I generally have a difficult time rating a movie if I see the main character morph into a prick. It’s not something I see that often so it certainly stands out and it’s kind of a trope I like. Movies like this rely heavily on their leads having the ability to lead well both through writing and the actual performing. A perfect job renders everything transparent, and so it begins where I wonder if the lead has always been a prick from the start. Does he make a change at the end? Does he learn his lesson? Is he likable enough for me to give a crap? These things are important to me because in the end my reviews are based on how I feel after the movie is over.
Chasing Amy is a movie that has put me into this line of thinking. It’s about two asshole comicbook maker guys: one is a major homophobe while the other is a super conservative and inexperienced douchenozzle. One day at the club they encounter a slinky and charming lesbian. The douche falls for her almost immediately and they end up in a rocky and short-lived relationship that culminates in his questioning of her shady and mysterious past that basically paints her as a whore. It’s not a very funny movie in spite of taking place in Kevin Smith’s View Askew universe where Jay & Silent Bob hail from.
Instead, this movie makes a push as the oscar bait. It’s full of thoughts and feelings and melodrama and homophobic slurs and two of the biggest asshole characters I’ve seen in a while. The thing is, no one mentioned to Kevin Smith that Ben Affleck sucks at carrying a movie (as the leading man, not the director–I heard he’s quite good at that). It has some good writing and dialogue that just gets pissed down the drain due to Affleck’s staggering starchiness. Maybe that’s what Kevin wanted when making this movie: it has a respectable level of discomfort but I think Damon or even Lee would’ve made a much better lead.
Also: Ben’s hair looks face-punchingly stupid.
ThomFiles 
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