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Chasing Amy (1997) More at IMDbPro »

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466 comments in total

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55 out of 69 people found the following comment useful :-
Great!, 4 December 1999

Author: RazorSharp from Canada

"Chasing Amy" is a clever and engaging urban love story that just exudes with Kevin Smith's gritty humour. The film's examination of sexuality, and everything involved with it, doesn't for one second sound untrue, even when it makes sure that everything being pointed out is expressed frankly and colourfully. It's not everyday we get a story of a heterosexual man falling in love with a homosexual woman, and although the concept could easily have resulted in a disaster of a movie, "Chasing Amy" manages to layer everything almost flawlessly. There are no predictable pitfalls in this film, and nothing is wrapped up in a neat little package. We are offered a group of characters that are likable but flawed, who don't always get, or give, what we would usually expect. I have to say, I never knew what was going to happen next, it manages to be consistenly offbeat without being unrealistic. Ben Affleck and Joey Lauren Adams have incredible chemistry together, perfectly displaying all the emotional complications a relationship as eccentric as theirs would have. Jason Lee was also outstanding in his role of the vaguely jealous best friend. The only thing that bothered me about this film was there was too much YELLING!! and it was slightly uneven at times. But generally I liked it a lot, and I'm just thankful that Kevin Smith is producing such fine work like this, it is truly a refreshing escape from Hollywood's formulaic sap.

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50 out of 65 people found the following comment useful :-
The Best Love Story of the Year, 2 February 1999

Author: Tanner-3 from Manchester, England

"Chasing Amy" has to be the best love story of 1997. It was emotional, gripping, funny, sad, heartwarming, and had some great jokes. How could anyone deny that this screenplay was anything less than original, or perfection. Absolutely intoxicating. The performances were right on and the writing was magnificent. Kevin Smith is, without a doubt, one of the best new writers. With this movie he goes to a whole new level. "Clerks" was great, and I think I'm one of the five people that enjoyed "Mallrats", but "Chasing Amy" takes the cake. Nothing else came even close that year. That movie should have made a star out of Joey Lauren Adams. She gave the BEST performance in 1997 and was robbed of an Oscar nomination, as was the script. The scene outside of the ice rink is more than enough to show just how good she was. And anyone who can watch that ending, the you don't know if you should cry or jump for joy ending, and not feel something, is heartless. The movie was great. It is one of my personal favorites, and will always be.

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31 out of 36 people found the following comment useful :-
A movie that knows how people talk, 21 June 1999
Author: Dan Grant (dan.grant@bell.ca) from Toronto, Ontario

To me a film can have no action and no real special effects and still be great. If that film can take it's characters and make them interesting by making them speak the way we know people do, then you are left with a fantastic film. So is the case with Kevin Smith's wonderful film Chasing Amy.

For anyone who thought that Ben Affleck couldn't act, watch this movie and enjoy how he plays Holden. He is honest in his approach to a character that is as complex as any great movie character. Also cast perfectly is Joey Lauren Adams as his girlfriend and Jason Lee is so good as Banky, his best friend and business partner that I really could have seen him with an Oscar nod that year.

Kevin Smith's strength is that he knows how people talk and he is honest in his assessment of his characters. And that is what makes this film the gem that it is. And did I mention that it is a wonderful romance and it is wickedly funny?

If all you've ever seen of Kevin Smith is Clerks, then check out this awesome flick. It certainly makes you appreciate how good Smith is at writing characters. A really great film.

Note**** If anyone is a true fan of Jaws ( and I, like Smith think it is the greatest movie ever made ) then watch for the scene in Jaws where Hooper and Quint compare wounds to be parodied hilariously in this film.

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37 out of 49 people found the following comment useful :-
Try and catch it!, 2 November 2004
Author: Jexxon from Norberg, Sweden

Miles away from his usual low level comedy, in Chasing Amy, Kevin Smith manages to deliver a great rom-com with some serious undertones.

There are the standard Smith jokes throughout the film, but this time they take a backseat to the touching tale of Holden and Alyssa. I don't know quite how he did it, but Chasing Amy feels real and unpredictable. It's not some glossy Hugh Grant/Julia Roberts production, instead it's filled with characters that feel more like real people, which is a nice relief.

The film manages to be both moving and funny, and the cast do their best work to date (Affleck and Adams at the hockey game must rank as one of my favourite scenes of all time). This may not be Smith's best known film, but it's definitely his best. [8/10]

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29 out of 35 people found the following comment useful :-
Not to be missed!!!, 16 May 2001
Author: TaniB from Brisbane, Australia

My all-time favourite film! Kevin Smith creates such truly endearing, eccentric, quirky characters, and then manages to cast actors who seem destined to play their roles. Joey Lauren Adams steals the show (we need to see more of this brilliant gem!), and the Jason Lee / Ben Affleck dynamic is really powerful - all of the actors appear so natural and comfortable, and Jason Mewes is a gift from God (and that's coming from an athiest!). A beautifully written conversational comedy that very gently uncovers the hypocrisy surrounding gender relationships. This film goes way beyond the 'acceptance of sexual preference' cliche, and instead concentrates on the insecurities that all human beings are born with - gay or straight! Mr Smith, you are truly a genius!!!

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35 out of 49 people found the following comment useful :-
Strange, yet his closest to a mainstream movie, 7 August 1998

Author: Darren Boucher from Ottawa, Canada

Chasing Amy is again a look into some strange people's lives. This movie strays a bit from the style of Kevin Smith's first two movies, in that the story seems to play a more important role in the movie. In the past the story was almost irrelevant to the hilariously entertaining dialogue. Not that this dialogue is not strange and entertaining as well, but the story does seem to dominate more. Although I enjoyed Clerks the most, I enjoyed this movie as well. Don't you love how Brian O'Halloran from Clerks (Dante) keeps popping up in all of Kevin Smith's movies!?

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31 out of 42 people found the following comment useful :-
Smith's best. Affleck's best. One of the greatest love stories ever., 7 June 2005

Author: Mr_Noir from Australia

Love stories are difficult to do well. So is comedy. Kevin Smith does both. Very very well.

Chasing Amy is, in my opinion Kevin Smith's best movie (Clerks 2nd, Dogma 3rd) and I really don't know where to start the praise.

Traditionally, Hollywood romantic comedies are... well, bad. Really lame PG-13 comedy, with some catch phrase repeated ad nauseum, and always some sort of "hilarious" incident involving a baby or a cute dog. And the characters are just as annoying as the lame jokes, so ultimately, you don't really care about whether or not they get together in the end.

Chasing Amy is different. These characters are lifelike.This isn't a romantic comedy for teenage girls. It's a movie for adults. Almost everyone can relate to being a situation where they've loved someone so much, but due to certain circumstances, you just weren't able to have that person. And I guess that's what Amy's all about. Unrequited love. Well, Unrequited love and sexual identity, but that's another topic for another day.

The real genius of this film is that for all it's serious themes, it manages to convey it's message without being at all pretentious. Most independent films have this sort of, arrogant pretentious "I'm so artistic" feel about them.......And I hate that. Smith's success lies in the fact that his movies are meaningful, and they're actually funny as well. And Chasing Amy is no exception.

In short, you'll be hard pressed to find a more entertaining, and realistic love story than Chasing Amy. It's combination of hilarious dialogue, interesting characters, and realistic themes makes it a winner.

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26 out of 37 people found the following comment useful :-
The single GREATEST romantic comedy ever made. Kevin Smith is my hero., 8 December 2005

Author: jaysilentbob37 from United States

I'm probably as big of a Kevin Smith fan as you're likely to see. I've seen all his movies, and look up to him as a god. He is my inspiration as an aspiring filmmaker. This is not only his best, but it's the best movie of the romantic comedy genre. In romantic comedies, their goal is to make us care for the characters, and want to see them end up happy. This movie brings us characters that we not only care deeply for, but would LOVE to hang out with in real life. These are the coolest, and hippest characters you will ever see in a film of any genre.

These characters are Holden McNeill (Ben Affleck), and Banky Edwards (Jason Lee). They are comic book artists, and best friends since childhood. Their comic is about two stoner superheroes named "Bluntman and Chronic," based on their acquaintances, Jay (Jason Mewes), and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith). It's obvious that nothing has ever come between Holden and Banky before. It all starts at a comic book convention. They meet a fellow comic book artist, the beautiful Alyssa Jones (Joey Lauren Adams). She and Holden quickly become friends. Holden falls for her, and intends to ask her out. But he learns the truth the hard way. Alyssa is a lesbian. This devastates Holden, but fascinates Banky, who engages in a discussion with her about different kinds of sex.

Holden and Alyssa become good friends. Holden confesses his love for her in the most touching love confirmation scene I've ever seen. They start dating, much to the dismay of Banky. Banky is worried about losing his lifelong friend to a "dyke," as he calls them. He schemes to break them up. He lets Holden in on Alyssa's sexual past, and all hell breaks loose, in the romance, and the friendship. Will it be resolved? Just wait and see.

This movie brought me and my best friend closer together. It has a sad ending, and if you watch it with a friend, I guarantee that it will get you into a discussion about love and romance, like it did with me and my friend. This movie captivates us with it's hilarious sense of humor, which is in the first half. By the time the more dramatic second half begins, we're so into the movie, that even the film becoming a drama can't turn us away. It is the kind of movie that will have you begging for more when it's over. I give you the strongest recommendation of 10/10.

It is rated R for Strong Graphic Sex-Related Dialogue, Language, Sexuality, and Drug Content. Sex: 8/10 Violence: 3/10 Swearing: 10/10 Drugs: 4/10

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19 out of 29 people found the following comment useful :-
One Of My Favorite Movies, 7 October 2005

Author: thekid796 from United States

Being a huge Kevin Smith fan, its no wonder I love this movie so much, it is one of the best movies I've ever seen. Its a close toss up for my favorite Smith movie, right next to Clerks.

The Plot: Holden McNeil(Ben Affleck) and Banky Edwards(Jason Lee) are two long time best friends and the co-creators of their successful comic book Bluntman and Chronic. One day while they were pushing their comic at a comic/sci fi convention, they met a girl named Alyssa Jones. Holden immediately falls for Alyssa, but his hopes are shattered once he finds out a shocking surprise, she's a lesbian. Still, they form a great friendship which only makes Holden more in love with her. Once Holden reveals his love to Alyssa, they form what seems like a great relationship. Things change; however, once Banky fears that this friendship will affect their long friendship and Holden has to deal with Alyssa's rich past.

The Good: This is a very well done movie. Kevin Smith is well known for his creative dialog and clever direction in all of his movies, this is no exception. The actors performances, especially those of Ben Affleck, Jason Lee, Joey Lauren Adams, and Dwight Ewell, is exceptional. You won't find better direction for this kind of movie. I normally don't like love stories but this is one of those rare exceptions.

The Bad: Nothing really bad about this movie but its not for everyone. First off, the movie deals with some really touchy subject matter. Its also one of the most profane movies I've seen. If you are offended of either one of these subjects, I wouldn't recommend it.

Overall: Chasing Amy is one of the best movies I've ever seen. I give it a 10/10!

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15 out of 22 people found the following comment useful :-
Very impressive, 12 April 2001

Author: mattymatt4ever from Jersey City, NJ

When I watched this movie for the first time, I thought it was pretty funny, but I was younger so I didn't indulge its craftiness as much as I did on the second viewing just recently. Kevin Smith is a very talented writer/director who has a knack for offbeat plots and refreshingly original dialogue. He displays his talent greatly in this offbeat comedy. One impressive element of "Chasing Amy" is it contains very little of the standard, soapy, Hollywood-ish romance. It's very unpredictable, and doesn't contain the ending many would probably suspect. Of course, we know that Joey Lauren is going to end up in bed with Ben, but there wouldn't be any intrigue or conflict if that didn't happen. It's what happens afterwards that counts. The only cliche I spotted was the scene where Ben reveals his love for Joey. It takes place on a rainy night. And Joey gets outraged and runs out of the car--IN THE RAIN!! Hello? Pneumonia? You ever thought of that? I think if it was real life, she would've waited for Ben to drive her back--THEN shout out her feelings and leave. Other than that, the film approaches the romance genre and lesbianism with sheer originality and (sometimes brutal) honesty. In the scene where Jason Lee catches Ben in bed with Joey, all we see is his mouth opened wide and his coffee cup dropping to the floor. None of that melodramatic, confrontational crap we usually see when a character is surprised to catch their friend in bed with someone they don't expect. Though I often appraise Smith's witty dialogue, his love for dialogue is also a minor flaw. In some scenes, the characters use so many adjectives and metaphors that it just sounds more written than acted out. It just doesn't have that flow. And it's a little unconvincing to have a character use the term f**king c**ksucker over and over again in one scene, and delivering an intelligent monologue full of college-level SAT words in the next.

Despite its minor flaws, "Chasing Amy" is a film like no other. One that honestly stands alone. We've seen other films about lesbianism, but this is one to use the subject in a mature (though profane) and non-preachy manner. It doesn't take advantage of any of the stereotypes. And I like the surprise at the end where the character, who you least expect, delivers a thoughtful monologue that is the defining moment of the movie.

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