a
genuinely funny film.
With the overly criticised Mallrats in the past, Smith burrows beneath
the traditional saccharine conventions of the romantic comedy genre and
arrives with Chasing Amy; a story of contemporary sexual politics in
the era of political correctness. Chasing Amy, the third in a "trilogy"
of films based in New Jersey and linked by the three sexually
uninhibited Jones sisters sees Smith return to his roots of low budget
filmmaking as he explores how two people's love for each other can
alter their own perceptions about themselves. This film sees Smith
exploring issues he has only flirted with before in his other movies
and the result is a truly personal film with depth not normally seen in
independent films.
Ben Affleck stars as Holden McNeil, the co-creator of the cult comic
book "Bluntman and Chronic" who falls for Alyssa Jones (Adams) a fellow
comic book artist. As their friendship deepens Holden is faced with a
dilemma; how can he continue to be friends with a woman he is rapidly
falling in love with and how can any relationship form simply because
of the fact that Alyssa is a lesbian. As their relationship develops
Holden has to confront conflict and prejudice from his best friend and
co-partner Banky Edwards (Lee) and has to try to balance his love for
Alyssa with his friendship with Banky.
Affleck better known for his looks then acting ability shines as
Holden, a man perplexed by his trapped situation between his feelings
for Alyssa and the reaction from Banky. He portrays the anguish and
passion with real conviction and shows that he should not be
marginalized into roles that don't allow him to show his full acting
range. Holden implores to Alyssa "Please know that I am forever changed
because of who you are and what you've meant to me," showing, that with
Smith's script, which mixes comedy, romance and conflict, and
accomplished acting results in a witty and brutally honest film.
Holden's love is deeply beautiful and is void of the orthodox
misty-eyed platitudes so readily shown in other films. However Holden's
bubble is burst when Banky digs up Alyssa's past.
The irritation and outspokenness of Banky, Holden's friend and
co-creator of the comic, balances Holden's innocence and naivety. Their
friendship is the source of comedy and conflict, bringing a new
dimension to film friendships. Before there has been the straight man
and the funny guy, but in Chasing Amy both characters have added
dimensions, they make you feel and think about the issues which arise
and see them from both sides. Banky's passive aggressive gay bashing
mixed with Holden's short-sighted love for Alyssa collide with high
speed wisecracking and venomous tongues, both of which lack the clich?s
of other comedies about sex, making this film's freshness its main
appeal.
The originality of the film is added with the lipstick lesbianism of
Alyssa Jones. She epitomises modern femininity; the camera loves her in
a way not seen since the early years of the femme fatales. Yet she is
not a passive object, subject to the male gaze and is possible the
strongest character in the film. Alyssa is secure with herself and her
sexuality and she rebukes Holden's affection screaming " I just can't
get into a relationship with you without throwing my whole f***ing
world into upheaval." Joey Lauren Adams' Alyssa is the voice of reason
and liberation but also of passion as she risks alienating her lesbian
friends because of her relationship with Holden. Her vivacity is an
example for others but as her relationship with Holden intensifies the
audience is allowed to see her softer side open up. This leads to a
poignant scene where she explains why she chose her path in life and
how she has found her soul mate in Holden.
Perhaps the most touching scene of the movie is the monologue by the
quintessential Silent Bob, played by Kevin Smith himself, a character
who in Clerks and Mallrats has lived up to his name now finally speaks.
He delivers a bittersweet tale of how his relationship fell apart
because he could not come to terms with his girlfriend's sexual
experience. Until now, the title of the movie is elusive, there is no
Amy and at this the turning point in the movie Amy is revealed to the
audience as Silent Bob's one true love which he continues to pine for.
Silent Bob muses, "So I've spent every day since then chasing Amy".
Silent Bob is Smith's contemporary Yoda philosophising on his
experience of male insecurities in the face of an experienced woman.
Silent Bob allows Holden to see where he is going wrong but with all
Chasing Amy's complexity, roughness and rawness a happy conclusion is
not inevitable and the open ending shows the subtly Smith can now
utilize.
This film aims to touch the hearts of the audience in a way other films
cannot, Chasing Amy has honesty never seen before and tragedy never
felt. The ending of this film is purely heart-rending but rebukes
sentimentality and embraces the notion that love is not enough. The
film is not preaching to the millions on how to deal with sexual
experience, it is a sharp personal monologue from Smith on the
insecurities men have about relationships and sex. But for all the
analysis of sexual politics in the dialogue the true meaning of the
film can be summed up by its catch line "It's not who you love. It's
how".