While in retrospect people remember the production story of Clerks and see it as the film that catapulted Kevin Smith’s career, Mallrats put that blossoming career in question after it became a critical and monetary failure when it first hit theaters. It wasn’t until the success Smith found with Chasing Amy that he had secured his place as a notable writer/director in the film industry.
Chasing Amy, Smith’s straight-man exploration of a gay world and an early entry in the “bromance” category, holds up incredibly well roughly one decade after its initial release. Holden McNeil (Ben Affleck) and Banky Edwards (Jason Lee) have a hit comic series together called Bluntman and Chronic. Then Holden meets a fellow writer, Alyssa Jones (Joey Lauren Adams), and falls for her. The only thing is she’s a lesbian, yet Holden doesn’t stop and Banky feels their friendship is threatened.
Smith uses the film to offer a straight man’s take on trying to understand gay culture, as well as to examine the dynamic of a strong heterosexual relationship between men, all in his trademark vulgar manner. It offers an honest look into the differences, and more importantly similarities between gay and straight people and their relationships, as well as the way society views them. For instance, Hooper X (Dwight Ewell) is a black comics writer who pretends to be a militant to cover up the fact that he’s gay in order to sell his books. But with as many important things as the film explores, Smith, like Holden’s grandmother, recognizes “the real money is in dick and fart jokes.”
The Blu-ray version is the best the film has looked, but that statement is relative to the fact that Chasing Amy took Smith back to his low-budget roots and has that low-budget quality. While it doesn’t make a huge difference, considering the core of Smith’s appeal is dialogue rather than visuals, the visuals are only slightly better than the average DVD produced with a decent budget. The sound, likewise, doesn’t make much use of multiple channels, but again, people are watching this to hear people talk about things, so it’s almost a moot point other than that it means there is less reason to own it on Blu-ray rather than DVD.
The Blu-ray release has a few exclusive features, which are hit and miss. There is a new commentary track with Smith and producer Scott Mosier, but it is actually just a recording of Smodcast, during which the two openly admit to having forgotten much about the filmmaking process behind Chasing Amy. So, there is not much new information provided; only small bits of the banter are entertaining; and viewers will be left wondering why the original commentary wasn’t also included on the disc.
To make up for it, though, a substantial documentary titled “Tracing Amy” delves deep into the process of making Chasing Amy, from the influences, to the writing, to the production, to the release – with interviews with the cast and crew. It also digs into the real-life relationship between Smith and Adams and how that played a part in sculpting the film. This is also expounded on in “Was It Something I Said? – A Conversation With Kevin & Joey.” The “10 Years Later Q & A” is not quite as insightful as previous iterations of this tradition. The disc also includes the original deleted scenes, outtakes and a trailer.
Chasing Amy’s first outing on Blu-ray isn’t necessarily worth it for the visual or sound upgrade, though it does look better. The documentary makes a strong case for the purchase, however, as even longtime fans will likely learn a few new things watching it. It’s just a shame that the original commentary wasn’t included, leaving it a less-than definitive, while still highly entertaining edition.
Special Features:
-The Chasing Amy Blu-ray Disc is presented in 1080p high-definition 1.85:1 aspect ratio video; English 5.1 DTS-HD MA (48 kHz/24-bit) and Spanish 2.0 Dolby Digital audio; with English SDH and Spanish subtitles
-The special features are presented in 1080p or 480i video; English 2.0 Dolby Digital audio; with English SDH and Spanish subtitles
-Audio Commentary with Writer/Director/Actor Kevin Smith and Producer Scott Mosier
-Tracing Amy: The Chasing Amy Doc
-Was It Something I Said? – A Conversation with Kevin & Joey
-10 Years Later Q & A – With Kevin Smith and The Cast
-Deleted Scenes
-Outtakes
-Trailer
Title: Chasing Amy [Blu-ray]Starring: Ben Affleck, Jason Lee, Joey Lauren Adams, Dwight Ewell, Jason Mewes
Directed by: Kevin Smith
Studio: Miramax
Release Date: Nov. 17, 2009
Rating: 8 / 10
About the Writer:
Bill Jones is the editor-in-chief of padsandpanels.com, a site dedicated to the coverage of comics and games.
DUDE… Finally I remember where I saw the guy (Jason Lee) from My Name is Earl first. For four seasons all I could think was, I’ve seen this guy before somewhere… but never cared to look it up since I never watched Earl long enough to care.
I feel I may date myself when I recall the time I first saw this movie. But, I still remember watching it. I’m not really a fan of all the Jay and Silent Bob movies. However, I think this was one of my favorite Kevin Smith flicks. He did an amazing job capturing the reality of the characters while not compromising his humorous take on life.
Looking at today’s comedy, I have to agree that “the real money is in dick and fart jokes.” Where oh where did I go wrong? Lol.
Great review. I’ll have to add this one to my collection. It’s one of the rare movies I watched more than once and was still entertained the third time.