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:

Finally, a comedy that tells it like it feels.

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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

Banky's comic "Baby Dave" is a reference to David Klein, Director of Photography for Clerks (1994), Mallrats (1995), and this film.

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Goofs

During the hockey fight #12's helmet is off, then on, then off again.

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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

To all the critics that didn't like our last movie: "All is forgiven."

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Alternate Versions

More development of the "selling out" subplot about the MTV series, including Holden and Banky's lawyer, John Sloss

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Connections

Referenced in The Fall of Harvey Weinstein (2017)

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Soundtracks

Jump Start
(1993)
Written by Brian Tighe
Performed by The Hang Ups
Courtesy of Restless Records
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products
(Played during the Holden/Alyssa hanging out montage)

User Reviews

The Best Love Story of the Year

"Chasing Amy" has to be the best love story of 1997. It was emotional, gripping, funny, sad, heartwarming, and had some great jokes. How could anyone deny that this screenplay was anything less than original, or perfection. Absolutely intoxicating. The performances were right on and the writing was magnificent. Kevin Smith is, without a doubt, one of the best new writers. With this movie he goes to a whole new level. "Clerks" was great, and I think I'm one of the five people that enjoyed "Mallrats", but "Chasing Amy" takes the cake. Nothing else came even close that year. That movie should have made a star out of Joey Lauren Adams. She gave the BEST performance in 1997 and was robbed of an Oscar nomination, as was the script. The scene outside of the ice rink is more than enough to show just how good she was. And anyone who can watch that ending, the you don't know if you should cry or jump for joy ending, and not feel something, is heartless. The movie was great. It is one of my personal favorites, and will always be.