Miramax
Home Video | Review by Dan Taylor
Believe
it or not, I'm a pretty sensitive, 90s-type
of guy. I like animals (okay, dogs), I can
cook better than most women I know, and
I (occasionally) cry at movies. The thing
that surprised me was that I cried -- briefly,
mind you -- at the end of CHASING AMY. WHAT'S
EATING GILBERT GRAPE I can understand, but
during a Kevin Smith flick? Go figure. And,
for the record, I didn't cry during the
course of CLERKS or MALLRATS.
Holden (Ben Affleck) and Benky
(Jason Lee, who stole the show in Smith's
underrated MALLRATS)
are the creators of Bluntman and Chronic,
the first comic book based on a dope-smoking
moron and a cerebral-silent-Jedi-obsessed
moron*. The duo are inseparable -- until
a meeting with Alyssa Jones, the helium-voiced
creator of a chick comic (Joey Lauren Adams,
who was temporarily Smith's main squeeze...
lucky bastard). Benky feels threatened by
Holden's attraction to this outsider, especially
since Holden is so smitten. Then again,
wouldn't you be? Too bad Alyssa's a bona
fide, card-carrying, carpet-munching, fist-fucking
lesbian! (A fact that becomes evident during
a hysterically-staged series of events in
New York bars.)
It sounds like the sort of
set up that would let a director (even of
Smith's talents) take the easy way out and
do your typical boy-meets-lesbian love story
that ends on an up hetero note. Luckily,
Smith's not interested in the easy way.
Instead, we get sharp, realistic dialogue
that portrays real relationships in all
their ebb and flow. Holden's reactions to
Alyssa's past, Benky's closeted jealousies,
and the eventual emotional crumble is remarkably
on the money, true to life, and heartwrenching
(as evidenced by the tears I had to wipe
away).
Most folks probably weren't
as touched as I was by CHASING AMY's conclusion,
but there's something to be said for flicks
that portray true-to-life relationships
between young adults without resorting to
moronic histrionics. Kudos to Smith as he
wraps up his "Jersey trilogy"
(all three flicks are neatly tied together
during one scene) with his most balanced
film to date.
*Moron, in this case, is meant
in the kindest dick-joke, fart-joke, tit-joke
sorta way.
Silent Bob and Jay returned
in DOGMA and JAY
AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK.
