DVD REVIEW
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"Clerks" had been over-praised, "Mallrats" had been over-bashed... what better could they ever say about us than they did the first time, and what worse could they ever say about us than they did the second?"-Kevin Smith, from the liner notes of "Chasing Amy"
What a wonderful position to be in. Having experienced both ends of the spectrum, Kevin Smith was somewhat liberated, and allowed himself to make a very personal film-his best film, in my opinion. "Chasing Amy" was the third installment in Smith's New Jersey Trilogy, following the diamond-in-the-rough "Clerks," and the potential-ridden but ultimately compromised studio film "Mallrats."
The film is semi-autobiographical, giving Smith a chance to work out some inner demons concerning a past relationship. Holden and Banky (Ben Affleck and Jason Lee, respectively) are two comic book artists and business partners who have been best friends for twenty years. Into their lives is thrown a beautiful fireball of spunk, Alyssa Jones (Joey Lauren Adams, in an underrated performance), who is a fellow comic book artist and, as they would both find out, a lesbian. The problem is that Holden is in love with her. Hurt feelings, self-evaluations and broken hearts soon follow.
I would love to discuss and pick apart the story in more detail, but I do not want to perform a disservice to the many who have not seen this film by exposing too many plot points. Some of the avenues the story goes down are predictable, inevitable, and a few even regrettable. Much of the script and the plot, though, involve engaging and original arguments, portrayed in such a colorful language and with such passion and conviction that it would be impossible to do them justice here. If you liked Smith's previous works, you'll love this. If you were unimpressed by "Clerks" or "Mallrats," I beg you to give "Amy" a try. It's got the stamp of Kevin Smith all over it, to be sure, but the director-writer-actor really hits his stride with this one. Probably because, like Silent Bob's monologue in this film illustrates, Smith finally has something important to say.
In any other filmmaker's hands, this would turn quickly into farce or low-brow humor (thank God the Farrelly Brothers didn't think of this first!), but under Smith's watchful eye, "Chasing Amy" is played intelligently and honestly. There are no punches pulled in this film. Smith's characters sometimes go a little over-the-top in their conversations, but they all say the things we all wish we could say if put in the same situation. Stereotypes are paraded, opinionated diatribes run rampant, fears escalate, and ignorance and stupidity run amuck, but by the end of the film, everyone-ourselves included-have grown quite a bit.
The video quality of the DVD is good, with natural flesh tones and no artifacting. However, the entire film is awash in an unsettling coarse grain, most evident in the brighter scenes and whiter portions of the screen. This is not the fault of Criterion's transfer, as it looked this way in the theater when I first saw it; but it is distracting nonetheless. The 1.68:1 image is comfortable, and approximates the 1.85:1 ratio of the original prints. The layer change is perfectly-timed, directly after the rainy confession scene fades out.
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