'Amy' gives Silent Bob fans another dose of his humor

Silent Bob.

The genius in front of and behind the camera. The man, Kevin Smith, whose cameos in his own movies, such as "Clerks" and "Mallrats," bring so much laughter and joy to the audience reappears in "Chasing Amy," yet another one of Smith's hilarious comedies - this time with a romantic twist.

Ben Affleck stars as Holden, a role preceding the egotistical identities of his later films, who designs comic books with his partner Banky (Jason Lee). As time passes their popularity is skyrocketing. Nevertheless, life is pretty routine for these suburbanites, until Holden encounters Alyssa (Joey Lauren Adams) and falls head-over-heels in love with her.

The only hindrance in his getting together with her - she's a lesbian - is resolved when she decides to cross the line into the heterosexual world.

But her wild sexual past cannot be reconciled with Holden who feels inadequate amidst so much "experience." This is discovered through Banky's furtive investigation of her, by flipping through her high school yearbook and finding out that she had the esteemed nickname of "finger cuffs" in high school.

In addition to these new discoveries, Holden also has to deal with Banky's jealousy of Alyssa, whose sexuality is called into question as a result. Holden thinks he can handle both relationships, particularly Alyssa's, but the issues concerning her past keep crawling back into his mind. Ultimately, in the sacred words of Silent Bob, he'll forever be "Chasing Amy" - living his life knowing he gave up the love of his life over a feeling of inadequacy.

Bob has spoken, case closed.

Witty dialogue, hilarious situations, and terrific acting make "Chasing Amy" a genuinely good comedy - which is something very hard to find these days. Affleck is outstanding because his character is so real, going through the roller coaster emotions that his role dictates without missing a beat. Though Adams comes off as overly melodramatic in certain scenes, we forgive that small flaw because the rest of the film is presented so tastefully.

While the situation may seem a bit outlandish, the tangible, identifiable dialogue among the characters bring it closer to reality, and therefore doesn't seem so ridiculous. Rather, it captures the painful and blissful feelings that go along with any intense sexual relationship - especially one that overcomes the boundaries of common sexuality.

Kevin Smith continues to bring smartness to comedy in movies, and hopefully will continue to do so, and bring many more Silent Bob's to come.

02-25-99