Chasing Amy directed by Kevin Smith (86%)

Having seen Clerks., which was a strong debut for Kevin Smith and then Mallrats, which was nothing to write home about, I was slightly apprehensive for Chasing Amy. In 1998, when I first saw Chasing Amy I had really enjoyed it, but I too had thought Mallrats was a better film than it actually was. So now, watching it again after all these years I see that although my memories of Mallrats have been tainted, Chasing Amy's have been solidified. The best things from both Clerks. and Mallrats were present in Chasing Amy, and the things that brought down both films were missing.

The problems I had with Clerks. dealt with the production value and directing by Smith.  It was lacklustre and brought down the film to a certain degree, but the writing was so good that it more than made up for it. Mallrats was funny, but it had a lame story line and again wasn't terrible well directed. Jay and Silent Bob, who were in both films, were good and the great dialogue that Smith wrote was present but the only real redeeming factor for Mallrats was Jason Lee. He was the movie. He made the movie. He is the only reason to watch the movie.

Chasing Amy had Ben Affleck, Jason Lee and Joey Lauren Adams in the leads.  It was funny; it was original; it was daring; it was romantic; it was scathingly funny; it was adult.  Jason Lee, was fantastic again, and the rest of the cast was great too, with no weak links any where to be found. Affleck was excellent and shared great chemistry with Adams.  And everyone was funny. Jay and Silent Bob even make a brief but memorable appearance.

And man was it funny. Smith's writing was crude and daring yet laugh out loud funny, but unlike Mallrats it was much more adult, dealing with homophobia, gays and sex openly and often. And you'll laugh often and hard and from the very first scene.  There is a well rounded love story that plays through the movie that makes this the first Kevin Smith film to actually feel like a real, professional, adult film.  And the first Kevin Smith film to have a well written story around his well written dialogue.

The production values are quite good, looking as good if not better than Mallrats, but was filmed at a fraction of the cost.  The sets feel real, the rooms worn in and costumes like real clothes on characters that look like real people. And there is more movement within the compositions. Smith has a style that is rather static, with no real movement within the frame or with the camera. Just point the camera, shoot the scene, move on.  It made for a rather distant experience from the characters you were watching. But these are nicely composed shots with nice tracking shots and and an assemblance of fluidity that wasn't there before. It's minimalistic, but it's suited perfectly to the material and to Smith's writing.

Smith's directing has matured and blossomed, and although I was beginning to think that he was a much better writer than director he has proven me wrong with Chasing Amy. This is the film I was expecting after watching Clerks. not Mallrats.  It unleashes the potential that was first glimpsed three features ago. He has written a better, more structured script that maintained the great and hysterical dialogue from his past films but added a great story around it.  He pulled out solid performances from his entire cast and an even better production design than Mallrats, considering it cost considerably less. And he brought you more into the film and closer to the characters, by using more than just his script to tell the story. He used the camera and placements and movements of the camera to bring us into film, to feel along side the characters, rather than keeping us at a considerably distant distance from them.

Chasing Amy is a great film. One that is fully realized by its creator, is highly original, and at times is outright hysterical.  If you like your comedy's crude and crass then this film is not to be missed.


Film Rating: 86%

Breakdown (How Chasing Amy scored 86%):

Production Design: 9 out of 10
Cinematography: 7 out of 10
Re-playability: 9 out of 10

Originality: 9 out of 10
Costumes: 9 out of 10

Directing: 8 out of 10

Editing: 8 out of 10

Script: 10 out of 10

Acting: 9 out of 10
Music: 8 out of 10