May 6, 1997

I wasn't a fan of Kevin Smith's first film, Clerks, and the concept behind his second film, Mallrats, seemed so rankly designed to appeal to the "gen-x" crowd (imagine the studio executive: "what will appeal to the kids today ... hey, how about a mall movie?!") that I didn't even bother. So I wasn't expecting much from Smith's third film Chasing Amy.

Despite the potential pitfalls of the controversial subject matter, and the sometimes half-baked situations, I think Smith succeeds with Chasing Amy. This is easily the best film of his young and promising career. It is evident, even in Clerks, that Smith's greatest talent is his writing. Smith knows how to "spin a good tale." He's an expert observer of human relationships, a la Woody Allen. I think he is especially good from the perspective of the disaffected twenty-something crowd, peppering the dialogue with intelligent references to Samuel Beckett and Tom Stoppard, and intertwining these references with nods to pop culture like rap music and the screwy comic book subculture.

Chasing Amy is a traditional triangle-relationship story where an interloping love interest comes between two friends. Most recently, we've seen this story, told freshly and well, in indie gems from Hal Hartley (Flirt) and Nicole Holofcener (Walking and Talking). Smith's plot twist is that the relationship between the two men, Holden and Banky (Ben Affleck and Jason Lee), who are lifelong friends and business partners (they produce a comic book called Bluntman and Chronic), is put to the test by the intrusion of another comic book artist, Alyssa, (Joey Lauren Adams) who happens to be a lesbian and eventually gives in to, as Banky puts it, "deep dicking."

Herein lies the controversy and the potential pitfalls of the film. It begs the questions: "why must lesbians so often be portrayed as being only one good ‘deep dicking' away from going ‘straight'?" and "is this merely an extension of stereotypical male fantasy?" Most of the time Smith deftly handles these issues with humor and sensitivity. Smith often defies stereotypes by "turning them on their heads."

The characters are more complex than they appear at first. Especially Hooper (Dwight Ewell), a gay, black comic book artist who affects a strident Black Nationalist persona just to make it in the comic book industry. Hooper's act is so outrageous, it makes Amiri Baraka's or Malcolm X's vitriol seem tame in comparison, but Hooper turns out to be the consciousness and the voice of reason in the film.

To me, the humor is sometimes sophomoric. Banky is essentially unfiltered Id, and Holden is the sensitive amalgam of the Ego/Super Ego, and together they might represent the typical contemporary male. Smith does attempt to give historical justifications for the behavior of his characters, but I don't think he's always successful. Those in search of "political correctness" might find solace at the end of the film - Holden, Alyssa, and Banky learn their lessons, and Alyssa remains, ostensibly, a lesbian.

The film has its clunky moments. There are moments when the film is "Hollywood" formulaic - like the obligatory "falling in love montage" set to treacly music, or the "too neatly resolved" ending. And I found the acting uneven at best, not surprising given the budget of a small indie film. It'll probably take you a few scenes to get used Adam's (Alyssa) airy pipsqueak persona, and her portrayal answers the question: is there an actor with more unusual affectations than Jennifer Tilly?

Chasing Amy is an entertaining and fun couple of hours at the movies. And with the schlock we're subjected to from the "Hollywood establishment," and the continuing descent of indie film into a "minor league farm system" for Hollywood (the next "big thing out of Sundance" syndrome), what more could we ask for?

Ray Gunn Virus A.k.a.: Ray Gunn Virus; Mr. Ray Gunn Virus, Sir; Shinygodhead; J. Alvarez; sometimes even old plain Jorge (go ahead say whore-hey) never mind George will do. Stuff he like to do someday: Make a living out of writing "junk and stuff" and going places and seeing things ... Other Articles I've Written