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Movies / On DVD / Chasing Amy
Chasing Amy

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Chasing Amy (1997)

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Reviews Counted:66

Fresh:60

Rotten:6

Average Rating:7.5/10

Consensus: Chasing Amy explores gender roles, sexual mores, and the limits of friendship with a mixture of sensitivity, raw honesty, and director/screenwriter Kevin Smith's signature raunchy humor.

Runtime: 1 hr 54 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: Kevin Smith's third film was critically acclaimed for its adroitness in balancing complex, adult sexual issues with jokes about bodily functions. The two Garden State guys this time around are... Kevin Smith's third film was critically acclaimed for its adroitness in balancing complex, adult sexual issues with jokes about bodily functions. The two Garden State guys this time around are Holden (Ben Affleck) and Banky (Jason Lee). At a comic book convention, the co-creators of "Bluntman and Chronic" meet Alyssa Jones (Joey Lauren Adams), a New Jersey native who draws a comic entitled "Idiosyncratic Routine." Holden thinks they click, but proceeds to discover that Alyssa is a lesbian--then manages to convince her to take a chance on him anyway. The real conflict comes when Holden gets hung up on Alyssa's checkered sexual past. What's more, Banky mounts an anti-Alyssa campaign whose intensity and bile Holden can't understand. The script came out of Smith's real-life relationship with Adams, and represents a flowering of the themes of friendship and sexual jealousy which the director first explored in CLERKS. Smith fans can rest assured, however, that STAR WARS is discussed (this time as a racist allegory) and that Jay and Silent Bob do appear to dispense relationship wisdom (and collect royalties for their comic book likenesses). [More]

Starring: Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, Jason Lee, Dwight Ewell

Starring: Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, Jason Lee, Dwight Ewell, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, Casey Affleck, Guinevere Turner, Brian O'Halloran, Matt Damon, Ethan Suplee, Scott Mosier, Carmen Lee, Dan Lunney, Tony Torin, Rebecca Waxman, Paris Petrick, Welker White, Kelli Simpkins, John Willyung, Tsemach Washington, Ernie O'Donnell, Kristin Mosier, Virginia Smith

Director: Kevin Smith

Director: Kevin Smith
Composer: David Pirner
Producer: John Pierson, Robert Hawk, Scott Mosier
Screenwriter: Kevin Smith

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Chasing Amy

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1 - 20 (sorted by comments; UK critics are listed first)
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While there is nothing horribly offensive here, neither is there anything as gut-bustingly funny as in his gloriously foulmouthed debut.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
02/03/09
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

While this dark, perceptive variation on the romantic comedy genre doesn't quite match the former's [Clerks] majesty, it still marks a triumphant return to form.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Caroline Westbrook
Caroline Westbrook
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The script moves beyond Smith's customary cataloguing of male adolescent ignorance and idiocy to offer sharp insights into the romanticism and pragmatism, pride and double standards that define the tangled threesome.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Utilises the same sharp - sometimes sick - observational humour and ear for dialogue that made Clerks such an indie gem.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
12/10/01
Jane Crowther
Jane Crowther
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The plot and dialogue play too much as if Smith is re-enacting past romantic squabbles he's had, and rewriting them, too.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment 1 Comment
09/24/07
Rob Gonsalves
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

Adams adds a sexy, zesty kick, but the real punch comes from Lee as Affleck's sidekick and virtual Butt-head.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
01/01/00
E! Online
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
03/24/02
Boston Phoenix
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The subject -- the complexity of love when all the rules have changed -- proves beyond the scope of his limited vision.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
02/03/09
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The third time out is the real charm for writer-director Kevin Smith.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
02/03/09
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Like a raw nerve tweaked over and over again by emotions both radiant and revealing, Chasing Amy is as close to a masterpiece as Smith has ever created.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
11/21/09
Bill Gibron
Bill Gibron
PopMatters

Although the intermittent stupidity and vulgarity of Smith's characters is sometimes painful to watch, the film's refreshing realism is an invaluable experience.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Bradley Null
Bradley Null
Filmcritic.com

It could prove to be as bad a date movie for some couples as it might be a real turn-on for others. Anyone with set ideas about sex roles or orientations is likely to get steamed.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Charles Taylor
Charles Taylor
Salon.com

Kevin Smith seems to be spilling his guts in this movie.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia City Paper | comment Comment
01/01/00
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
Philadelphia City Paper

A well-written and acted romantic drama that marks a step forward in the promising career of Kevin Smith.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dan Jardine
Dan Jardine
Apollo Guide

Instead of cool twenty-something irony, Smith startles us with raw emotional honesty.

Full Review Source: Newsweek | comment Comment
03/31/08
David Ansen
David Ansen
Newsweek

Not everything worked or made sense, but the characters and their problems seemed real.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Lacks insight and finesse, and feels like a boldfaced Rorschach for Smith's own hang-ups.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Edward Guthmann
Edward Guthmann
San Francisco Chronicle

Funny, romantic, and a bit challenging.

Full Review Source: NUVO Newsweekly | comment Comment
01/01/00
Edward Johnson-Ott
Edward Johnson-Ott
NUVO Newsweekly

Like Clerks, this is a politically incorrect comedy with casual profanity, but more profoundly so. To Smith's credit, he doesn't play the Hollywood stereotype of lesbians as women who have not met the right guy.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
06/02/06
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Can a script exploring some truly deep questions about human sexuality and emotions be any shoddier and wooden? Will Miramax continue to fund one of the worst directors in the business? Don’t stay tuned.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/22/02
Eric Brace
Eric Brace
Washington Post
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by comments; UK critics are listed first)
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all

Latest News for Chasing Amy

January 17, 2008: Kevin Smith's Porno Adds Five
Just in time for filming to begin, Kevin Smith's Zack and Miri Make a Porno has added five new faces to its cast. More...

July 20, 2006: Critical Consensus: "Lady" Is All Wet; "Ex" Is Not Super; "House" Is Scary, "Clerks" Is Funny
This week we've got some magic in ordinary dwellings (M. Night Shyamalan's "Lady in the Water" and "Monster House") and some funny couples ("My Super... More...

June 19, 2006: "Clerks II" Getting Some Premature Critical Love
After screening at Cannes to an eight-minute standing ovation, "Clerks II" is beginning to garner precious positive reviews from print and online critics, who have... More...

February 08, 2006: Affleck & Damon to Reunite for Disney Drama
Variety reports that old buddies Ben Affleck and Matt Damon will reunite to star in a Disney-backed "based on actual events" legal drama. And it's not a Kevin Smith... More...

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