Originally written June 21, 2009

Chasing Amy is the third movie made by writer/director Kevin Smith, and so it’s the next one in the series for me to watch, since I just watched Clerks and Mallrats recently. It’s the third installment in the “New Jersey” saga, and it’s very different from the rest of Smith’s movies.

In Chasing Amy, we are taken into the lives of two comic book artists, Holden McNeil (played by Ben Affleck) and Banky Edwards (played by Jason Lee), famous for their comic “Bluntman and Chronic.” At the Comiccon convention, the pair meet another comic book writer, Alyssa Jones (played by Joey Lauren Adams). Holden takes a strong interest to Alyssa, and the two start hanging out a lot more. Eventually, Holden’s hopes are crushed when he finds out that Alyssa is a lesbian.

The odd thing about Chasing Amy, aside from its eccentric and original plot, is the fact that it’s not particularly a comedy like the rest of Kevin Smith’s work. There is a lot of funny parts in it, don’t get me wrong, but compared to his other movies, Chasing Amy is notably the least funniest. But this is because the movie is more of a drama instead of a comedy. Rather than use his writing style to make a bunch of witty dialogue, instead Kevin Smith uses it to create a clever and serious film, and I have to say he greatly succeeded.

Chasing Amy does an absolutely wonderful job at tackling serious issues about the gay community and gender roles. Seeing Holden struggling by trying to deal with his feelings for a woman that’s a lesbian, and also attempting to not let Alyssa’s past bother him is magical to watch on screen. I was truly surprised that Kevin Smith made a movie like this, taking into account all of his other work.

I really do love Chasing Amy. The thing is, I love it for different reasons than I love all of Kevin Smith’s other movies. I usually watch a Kevin Smith movie to laugh, and that’s not the case with Chasing Amy. This movie is the least funniest of his movies (at least from what I’ve seen), however it’s not my least favorite. This is because I love Chasing Amy for what it is: a dramedy. The one thing I really hated about the movie, however, was its ending. Terrible ending. The rest of the movie, though, is really great.

4.5/5