The first Kevin Smith movie I ever saw was Dogma, and the second was Chasing Amy. I'm seeing them in reverse order, and hopefully the trend continues because his movies are getting better and better.

Chasing Amy is about a comic book artist who falls in love with a gay woman, but, of course, there are underlying storylines, such as that artist's (Affleck) friendship with his coworker (Lee). The movie is a satire of homophobia, and a chick flick to an extent, but more than anything else it is just a funny comedy.

Kevin Smith's direct writing style is captured most vividly in Jason Lee, who delivers the role of Banky incredibly well. He's hilarious and matched properly for his character. He was by far my favorite character. Then there's Ben Affleck, who also gives a strong performance, with some comedy and some drama. Some think he's just a guy who got lucky, but Affleck does have some true talent.

I didn't like how the movie degrades in the last half hour like so many movies do these days. The comedy fades away and the movie becomes more serious than anything else, as Affleck tries to mend his relationships. I think what is most disturbing is the solution that he comes up with to solve his problems with his girlfriend and his best friend all at once.

I liked that Silent Bob (Kevin Smith) actually talked, and I like how he through in a lot of seemingly random scenes for comic entertainment. The scenes do blend into the film perfectly but serve only for comic relief, not for plot development. The funniest scenes are when Jason Lee bitch things out.

Chasing Amy is a funny and well done movie, with good performances and a good script. There are a lot of hilarious scenes and there are also some serious ones, and in the end everything comes together to make an excellent film.

Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.