Cinema a la Smith

                                    

Before we all fell over ourselves for Judd Apatow & Co., this generation of comedy film fans was all for Kevin Smith and his twisted take on the Jersey ‘burbs. In my opinion, Smith still holds the heavy weight belt when it comes to witty dialogue, which makes his films the kind that you watch several times before you pick up all the little witticisms and one-liners. It was a hankering for Smith’s smartly silly styling's that instigated a Kevin Smith Film Fest @ Casa Michelle this morning… Well, that and a desire to avoid being productive despite a shit-load of homework, housework, and house hunting to do. I watched his mainstream blockbuster successes - Dogma and Clerks II – but since I woke up waaaaay too early this morning, there was more time to kill. I pulled out my VHS copy of Clerks (the original), but my VCR is already packed up in a box somewhere. I enjoyed an illegally available internet version of Mallrats, then just as I nearly settled on watching Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back I remembered my all time favorite Kevin Smith cinematic gem… Chasing Amy! An hour of downloading later & I was in Romantic Comedy heaven! If you have forgotten how good the movie was, take my advice & refresh your memory! For those of you that have the misfortune of never having seen Chasing Amy, get on the ball Bitches. The film is chock full of ‘90s goodness, comic book-loving nerdiness, multi-faceted sexual confusion, and that patented Kevin Smith humor that takes dick & fart jokes to a new level of sophistication. Slacker humor aside, Chasing Amy is a classic because it’s honest & intelligent in it’s approach to the modern romance. The shaky love story of Alyssa Jones and Holden McNeal, the self-proclaimed lesbian and the inexperienced Jersey Boy, is sweet. It’s complex, it’s tragic and it’s believable. You can empathize with each of the film’s characters, regardless of your own sexual orientation or preferences. Holden is hopelessly in love with an unattainable girl, or at least his ideal of who this girl is, and who hasn’t been blinded by the glare of new love? Alyssa is just a girl who’s sexual exploration comes back to bite her in the ass because using one’s vagina has that effect in today’s society. Anyone of us that possess a pussy – the slut, virgin, prude, dyke, or whomever – knows that & can feel for Alyssa’s character. Bankee, Holden’s devoted sidekick & “tracer”, is the homophobic buddy trying unsuccessfully to save his friend from inevitable heartbreak. I can’t count how many times I’ve been there.

Trust me. Re-watch Chasing Amy. It will restore your faith in men & remind you that pussies don't have mileage limitations. Send K. Smith a Thank You card for acknowledging that on the Big Screen.