‘So, I’ve spent every day since then chasing Amy… so to speak...’
I’ve written about Chasing Amy before in my Kevin Smith RANKED article but I’ve never done a full review of it. As I was given the opportunity to catch Smith’s romcom classic in a cinema as part of the Sheffield Showroom’s LGBTQ season, this seemed like the perfect time to grant Chasing Amy its own review…
Holden (Ben Affleck) and Banky (Jason Lee) are lifelong friends and business partners who run the successful comic book Bluntman & Chronic (based on the exploits of their friends Jay and Silent Bob). All is going well for our dynamic duo until Holden meets and falls for fellow comic book artist Alyssa (Joey Lauren Adams). The issue is that Alyssa is gay and their burgeoning relationship also causes friction between Holden and Banky.
Very boring people have now decided that Chasing Amy is ‘problematic’. This is nonsense, of course. In reality, Smith’s third film (after Clerks and Mallrats) is perhaps his most mature and affecting work to date. This is compounded by the fact that Jay and Silent Bob – two characters that reoccur throughout Smith’s work – barely appear here (although the one scene they are in is wonderful).
Based on Smith’s own relationship with Adams, Chasing Amy is a deeply personal and intimate film with much to say about relationships and sexuality. All three leads share a palpable chemistry with both Adams and Lee delivering some of their finest work. Obviously, I love Affleck in everything and the fact he considers this to be one of his best films is a testament to how good this movie is. Smith’s dialogue has perhaps never been better and the various argument scenes that occur throughout the film are all emotive and close to home. You can tell that Smith really had something to say with this one and it’s a shame that he never really returned to this genre later in his career (although I’m a sucker for Jersey Girl).
Chasing Amy is a film I’ve seen many times but watching it for the first time in a while on the big screen with an appreciative audience (except for the elderly couple that left halfway through) really brought home to me just great this film is. Mallrats will always be my favourite, but Chasing Amy is objectively Smith’s finest hour. This is a film that taught me as a teenager about the nuances and complexities of dating and relationships. Returning to it now as a married man, it was surprising how much this film still touches me. If this were made by a more well-respected director it would be considered a masterpiece. Snoochie boochies.