Sometimes a micro-budget, tiny romantic comedy can be suddenly miles ahead of the biggest ones. Chasing Amy is one of those little ones, a romantic comedy-drama that contains some deep insight on how people look at sexual preferences. The plot: Holden Mcneil (Ben Affleck) and Banky Edwards (Jason Lee) find their friendship spiraling downwards when Holden falls in love with lesbian Alyssa Jones (Joey Lauren Adams). This is the third film directed by Kevin Smith and so far his most dramatic one. Although it is a comedy, it contains scenes that are so real and so powerful that they will leave the viewer (in this case, me) stunned. This movie contains what I think is possibly Ben Affleck's best performance in his entire career. There are scenes where he seems to just flow naturally. Another best-performance-of-their-career in this film is Jason Lee who flawlessly shifts from hilariously funny to seriously dramatic. And, last but not least, Joey Lauren Adams is fabulous as Alyssa Jones, the hurricane that Holden and Banky are swept up in. These three people appeared in Mallrats, but their roles were did not have much depth (although Lee completely stole the show from the star). Here, though, all three of them get to broaden their acting range and make their characters three-dimensional and completely believable under the excellent directing talent of Kevin Smith. After the failure of the higher-budgeted Mallrats, Smith decided to make a film closer to him. This film balances comedy and drama perfectly; some high points of drama here includes a scene where Holden confesses his love to Alyssa in a car and a scene during and after a hockey game. The comedy includes the hilarious Lee with his witty, unmatchable dialogue delivery and a scene with Jay and Silent Bob which is, although their shortest appearance in a View Askew movie, one of their funniest. The dialogue here is, like all Smith's movies, laugh-out-loud-funny (Intergalactic Civil War?) to subtly weird (In one scene, Alyssa Jones mentions that she once had a relationship with Gwen Turner, who she, uh, kind of played in Mallrats). This movie, in a way, is a step down from Mallrats and a step up from Mallrats. It also paves the way for the just-as-good Dogma. Just keep 'em coming, Smith. Keep 'em coming.
Review of Chasing Amy
