Chasing Amy

Directed by Kevin Smith, Chasing Amy follows successful comic-book artist Holden McNeil (Ben Affleck) as he meets and befriends Joey Lauren Adams’ Alyssa Jones – with complications ensuing after Holden begins developing romantic feelings for Alyssa (despite her decidedly non-straight sexual orientation). Filmmaker Smith, working from his own script, delivers a typically verbose endeavor that grows more and more involving as it progresses, and it’s clear, certainly, that the increasingly engaging atmosphere, which is perpetuated by memorable, truthful dialogue and a few unexpectedly moving sequences, goes a long way towards compensating for the picture’s less-than-streamlined midsection and Smith’s notoriously low-rent visual sensibilities. There’s little doubt, of course, that Chasing Amy‘s success is due in no small part to the engaging and completely charming efforts of its various performers, as Affleck and Adams’ winning work here, as well as their palpable chemistry together, plays an integral role in keeping things interesting and engaging through a somewhat hit-and-miss narrative. By the time the satisfying final third, which boasts a memorable sequence featuring an uncharacteristically (yet appealingly) subdued Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith), rolls around, Chasing Amy has confirmed its place as a consistently watchable (and sporadically relatable) comedy that ranks as one of Smith’s most accomplished offerings.

*** out of ****