Chasing Amy [HD]

Kevin Smith Turns Romantic Comedies on their ear!
I have a "love-hate" relationship with Romantic Comedies. I really enjoy a decent one - and a couple of examples I'd consider "decent" are When Harry Met Sally and While You Were Sleeping. I also recognize that there is probably no other movie genre that is as suitable for "date night": It's where men and women's interests overlap.

Bad Romantic Comedies can be really tedious things, and many of my pet peeves about movies come from this genre. For example, my LEAST favorite romantic comedy cliche is the moment 10 minutes before the end of the movie where our loving couple has THE "big fight" (often over nothing or something completely stupid or forgettable), followed by one of the characters tearing off to the airport just so that the OTHER partner will have the sudden revelation that they've *made a big mistake* and go tearing off...

CAN IT BE? AN *INTELLIGENT* MOVIE! YOU BET!
It's no surprise that this movie was never the box officesuccess that it should have been: this film is much too deep and truthful for average audiences. Kevin Smith provides some incredible insights about people and relationships, but most folks don't want to think when they go to the movies and would much prefer to see pulpy schmaltz about characters overcoming their idiotic superficial differences and living happily ever after.

I won't sum up the movie as other reviewers have done a great job of that here. Two things that I wish to comment on, however: 1) The "F" word is used extensively here, some will say overused, as is explicit sexual dialog. If you're watching with children (despite the R rating), you are hereby warned. 2) This film has two of the most touching and emotional moments I've seen in a contemporary movie: Holden's declaration of love to Alyssa in the car (Affleck's delivery is so honest and true and impassioned that you will practically feel his...

Highly Recommended
I think Kevin Smith has done some great work here. I enjoy pretty much anything he does, but I was especially impressed with this film. In my opinion, what makes "Chasing Amy" so appealing is the way the characters view relationships (friends & lovers). It's not the ...and they lived happily ever after... man/woman easy answer thing, beer and poker on a Saturday night with the guys. This story is as real as life and quite compelling in its honesty. I could understand Alyssa's struggle to come to terms with this twist in her sexuality, Banky's desire to wedge Holden and Alyssa apart, and as much as I wanted to deck Holden when he couldn't get over the 2 guys thing (you'll have to see the movie to understand that) I could understand his motivations, too. You don't walk away from this thinking, "<insert character> was a total jerk!", you walk away thinking, "<insert character> acted like a jerk, but that could easily have been me...

Click to Editorial Reviews