Review of Chasing Amy (1997) by Bereal M — 12 Jul 2015

Good movie for a good laugh. Jason Lee (Banky Ewards) is funny when he and Alyssa Jones (Joey Adams) discuss how women need to provide directions to their partner during oral sex in order for it to be effective. Banky is so "zero" telling Alyssa that he always notices the blank look on girls' faces when he is hammering them. He is also a gas when he and Ben Affleck (Holden McNeil) talk about his collection of 30 porno magazines he packed for a trip. It's his material for beating-off; he likes variety. It's crude humor but funny.

The movie runs through the gamut of emotions when one finds out that a new girlfriend (boyfriend) straight-up tells a lie about her (his) sexual history. And, the emotional pain and anger when one finds out through a friend's inquiry that that history including experiences (as in more than once) with multiple partners at the same time. It's the lying that cost Alyssa the only man she loved even though her history is almost 10 years old. She tells Holden that he is the only man she ever had sex with, having him believe that he "saved her" from being a lesbian since high school. Banky finds out through a mutual friend that Alyssa's nickname in high school was "finger cuffs" and has possession of the yearbook for proof.

Holden loses the love of his life because he cannot accept Alyssa's grandiose, experimental sexual experiences. He feels too small and insecure. (Of course, if he were the instigator of same, his opinions would be quite different!) In spite of the sane advice from two people, Holden acts out in anger and proposes to Alyssa that she has sex with him and Banky. He tried to even the score only to have it back fire. His skull (ego) is so thick that he is totally blind to the fact that Alyssa's past is her past, and is not something in her current range of preferences. Before leaving Holden's apartment, she slaps his face and tells him "I'm not your whore!" Not an unusual reaction, but surely one that made reconciliation more difficult. The end of the movie does not ensure reconciliation on any grounds.

Banky and Holden are no longer buddies. Banky produces the final edition of their comic and sells it at a show a year later. That seems like a huge loss for the team to break up over a girl. Holden overreacted when he told Banky in front of Alyssa that Banky had homosexual feelings toward him. It did not occur to Holden that platonic love is possible.

Oh boy, what a mess in the love-romance department! There were casualties in this movie, for sure!

It's nice to have a movie that deals with difficult life issues in the realms of sex, sexuality, relationships, friendship, love, etc. It lends some objectivity to this type of human conflict. It may or may not help answer questions such as: How and when does one reveal such a history? Is it necessary to reveal anything that is about 10 years old, and is truly only historical? Nevertheless, it's a great mix of comedy and tragedy that's entertaining, without any explicit sex scenes or nudity.