Chasing Amy (1997)

Holden and Banky are comic book artists. Everything's going good for them until they meet Alyssa, also a comic book artist. Holden falls for her, but his hopes are crushed when he finds out she's a lesbian.

Director:

Kevin Smith

Writer:

Kevin Smith

Stars:

Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, Ethan Suplee

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 5 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ethan Suplee	...	Fan
Ben Affleck	...	Holden McNeil
Scott Mosier	...	Collector
Jason Lee	...	Banky Edwards
Casey Affleck	...	Little Kid
Dwight Ewell	...	Hooper X
Joey Lauren Adams	...	Alyssa Jones
Guinevere Turner	...	Singer
Carmen Llywelyn	...	Kim (as Carmen Lee)
Brian O'Halloran	...	Jim Hicks - Executive #1
Matt Damon	...	Shawn Oran - Executive #2
Alexander Goebbel	...	Train Kid
Tony Torn	...	Cashier
Rebecca Waxman	...	Dalia
Paris Petrick	...	Tory

Storyline

A pair of comic book authors named Holden McNeil and Banky Edwards, who live in New Jersey, have been best friends for 20 years. They spend their time working in their studio, and in the evenings they are going out. But their friendship is about to be disputed for the first time in their life, when a beautiful young lesbian woman named Alyssa Jones enters their life and Holden falls in love with her. Now Holden has to deal with Banky's jealousy, and with his new girlfriend's very rich past.

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Plot Keywords:

silent bob character | jay character | dialogue heavy | shared universe | comic book | 

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Taglines:

It's not who you love. It's how.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong graphic sex-related dialogue, language, sexuality and drug content

Details

Official Sites:

Miramax [United States] Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 April 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Chasing Amy

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$250,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$52,446, 6 April 1997, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$12,006,514, 28 September 1997

Company Credits

Production Co:

Too Askew Prod. Inc., View Askew Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Holden and Banky are both characters in J.D. Salinger's novel, "The Catcher in the Rye". In the novel, "Ed Banky" was a gym teacher, who would let students borrow his car, so they could make-out and have sex with their girlfriends.

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Goofs

Holden's radio mike is visible under his shirt in the CD store when he's talking to Hooper.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Comic Book Writer #1: I don't know. I love Chow Yun Fat. I just don't see him playing Madman.

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Crazy Credits

Jay and Silent Bob will return in "Dogma" ... (promise).

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Alternate Versions

A little bit more between Hooper and his older boyfriend (played by Bob Hawk);

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Connections

Referenced in Dinner for Five: Episode #1.1 (2001)

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Soundtracks

Be Yourself
(1987)
Written by Kirth Anthony Atkins (as K. Atkins), Jalil Hutchins (as J. Hutchins) and Hugo Lamott York (as H. York)
Performed by Whodini
Courtesy of Zomba Recording Corp.

User Reviews

Adult, funny and moving - one of Kevin Smith's finest achievements

With his third film, Kevin Smith tried to do something new for him: a grown-up film. As loved as it may (deservedly) be, Clerks is remembered for the crude humor rather than the plot, while Mallrats, which was meant to be a smart, amusing teen movie, turned out to be little more than a vehicle for Jason Lee's comedic talent. Chasing Amy is radically different: combining Smith's trademark superb dialogue, believable characters and a heartfelt story, it is one of the best, most insightful romantic comedies of the '90s, and the director's most satisfying picture aside from Clerks I and II.

Whereas his first two movies kept referencing other films as soon as there was time to do so, Chasing Amy centers on Smith's second great passion: comic-books. In fact, it all begins at a convention, where Banky Edwards (Jason Lee) and Holden MacNeil (Ben Affleck) are signing issues of their successful book Bluntman & Chronic. Afterwards, they hang out with fellow artists Hooper X (Dwight Ewell) and Alyssa Jones (Joey Lauren Adams), and while Banky spends all of his time arguing with Hooper over the racism in Star Wars (one of the funniest things Smith has ever written) or the gay subtext in Archie comics, something clicks between Holden and Alyssa, and soon enough they start seeing each other almost every day. It is obvious something deeper than friendship is in the air, and they both know it, yet there's a catch: Alyssa is a lesbian, or at least she used to be one before meeting Holden. Hence the big question: can they have a meaningful relationship with her past being such a huge burden? What kind of sacrifices will have to be made?

In another film, the boy-loves-lesbian premise would have been an excuse to deliver a 90-minute marathon of distasteful, gratuitously explicit jokes. Chasing Amy, on the other hand, is good because it really cares for its characters and whatever crudities there may be never feel excessive or out of place, but on the contrary they manage to convey the speaker's emotions more correctly (this is particularly true for Jason Lee's foolproof, energetic performance). The central love story is honest and touching, two characteristics that are evident in the realistic dialogue and acting: Adams, who hasn't managed to find a decent role ever since, portrays Alyssa as a human being, not a stereotype, and that's what makes her scenes with Affleck, always at his best when working with Smith, compelling and almost painful to watch.

Most of the time, Chasing Amy is a perfect balance between gross-out humor and tender romance, something the director kept toying with on the underrated Jersey Girl (where the jokes were less sweary than usual) and perfected with his masterpiece, Clerks II. There are, however, a few moments when Smith doesn't understand he has to stop and tells us everything about a certain character's personality, whereas he should simply have implied it. Overall, though, this feature remains one of the most hilarious, moving, revealing films of the '90s, with its best moment saved for the director himself: halfway through the movie, the mandatory Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Smith) make their appearance. In all the other View Askew flicks, they are just incredibly funny. This time, Bob breaks his silence and gives a long, thoughtful speech that explains the film's title and has more to say about love and relationships than certain movies do in their entire running time. Astonishing.

8,5/10