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Chasing Amy - Criterion Collection Customer Reviews (34 - 36 of 77 Reviews)

My thoughts (and you didn't even have to pay a penny)
I just have to say that I consider Kevin Smith to be just under the status of demi-god. The only thing that's keeping him from getting to God-hood is the fact that he's still alive. Anyway, I think that his best movie is a toss-up between Chasing Amy and Dogma. I think that Dogma was really good in the sense that it had many interesting answers to ancient questions of religion and faith. It was also funny as heck. However, Chasing Amy is an unbelievably personal tale. If I didn't know better, I would've sworn that this is a personal chapter in Kevin Smith's life. First off, the acting is fabulous. I mean, Ben Afflick! Joey Adams! Jason Lee! I'm so in love with these people. They're so brilliant. Their acting abilities truly shine in this film. There is a whole gamut of emotions weaved into this film and the cast pulls them all off fabulously. I think that Kevin Smith has so much in this film, not just because of the subject matter, but because it just feels so personal. It's hard not to get wrapped up in these people's lives. I think that Kevin Smith has certainly created a wonderful masterpiece. Anybody who hasn't seen this film is certainly missing out. I think that the amazing part about this film was the genre that it's in. It was one of the first films I saw that didn't actually fit into any one extreme genre. It's got emotion and personality to be enjoyed by the most discriminant of tastes, even without resorting to mindless violence or pointless sex/nudity. Kevin Smith is a brilliant writer/director. If you have any doubts, watch this film. Watch Mallrats or Clerks. Watch Dogma. Read his run on Daredevil (it's in graphic novel right now called Daredevil: Visionaries). Kevin Smith is also a pretty good actor (as Silent Bob -- hey, I know it's not exactely Shakespeare but I think he's pretty good). This movie is worth it's price.

I loved this film!
This is the 3rd Kevin Smith movie I've seen. I've been watching his films in an odd order. I started with Dogma (which was ok), then saw Jay and Silent Bob Strike back (which I didn't like). So, not knowing Chasing Amy was a Kevin Smith movie helped. I went in with no expectations.

It's a story about a guy named Holden (Ben Affleck). He lives with his buddy, Banky (Jason Lee), and they write comic books together. Holden meets Alyssa (Joey Lauren Adams) and basically falls head over heels for her. Soon, however, he finds out she's a lesbian. At first, he's crushed and disappointed. But she sees something in him, and convinces him that they can be friends. Somewhere in the middle of being friends, he falls in love with her. The rest of the story was kind of a surprise for me, so I won't go any further. (You have to watch this.)

Writer/director Kevin Smith is definitely a talented writer: his dialogue, for the most part, is very realistic and often hilarious. I think he really knows how to effectively capture this generation in words and actions. However, I felt he could've done a better job in directing. With such great actors at his disposal, most of his scenes sort of come out amateurish. Although dialogue is a big part of this film, I felt the actors could've done more to draw the attention away from the fact that some passages are long, winded and preachy. That, I believe, is the responsibility of the director to find and fix.

This is not to say the actors couldn't have done a better job. Sometimes, they're not as convincing as they can be. Affleck was decent, but he just looked to me like a guy who was acting (reading from a script). It wasn't bad, but it just didn't convince me. Adams was better, but her voice sounded strange when she was upset, and I was mostly caught up in the hoarseness of her voice instead of what she was saying. I can tell these are good actors though. They just need some more work.

The film is really funny. I find myself rewinding and viewing scenes over and over again. Then some parts get pretty serious towards the end, and then the laughs are few and far between. I was kind of disappointed with the ending though. I don't want to give it away, so I'll keep it at that.

Having said all that, I'm sure the reader will find it a blast to watch this funny and poignant film.

Kevin Smith's best film on a great DVD.
Kevin Smith has done some great movies, and "Chasing Amy" is no exception. A lot of people who have seen "Chasing Amy" is often heard to say that its director has 'grown up.' With that in mind, "Chasing Amy" is the story of a comic book artist who falls in love with another comic-book artist only to find out something shocking him. This film was great even if it was a way for Smith to say something personal. I personally thought kudos should have gone to Jason Lee, who was also great in Smith's other films "Mallrats" and "Dogma." Despite the message of the film and the situations the characters faced, this film had some comedic moments particularly from Jason Lee and Dwight Ewell which included topics such as the oppression in the "Star Wars" universe, or the lifestyle of Archie from the "Archie" comic books. Let us not forget Smith's notorious characters Jay and Silent Bob, who have even smaller roles in this film than they did in "Clerks." While Jay is his usual, obscene self, we learn something about his sidekick Silent Bob that, if you've seen Smith's previous films, might change your thoughts on this character. It seems kind of strange saying something that is more for the dramatic than this comedy, but I guess Smith isn't all about toilet humor after all. Reviewing the DVD, it's excellent. I really liked this DVD. I appreciated the qualities of picture and sound. They were good and did not bother me at all, though I wouldn't care anyway because you wouldn't really care about the kind of audio and picture quality for this kind of film. The bonus material, being that this is a Criterion Collection DVD, is packed. You have the film's trailer, followed by many deleted scenes cut from the film along with several outtakes. But, of course, no Kevin Smith DVD is complete without his infamous commentary which includes Smith, Affleck, Jason Mewes, and the crew of "Chasing Amy." There's also a strange addition to this DVD, but I'll let you find that out. Overall, Kevin Smith fans will really appreciate this DVD for both the film and its content. Movie fanatics will also appreciate this film, but it is recommended that you rent it first.

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