Christina Reviews *Chasing Amy*

          The first time I watched Chasing Amy, I didn’t get it.  Well, let me rephrase that.  I understood the plot well enough.  I just didn’t like it.  I thought the movie was one of the weakest Kevin Smith movies I’d ever seen, and as far as I’m concerned, every Kevin Smith movie other than Clerks is weak.  It’s just that each of them is weak in their own unique way.  I didn’t find Chasing Amy to be funny.  I didn’t find it to be poignant.  I just found it to be a waste of time.

         The second time I watched it, I still didn’t like it nearly as much as Clerks, but I definitely appreciated it more. 

         Chasing Amy tells the story of a man who has the misfortune of falling head over heels for a lesbian.  And the funny thing is, she ends up falling in love with him right back.  The second time I watched the movie, I really appreciated the way the movie dealt with the dilemma in a messy way that was true to life.  I’m not saying that all a lesbian needs is the right man, but at the same time, I like it when movies push the boundaries as opposed to conforming to what people would expect.  I can understand if this would upset some viewers.  But at the end of the day, this is not a political piece.  I wouldn’t call it a work of art, but what it does do is tell a story.  And I think it’s about how the main character screws himself in the end because, while Amy is willing to making adjustments to her pre-conceived notions of who she is and compromise in the name of love, the protagonist is an insecure brat who cares about nothing more than his pride. 

          Kevin Smith once called this movie science-fiction.  He encouraged anyone who had ever watched it to ask a lesbian what she thought of this movie and the lesbian would say that it would never happen.

          Three and a half stars