My life in SF so far and CHASING AMY (75)

This is my life in SF, so far:

1. I live in The Mission. A big dirty, beautiful section of the city full of restaurants and movie theatres and bookstores and everything you'd ever want from an urban environment. I'm absolutely in love with my neighborhood. It's a complete, at times shocking change from my quiet home in Seattle, but I feel much more a part of something here when I'm inhaling raw sewage and stepping over human feces.

2. I live with my girlfriend Alex in a room in a wee little house we refer to as The Peach. It's small and populated by five of us and weiner dog named Navy Bean, but again, I'm absolutely blown away by how happy I am with the entire situation. Here's my one semi-sappy thought for the week/month/year: if you really love your significant other, living together is absolutely amazing. Waking up next to the person you love on a daily basis is more invigorating than one would think. I'm enjoying the shit out every single moment of it right now, and, for the first time in my life, I highly recommend the option to those who feel ready for it.

3. I work in the Ferry Terminal Building at a place called Blue Bottle. It's high end coffee for true coffee nerds. This isn't Fuel Coffee, this is a bustling, tourist-packed locale more akin to a restaurant than a coffee shop and as of now I'm still struggling to adjust. I love making coffee and I love talking to customers, but as of now I'm barely trained and it's so busy talking to customers is a struggle. Also, tourists suck. They're badly dressed, oft times rude and barely able to muster a nickle for tip. This job has potential, and I think the more I work there the more I'll like it. We'll see.

That's me right now, in a tiny nutshell. You'll hear more, I promise.

As I stated yesterday, I love Chasing Amy (75). Or, I loved Chasing Amy (75) when I was growing up and through college, and as the final credits rolled last night, I couldn't help but think, "I really don't love this movie anymore." It's the crazy thing about film and art and literature and everything we claim to love is that so much of that love is based on where we are and where are knowledge level is when we watch it. I loved Chasing Amy (75) when I was growing in to film love because Kevin Smith was some of the first film I got my hands on. I loved the abrasiveness of his dialogue, the allusions to comic books and other geek-lore, and in general I just didn't mind the sort of broad-faced biography of this film.

Now, almost five years since I last watched this film though, things have changed. I've watched thousands of movies and written about them in various forums, and I've become more analytical, more cynical, and hell, better versed in the true masterpieces of film. Looking at Chasing Amy (75) now I can still feel inklings of love for the film, for the dialogue, for the crudeness of the humor, but there's so much that irks me that I can barely muster the energy to recommend it.

Kevin Smith made a movie that chronicled a painful part of his life, and as much as I'm a proponent for "write what you know" I think Smith went overboard this go-around. I find some of the lines in this film and some of the situations he proposes to be almost embarassingly emotional. Especially stacked against the dick-and-fart humor that races through the film, the emotion comes across as almost melodrama (the scene in the rain in the car? horf).

On top of this, I find Smith's attempt to portray gays and lesbians as almost offensive in some scenes. This film came out in a time when queer cinema was just smashing in to the fringes of the mainstream and though it seemed shocking at the time, now it seems like what it is: a straight white male writing about something he knows nothing about. At times, Alex and I both winced at the lines being spoken, I especially during a scene where four lesbians sit around a table and chat about their lives. Kevin Smith, a portly, geeky fellow from Red Banks, New Jersey, knows nothing about the way lesbians interact, this I promise you.

The final swift kick in the cajones is the fact that Smith isn't a great filmmaker. He's a cheeky, at times great writer, but he can't bring it all together. This movie looks like a school project you filmed on your mom's VHS recorder. It's shittily colored, the editing is amateur, and I even a lot of the sound editing is off. It's fascinating, for geeky old me, to see Criterion getting its footing in these first 100 films, as I think now, Kevin Smith's third movie wouldn't have crossed a single person's mind in terms of inclusion in to the collection.

Sad but true, one of my old favorites is kind of a dud. Well, onwards and upwards.

Friday: Brief Encounter (76)

Well, I was going to write a eulogy ... and CHASING AMY (75)

I cried today over a dead cat. A fake dead cat.

My mother wrote me an email around two or three to announce that the cat I had pretty much grown up with had been sick on Monday, and then upon her return from the vet, had disappeared and my mom was certain that she had crawled away to die. I'm not much of a crier but when it comes to childhood pets and death, the waterworks come on and I'm a puddle of sad.

I spent an hour or so today cradled against Alex's chest snorfing and sniffling about a feline I believed had bitten the dust. It wasn't just the cat dying, it the pressing imposition of the passing of time, and the fear that with the death of animals comes the speedy dissolution of my childhood, and this made me cry.

Hours later, I called my mother to console her about the death of our beloved kitten, and she curtly informed me that the cat had not only returned, but was as healthy as ever. My tears, wasted. Real tears for a fake dead cat. And I can only wish that this was the first time that my mother had reported an animal on the verge of death, I cried, and then my mother informed me that her news was incorrect. I also wish that when the cat actually does die, or that my mother informs me again that she's about to pass that I won't sob against Alex's chest, but I can't, because I know I will. What can I say? I'm sensitive.

Chasing Amy (75) was the first Criterion film I ever owned. It was a movie that I loved and loved and loved when I was growing up, a film that I spent hours watching on repeat, a film that I had sandwiched in to my top ten favorite films. This was a film I truly loved.

Thus, when I decided to watch it again in pursuit of the quest, I knew that my former opinion might be shown flawed in a fairly harsh light. This is Kevin Smith's third movie, a sort of middle ground between the voraciously hated Mallrats and the indie darling that was Clerks. It was Smith's response to hatred for his last movie, and a painfully biographical tale about a relationship from his past. I've watched the first two-thirds of the film and this is what I've realized:

1. This is the most dated film I've ever seen. It was shot in the mid-90s and the soundtrack and the colors and style are abysmal. This isn't helped by the fact that ...

2. Kevin Smith has the worst visual eye I've ever seen. This film honestly looks like it was shot by a drunken ninth grader who's favorite television series was Degrassi Junior High. I counted two tracking shots in the film (TWO), more than enough shots where parts of the body were cut awkwardly cut off, one scene where you could actually see a camera man, and enough poorly composed images to make one want to think that any monkey with a camera could hit it big in Hollywood.

3. Jason Lee is the real star of this film. Ben Affleck and Joey Lauren Adams are almost painful to watch in every scene, but alone or paired, Jason Lee is hilarious. He brings a sort of casual, stoner-humor to the mix that makes me smile everytime. He knocks the stilted conversation of Adams and Affleck to the side in every scene he's featured in, and I really only found myself still enjoying this film when he was a part of it.

4. This film was a breeding ground for some of today's biggest actors. Matt Damon is in this film, Casey Affleck makes an appearance, and I'm sure I missed out on at least a few when I was plugging my ears and covering my eyes in attempt to staunch the pain of this movie.

5. I still love this movie, but it's a love fostered in nostalgia. I'll give my full thoughts on it tomorrow when it's finished.

Hopefully I'm back on track now.

Thursday: Chasing Amy (75)

I'm here ... and I still haven't watched any movies.

Alright, alright, alright. I totally bailed on any sort of emotional farewell to my hometown. I didn't write anything about all the things I'm going to miss or the fact that I just packed up shop and moved my entire life to SF. Nope, didn't do that. I'll probably get around to it, seems somewhat important to catalog in some way these incredibly large changes in my life ... but for now, I'm not in to it.

Seemingly what I am in to is working like a dog and completely forgetting to watch movies that have anything to do with my life's goal of watching every single Criterion film ever. But wait, no seriously wait, I have a good excuse. Here let me tell you it: so, I accidentally packed Chasing Amy (75) and for the last three days I've been waiting for my mother and father to, god bless their senile minds, ship my meager belongings in the boxes I had packed. Somehow though, much to my, uh, surprise, I only received two-thirds of my belongings and sadly, the aforementioned Kevin Smith film was amongst the unsent box.

As soon as I'm done typing this though I'm running up to a video store (indeed they still exist) and trying to find the movie so I can watch at least a little bit tonight and reconnect with a favorite film of my past life, no matter how dated I believe it'll be.

For the mean time you should read this excellent piece written by Kevin Smith about the film. I promise, it's funny and sincere and very personal look at why someone makes a movie about Ben Affleck falling in love with a lesbian. ENJOY.

My first guest writer speaks on CHASING AMY (72)

Well then, I've finally pressured one of my nerdier movie friends in to writing something about a film in the Criterion Collection. Let me introduce you to my poorly named friend, Benjamin Bateman. He's a brother of a friend from college who's been making my hours working the coffee shop a little bit more enjoyable with his fervent love of movies and talking about movies and talkin' about comic books and all things nerdy.

He's wanted to write on this little blog for a while now, and when Chasing Amy (72) popped up, he jumped at the chance to discuss his thoughts on a one time indie darling, Kevin Smith.

Treat him nice, he put some good effort in to this little piece and I couldn't be more excited that he took the time to do so.

I'll put up my thoughts on this film in the days to come.

Take it away Bateman.

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Why the hell is Ben Affleck famous? I’m sure I’m not the first, and I probably won’t be the last person to raise this question, but I really don’t think he’s ever been particularly good in any movie. In the past, I might have tried defending his honor by saying something like, “he was awesome in Dazed and Confused,” or, “What about Chasing Amy (75)?” I might have even plugged Shakespeare in Love, or his iconic action star quality in Armageddon; The point is, none of these examples showcase any discernable talent (save the slight creative props I’ll give the guy for Good Will Hunting). However, post 03’ 04’ (Daredevil, Gigli, Jersey Girl, Paycheck, Surviving Christmas {a rough 2 years}), he’s gotten some attention for his portrayal of George Reeves in 2006’s Hollywoodland, and his recent direction of 2008’s Gone Baby Gone. Suddenly the world is willing to embrace this unlikely Oscar winner all over again, and all I can do is applaud his persistence. My hat’s off to you sir.

The point of my writing this however, isn’t to trash ol’ Reindeer Games, but is to write a review of the aforementioned film, Chasing Amy (75). My pal Noah Sanders is on a bit of a quest to conquer a mountainous challenge in the form of film watching, and Kevin Smith’s 1997 romantidramedy is next on the list. To begin, I’ll just say that akin to so many other nerds, I grew up as a huge Kevin Smith fan. Maybe it was the constant socially irrelevant, but sub-culturally poignant satire he specialized in, or just the charming nonsense of Jay and Silent Bob, but regardless, I was hooked by age 12. I probably watched Clerks 30 times that year, and I was so excited about these movies, that I just couldn’t wait to tell everyone about them. Unbeknownst to me, everybody else already was sick of “Kevin Smith the artist” by 1999. They were all content with “Kevin Smith” the dick and fart joke guy.

To briefly describe the plot of this film; Chasing Amy (75) is about two best friends (Jason Lee and Ben Affleck) who work on a successful independent comic book together. They meet a lesbian comic book creator (Joey-Lauren Adams), and Ben Affleck Falls in love with her. After some emotional struggle, they begin dating, but ultimately run into problems because of the Affleck’s problem with Adams’ past. The interesting thing about Chasing Amy (75) though, is that it holds quite a bit more emotional weight than any of Smith’s previous works, both positively, and negatively. While Clerks was just a day in the life of a slacker, and Mallrats was a fairly mindless ode to comic-book lore, Amy bravely dove into the romantic-comedy genre without letting go of it’s immature roots. In trying to accomplish something so much more meaningful with this film, he invited criticism for the first time from people aware of the relatively poor quality of his actors, and indy friendly style of his team. As good as he is in some scenes, Affleck is equally terrible in others, and although Joey Lauren Adams actually lived through a very similar real life situation to the plot with Smith before ever making this film, she just annoy’s the shit out of me more than impresses me. The stand-out performance comes from Jason Lee, as Affleck’s morally/sexually conflicted best friend Banky. Lee’s signature brand of aggressively sarcastic humor charmed all of us in 1997. and even won him an independent spirit award for this role, but despite his talent, he was never able to portray any other character after this.

The script in this film is laden with all of the Smith cliché’s from dick and fart humor, to star wars humor, to drug humor, but still has a few tightly written scenes, with enough truth in them to invite applaud. Also, because I watched this movie so many times between the ages of 12 and 16, I never really addressed the intense emotional conflict in a real way until now, and I have to say that I was more impressed than I remembered. Kevin Smith is undeniably a fat, sappy product of Hollywood sentimentality, and even more hilariously, he’d be the first to admit it. Chasing Amy (75) was the first attempt at making the kind of film that Jersey Girl ended up being, and although it feels a little clunky at times, it still ends well, and has a satisfying touch of heart.

Thanks for reading kind audience. My name is Ben Bateman and I am a friend of Mr. Sanders. While I’m not sure who actually reads Noah’s rambles, it still feels good to write something, and in honor of this review, I’ll be starting my first blog, called “5 a week,” this week. The idea will be to watch five films a week, which I haven’t seen, and review them daily. Each week will have a theme, which corresponds with the film choices. Week one is titled “Knowing; The fall of Nicolas Cage.” Feel free to stop by.

www.fivefilmsaweek.blogspot.com

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Tomorrow: Chasing Amy (75), my perspective.

A final day of work and why I haven't watched CHASING AMY (75) yet.

Another milestone in the big move occurred today: my final shift of work at my coffee shop. I don't want to get al sentimental and deep about this move, though those thoughts are certainly bouncing around my head right now, but a few things chanced upon the old brain matter today and I thought I'd share.

No matter how excited or sad or broken up you (or maybe just I) believe people are going to be about you departing a place of employment like a coffee shop when it comes down to it they're not going to care that much. I wish I could even remember all of the customers I saw on Monday who promised they'd come in and say goodbye, who told me they'd be bringing the whole family, or a baby for a picture (I'm not joking), and I have to say that in terms of regular customers today was one of the slowest.

I guess I didn't know exactly what to expect, but I thought the loyal customers would be a little more broken up, a little more eager to talk and shoot the shit, hell, a little more loose with their money and the tip jar. Instead, today was just a regular day, maybe a little sadder, maybe a little slower, but all in all just another day at Fuel Coffee.

What I've come to realize is that this is just the surest of signs that no matter who you are or what you've done or what impacts you've made, your departure is just a small break in things, and soon enough, even maybe when you're still there, that break seals and life just keeps flowing on past. It was, quite honestly, a sort of somber realization today. Everyone is living there lives and me leaving, as much as it seems to be this huge deal to me is, to everyone else a slight deviation, a brief change before things get back to normal.

Two more days in Seattle folks, just two more days.

No Chasing Amy (75) today folk, for a few reasons. One, I'm waiting on my first guest writer to either send something tonight, or not, so I can just move past and write it up myself. Two, I already packed the film and I'm struggling to locate it again. And three, I've been busy drinking, carousing and socializing in light of the upcoming departure. Movies are hard to watch when I'm intoxicated, don't judge.

Tomorrow though, Kevin Smith's "masterpiece" discussed.

Thursday: Chasing Amy (75)