Review of Chasing Amy (1997) by Richard D — 06 Jul 2016

I have had kind of a long journey to the conclusion that I don't really like Kevin Smith. I think "Clerks" is a good film, somewhat despite of, but also somewhat because of its artlessness.

Smith has a tendency to overwrite his dialogue to the point that all of his characters just sound like him talking. In the cheap, staginess of "Clerks", this is almost a virtue. In "Chasing Amy", it's not.

I wish I could say that's the only problem I have with the film, but it's not. First, I have plausibility issues. Smith wants me to buy that Affleck's character is such a catch that he actually turns lesbians straight.

He hasn't created a character that's really got any attractive qualities, so I'm basically asked to take on faith that a fairly likeable and attractive young lesbian would throw away everything that has mattered up until now to date a close-minded average Joe who never listens to anything she says to him.

It could happen I guess. That kind of points to my larger issue. The film seems to exist to justify that massive shortcomings of it's bland suburban jerk characters by being minimally tolerant of gay people, while simultaneously not taking their sexual orientation even minimally seriously.

Given the way Smith writes, I can't help feeling that the film exists to let me know that Smith is okay with "the gays".