"Chasing Amy" (1997)

Merry Christmas everyone! A while back Jim forced me to watch "An Evening With Kevin Smith", after watching this I was motivated to catch up on some of his other movies. So when Netflix Canada recently got "Chasing Amy" I needed to check this out. I did like the Clerks series which I saw earlier this year, and I was hoping it to be more like that. But this is a Kevin Smith movie and I haven't found one I hated so far.

Comic book creators Holden (Ben Affleck) and Banky (Jason Lee) have been best friends for almost their entire life. They are comfortable with their life working on their comic book 'Bluntman and Chronic' and living together. But that all changes when Holden falls for Alyssa (Joey Laurens Adams). But the situation isn't as simple as it seems. The problem is Alyssa is a lesbian and only sees Holden as a friend. So not only is Holden Friendzoned, it's the Berlin Wall of the Friendzone realm. Banky isn't too comfortable with Alyssa, his subtle homophobia and jealousy is tearing the two friends apart.

Love is in the air with Holden and Banky.

There is something to be said about this fun loving movie. As you can see it isn't the average love story, and maybe that is why I like it so much. As uncanny as this whole story is, it never feels over-exaggerated or unreal. The story is believable and it is accompanied by great characters. If one thing Kevin Smith can do really well, it is that he makes some of the greatest characters. Banky and Holden's relationship really shows off the chemistry between Affleck and Lee. But the chemistry doesn't stop there, Affleck and Adams are great together too. Their love story takes a roller coaster ride and through out it, it all feels real.

Of course there are a lot of throw back to Mallrats and other Smith movies love to reference this movie also. It really adds that little extra with the inside jokes in the Kevin Smith universe. Thankfully, Jay and Silent Bob makes a return with a few others. A nice little touch was Matt Damon in the background. I honestly cannot get enough of him.

Not your typical lovely couple.

If I had one complaint I would say the pacing at the beginning was rather slow. But nothing major, and when the movie got past the slow introduction, it was flawless when it came to the story and characters. The movie is loads of fun to watch. The humour is still there with the phallic and crude jokes, it's very funny.

There is not much more I can say. The movie is very good and I loved it. Kevin Smith sells his down to earth story with very goofy characters, who for some reasons I felt I knew them for the longest time. And the combination of comedy and romance it didn't feel like your typical romantic comedy. It was a great movie and for some reason felt more innocent than it actually was.