WOW, what a movie! I can't wait to continue my journey through the View Askew and excited to keep talking to you all about these films! Please no spoilers for anything coming up. If you would like to suggest any other movies or TV series to me, do so here: forms.gle/XZVvZhfhwFzsDpRU9 For watchalongs, exclusives, early access, polls, community, and more, check out Patreon (you can also join for free to stay up-to-date on schedules and announcements): patreon.com/kaiielle And my website has a full reaction library if you're interested: kaiielle.com Thanks so much for watching with me! ❤
Thank you, thank you, thank you! A thousand times, thank you. These are my favorite movies and I am just so elated that more and more people are getting to enjoy them. I don’t get why so many people are sleeping on these wonderful gems.
This was Kevin Smith's best writing and deepest social commentary. Dogma is a pretty close second, but has outlandish comedy that blunts to the message.
Nobody gets the Jaws reference. Hooper, Brody, and Quinn sitting around a table comparing scars. Right out of the Jaws movie, only scars were caused by sharks...not sexual escapades!
Knew you'd love this, it's Kevin's best film IMHO. Clerks is his funniest and a stunning debut but it's really a 'student' film, albeit a great one. Mallrats is what you get when you hand a director, who had a surprise hit with said debut, a crapload of money - it's a bit of a mess. But 'Chasing Amy' is what you get when he uses the lessons he learned about how the movie industry works and turns them into what is a mature piece of work but still retains the edginess in it's subject matter and dialogue. The monologue Holden gives Alyssa when he stops the car is one of the finest ever written and means even more if, like you said, you've been there. And yes, the emotion in Joey's rain soaked reply is just such a raw performance. Because of these two we even forgive Kevin for not noticing the reflection of the crew in the window during the tracking shot !
In An Evening with Kevin Smith, somebody asks him if he'll ever make a sci-fi movie. Smith's response: "I think I already have. Chasing Amy. You ask any lesbian; that'll NEVER happen." Highly recommend watching Evening With at some point (I think the first one covers his work up to Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back), Kevin's a gifted public speaker.
It's on my list to watch eventually, I just want to wait until I've watched all the films first because I know KS will likely talk about his movies at random points and I don't want to accidentally spoil myself.
@@kaiielle You will be able to watch it after Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, which was released in 2001. The first "Evening With Kevin Smith" (still the most essential, IMO) is from 2002.
Yes; yes; yes!!!! Please do. I think that is why Kevin Smith is so captivating. He is a STORYTELLER!!! His films are great, but just having him on a stage and talking...magic. It is his purest form and I suggest not just watching "An Evening With Kevin Smith", but his other specials too. He is awesome and I appreciate that he just puts himself out there and is just him...and that he supports and loves his friends so much too.
17:05 The trick with the lighter was that he pulled out the safety catch with his teeth. There were disposable lighters back then that had childproofing that eventually were taken back out of the design of the lighters.
I just love Kevin Smith's writing in his earlier films. This one was from his own personal experience and it's great it ties into Mallrats and Clerks so well.
The "tracer" argument was famous in comics. The explanation of how Holden and Banky create the comic book wasn't just their process, it was simply the standard process for making comic books. Every book had an inker, although I'm sure several of them were inked by the artist. The whole scene is kind of like an in-joke for comic book readers. When Holden and Banky go to the bar and Gwen is invited on stage to sing, the person who gives the speech introducing her is Guinevere Turner. Kevin Smith sold Clerks to Miramax at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival, the same year Guinevere Turner was there with her landmark lesbian film Go Fish, which also sold. She would go onto become most famous for co-writing the screenplay for Mary Harron's American Psycho with Harron, which I know from your Letterboxd you've already seen. She also had a cameo in that movie as one of the women that Patrick Bateman kills. The scene of Alyssa and Banky comparing battle scars is another reference to Jaws, meant to echo the scene where the three men are drunk on the boat and compare scars, leading into Quint's famous speech about the U.S.S. Indianapolis. The only VA reference you didn't seem to notice was that one of Banky's trysts that ended in permanent physical injury was Brandi Svenning, the romantic lead in Mallrats, meaning the guy who yanked Banky's head back was none other than Michael Rooker's character. Wild to look back and think that people were so uninformed so recently, but unfortunately Holden's understanding of queer sex was probably pretty average for 1997 -- there's no evidence his character (especially compared to Banky) is meant to be more uninformed than the average guy. Fun fact: In 2023, a documentary about the film's legacy as a queer landmark and its impact on various LGBTQ fans over the years, Chasing Chasing Amy, was making the rounds at festivals. When Holden fixes the lighter, I have no idea if this is a meaningfully accurate trick or just a little visual joke for the montage, but he appears to pull and then spit out a piece of debris that was jammed in the lighter. The speech that gives the movie its title was based on Smith's own relationship with Joey Lauren Adams, who he was dating at the time. While Affleck was working on this movie, he took a screenplay he and his friend/roommate, Matt Damon, had written together, and gave it to Kevin Smith. Smith read it and was so impressed by it he took it to the higher-ups at Miramax and fought to help get it made. Good Will Hunting would win both Affleck and Damon Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay, which pushed them out of relative obscurity and made them into the major stars they are today.
I think the lighter was a childproof lighter that would have had a plastic piece you had to push up and hold while trying to roll the ignition wheel and press the ignition button all at the same time. If you pulled a certain piece of plastic off you would de-childproof the lighter making it easier to ignite.
The lighter thing is real. A bic lighter has a metal guard on the side -- rip it off and you can pull down the gas release a bit further and creates a larger flame (+ possibly will release the last of the gas if it's close to empty).
The comedy in this film was always pretty solid and was never too much to trivialise tone of the film. The moment he says they should all sleep together is so heartbreaking because you know that it is over. The final scene always get me so emotional. If he had just let it go, they would of been together! It's such a unique love story. Favourite Kevin Smith film.
I won't lie; this movie hit me very hard. I saw it for the first time earlier this year, a few months after my wife and I split. Our situation when we got together was similar to Holden and Alyssa's, not with the sexual orientation, but with the disparity in past sexual experience. Like Holden, I wondered, given her much broader and more experimental sexual past, if she'd get bored with just me. However, unlike Holden, I took her at her word that she had no desire to re-live her past, and that was she was happy for us to be together. Unfortunately for me, Holden's fears turned out to be justified in my case, as after a few years, she decided to leave, and her primary reason was because she was dissatisfied with our sex life. So... I kind of see both sides. To be clear, I'm not saying Holden was in the right (especially not regarding his insane plan for a threesome with Alyssa and Banky). All I'm saying is that while yes, it's true that his worrying over whether he can measure up to her past is insecurity on his part, it's also true that it's not necessarily crazy talk, either. I know that it *_can_* go the other way, because it did for me. 😞
From all of the Silent Bob speeches, in all the View Askewniverse, this one and the one from "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" are the two most amazing and impactful.
This is a watershed movie for Kevin Smith. Mallrats completely tanked at the box office, so Kevin went back to a more personal intimite low budget story, with actors he trusted, and truly made, arguably, hus masterpiece. I still personally prefer Clerks and think that's his masterpiece, but I definitely understand that people believe this is his best film.
I just showed this to my son last night. We did this and Strike Back together. We'll do Dogma at the end. Love that someone is going through the Kevin Smith movies. Jersey Girl is worth a watch as well. I think it's pretty under rated.
it's great to have a movie with a flawed main character that doesn't end with it all working out. but in a way, it works out how it's supposed to. joey lauren adams is fantastic.
I found you through Popcorn in Bed. I have seen this movie many times, and I love it. I agree with you that the writing for the script and the conversations between characters is so good. This is also one of my favorites by Kevin Smith. I enjoyed your reaction to it and your after thoughts. Thanks for the reaction.
The "Black rage!" scene is one of my all-time favorites. This movie wrecks me whenever I see it, but it's one of Kevin's best. Looking forward to Dogma.
As a long time fan of Kevin's movies (I've gotten to know him personally and been an extra in several of his movies starting with this one as an extra in the "comic con" scenes) the tracer scene probably hit home more than any other scene at this point in his career and point in my life. My sister had an intership with Marvel around this time and she was an inker. I still call her a tracer to this day. :) And Jason Lee looking at the blonde in the club when she pushed her way ahead of them. That was Jason's wife at the time, Carmen. Very friendly lady. "Rick Derris" is actually the actor to Holden's screen left in the hockey scene. "Even I knew what you were getting at!" ok.. I need to stop editing this comment as I watch. Being an old "VA Rider" in the Viewaskewniverse. I just love watching people just discover things. :)
The "permanent injury" scene in the club was Smith's homage to the "comparing scars" scene in Jaws, complete with Joey Lauren Adams kicking her leg up onto the table ah-la Richard Dreyfuss.
Found your channel yesterday after watching your reaction with EOM and Dazed and Confused, good reaction to this one as well. This is still my favorite Keven Smith movie, the acting was excellent, notably from Joey Lauren Adams, but the entire cast nailed it, and when Kevin Smith finally opens up, it's probably the best dialogue in the movie. There are quite a few ties to Dazed and Confused with the Kevin Smith movies, including Mallrats with Jeremy London, Jason's brother who played the QB in Dazed. Good reaction though, glad you enjoyed it.
"Esther" is completely wrong. Kevin Smith made this based on personal experiences, and they reflected some of my own too. Holden's confession to Alyssa, and Silent Bob's story, both resonated very strongly. Apparently I didn't live on "Earth" in my teens and twenties, according to that comment.
2:19 the guy who said you’re just the tracer is Casey Affleck, Ben’s little brother. 30:56 Kevin Smith is such a hottie 🥵🥵🥵 best scene for sure! It is awesome that you are enjoying this universe so much, it takes me back with joy & laughter!
The thing I find weird about a movie like this is how much people NEED Alyssa Jones to be gay or Banky to be straight and in general how people indicate on the regular that they can't identify unless the characters are like them. This movie isn't about gay and straight. It's about accepting people for who they are and discovering the person that you are most comfortable being, and then communicating whatever that is, stay or go. Also, no one should ever hold individual fictional characters responsible as a representative of an entire demographic. Alyssa being bisexual does not in any way indicate that all gay women are bisexual.
Holden blows up his chances because he is too concerned with "normal" and "standard" instead of realizing in the right time....TO find someone you TRULY have a connection with is so rare that NOTHING else matters. Most people are lucky to find that sort of connection once. in their life.
Another great instalment from the View Askewniverse. Watching Smith grow as a filmmaker through theses movies was awesome, and the best is yet to come.
I first saw this movie in college at a Kevin Smith marathon. The emotional conversations with Alyssa and Holden, till this day, always have me thinking about the nature of relationships and how our perceptions and perspectives shape our reality. And how we impose our reality on others and how we need to have empathy to try and understand others and their perspectives before passing judgement. Holden was stuck and couldn't move past his own perception of reality. As a character you hope he grew and the relationship with Alyssa made him more a complete human being.
I learned a long time ago, never to ask your partner about their sexual past. Either they'll lie, and you still won't know, or they'll tell the truth, and you'll wish you'd never asked. Just be glad you're with them NOW.
OMG you're right! I'm so used to seeing the actual white wall cover with the writing "Pink Floyd The Wall" on it that I totally forgot about the face too.
This movie has a special place in my heart. When I saw it my relationship at the time was ending. I knew it was ending but I struggled to let go. It was a rough watch the first time but it was so needed. I had so many insecurities and really needed to grow up. While it didn’t change me overnight it stuck in my brain and allowed me to let go of so many weird, possessive, patriarchal, and damaging beliefs. Imagine that. Kevin Smith helped make me a better person! One line in particular got me the most: Hooper telling Holden about all of the things that people can do were likely done before you got there. It seems like a quaint thought these days but I still see 20-something guys on social media getting judgy about “women’s body counts”. 🙄 Anyway, I’m happy to see you enjoyed it. ✌🏻 Oh, I almost forgot. I have Banky’s hat! Not the original but purchased from Smith’s shop. 🧢
Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989) is really the film that pioneered being frank in movies about sex and relationships in this way. Like this film or the Before Trilogy, it’s a film actually about sex and all its complIcations rather than the way the topic is typically treated in most movies. It came out in 1989, and it was a landmark in independent cinema, winning the chief prize at Cannes that year. It also launched the directing career of its writer/director: Steven Soderbergh. And, oddly, despite its title, it isn’t particularly explicit-probably less so than this film in some ways. Anyway, might be worth putting on the list since you seem to like this movie and the Before Trilogy.
I believe Smith mentions this in the essential feature-length documentary on the making of Clerks, which is called The Snowball Effect. It may only come up as one of the key movies that turned Sundance into what it was, and, as you mentioned, really kicked off the independent movie scene, but I'm pretty sure it's referenced, along with Linklater's Slacker, which specifically was the movie that Smith saw and thought, "Wait, I could do that." I highly recommend watching The Snowball Effect if you love the VA movies (and it is Clerks-focused, so it won't spoil any of the upcoming ones), but as a big asterisk, it does feature an interview with Harvey Weinstein, long before his crimes had been discovered.
I’m happy that many of the younger viewers find it so difficult to fathom that these views were possible in the 90s - they were - and they were much worse in the decades before that - it shows how much progress has been made - I’m not a member of the LGBTQ community but I am a supporter because of what I’ve learned thanks to people like Kevin Smith - I was so happy when they were given equal rights to marriage & adoption after so much hatred
Kevin Smith has a series of Q&A session DVDs, called "An Evening With Kevin Smith". He visited college campuses, and let the audience ask him questions about his movies. On one DVD, the furst guy up to ask a question said, "What's a Nubian?" Tha audience went nuts.
There is (or was) a little metal guard on the flick wheel on lighters to prevent accidental triggering. It also made intentional triggering annoying. You could rip it off and make things easier.
Dear god those comments are the worst. The whole point is that he's wrong and trying to better himself, and that trying to grow isn't an automatic, perfect process. It's not a fucking savior movie, it's a movie about real people who aren't perfect.And the hypocrisy is the absolute worst. The same people saying she's a lesbian and can't possibly be attracted to a man are the ones saying you don't get to decide what another person is attracted to. She identified as a lesbian until she discovered she's actually bi. That's her life to live.
I understand lot of the criticism of this movie, and I think a lot of it is probably fair given that it was written by a straight guy who could obviously never fully understand some of the stuff he was writing about, but I do think a lot of more modern viewers probably don't really understand how different things were at the time. I was in my teens when this came out, and would have seen it in my late teens/early-twenties (...I'm old now, I'm allowed to forget when, exactly) but I can confirm that a lot of people were really as naive as Holden (I was one of them). The mid to late 90s was still the early days of the mass internet, it was still very easy to live in a fairly small, insulated bubble. While the movie was naive in many ways, especially by modern standards, and got some stuff wrong, I think it was still pretty progressive for its time, and I still really enjoy it and have to credit it with opening my own fairly narrow, conservative views on sex and relationships and sexuality. Definitely was a good step in levelling up my maturity points, anyway.
Love that you're doing these films. And I kinda feel the same way about Ben Affleck. I saw all these films in the theater when they were released, so my first ever exposure to Affleck was as the dude from Fashionable Male. It may have been the world's first introduction? Anyway, I know actors aren't their characters, but he'll always be the Fashionable Male guy to me. Still don't understand how he became a leading man! lol
Alyssa Jones is the sister of Trisha Jones (the teen that was writing the sex book) in Mallrats. More interconnectedness for the view askewniverse long before Marvel did it. 😂
He removed lint from the lighter's flash well.. and there are easier ways to do that. And this movie is cool. Always enjoy the askewuniverse and your reactions to it.
@@kaiielle I have been noticing people doing that alot lately. Acting like "normal" is some alien concept, and a minute later using it to describe something. Just kinda annoys me I guess. :D Anyways, enjoyed the reaction, looking forward to more!
I totally understand. Like I challenge the idea of normal but then when I think of something common, the word "normal" pops into my mind. Need to get rid of that habit!
This film remains my favorite just for JLA's acting. While it gets absurd at the end, it is still vaguely believable so it doesn't ruin all of the film's buildup. Although "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" could be my favorite if you pick a slightly different genre (comedy instead of drama).
Jason Lee is the funniest part of this movie. He stands along side other rude to evil characters in film that started with Groucho Marx (first insult comedian) and Cary Grant in His Girl Friday in 1940, where his editor character is ruthless, selfish, devoid of empathy, scheming, and rotten. He employs all these qualities, though, in pursjit of the truth. We see other journalists lie and slant facts but Cary loves only one thing: getting the naked unvarnished truth to readers before anyone else. And he'll hide criminals, obstruct justice, and blackmail to get what he thinks is the truth. Neither his editor nor Groucho were lovable, but guys loved them. We know its only a movie so we're free to love these characters onscreen as long as they stay onscreen and we dont meet them in real life.
I read somewhere that Kevin and Joey were dating at the time and he broke up with her during the making of the movie so her emotions of the hurt are real. The fact that she finished the film, if this is true, shows what a professional she is. Actors often talk about using real situations from their past to portray a character so it could be what happened.
Millenials that are pushing 40, like myself benefited most from these movies. We were born at the right time to be gradually introduced to the old and new ways of the world, from sexuality, to technology, and social interaction. Being 13 when this one came out, i was young enough to not be set in the mold of my parents, even my gen x siblings, but old enough to understand where they were coming from.( which is why early millenials born 78-90, are generally the most well adjusted to the current culture). The lack of understanding and tolerence from the younger generation is ridiculous. You werent born enlightened, past generations progress is the reason why you were born into the world you live in. So gen z, and late millenials, cool it, and respect the art that paved the way.
Every generation will have assholes within them who have lack of tolerance and understanding and that's nothing new. And it seems every generation also thinks they were "born at the right time", including myself as a fellow millennial. 😂 For me, I really appreciate the zillennials, Gen Z and Gen Alpha perspective on things BECAUSE of what they were born into. Their perspectives often give me more appreciation for how past generations progress has paved the way (for some things anyway, not all). And I'm really excited for the things that Gen Z and Gen Alpha will change in our culture because of that. It seems your experience with them is largely negative, but my experience is the opposite. They're two of the most understanding and emotionally intelligent generations that we've had yet. I appreciate that they can watch some older movies and immediately pick out the issues with them, which I think most people assume is "bashing" them but to me it highlights the progress we've made in society.
From the comments that you've read, I don't know how anybody could ever call this movie misogynistic. Even if you think that Holden is a misogynist, how do you explain the ending? This is a film about 2 people who love each other. One is insecure about their lack of sexual experience, and the other is insecure about their past. This is a very HUMAN film.
I know that this video was posted a month ago before but if you’re looking to start reading Marvel, there’s a Daredevil run that Kevin did in the 2000s. It’s called Daredevil: Guardian Devil and it’s great! Definitely worth a read.
I was teen boy in the 90s and loved all of Kevin Smiths movies back then. They definitely were what I liked in movies as a teen. When I go back and watch them now there are some things that are a little cringe but I still find them funny and this movie back then along with The Real World were my only reference for LGBT things. It’s kind of weird but back then I related gay people to AIDS. Seeing something like this movie gave a different perspective. The thought that someone could be Bisexual didn’t even seem possible. I think it’s progressive for it’s time and even though Holden acts like a baby most of the movie they don’t really make him the hero or show that insecurity as a good thing. In the end he gets slapped in the face (both literally and figuratively) by reality. I also had a big crush on Joey Lauren Adams back in those days. She’s so great in this movie. I wish she was in more things.
So this movie is representative of 2 things that were going on with Kevin’s Smiths life. 1st he was in a relationship with Joey Adams and he had a hard time with the fact that she was more experienced both sexually and in terms of life than he was, he is represented by the Holden character who comes across and the very modern male who is very open and friendly with non heterosexual norms until he is confronted by them and that makes him feel both uncomfortable as well as irrational. He has said the way Holden and Alyssa relationship spirals out of control mirrors his and Joeys relationship for example the scene in the rain with Holden and Alyssa happening directly after the 2 had an enormous argument. 2nd this was a movie he wanted to make for his brother who was gay, he and Kevin are close and when his brother came out to him Kevin had a lot of questions. Something his brother had said to him was while he enjoyed movies he never saw anyone who really represented him and his life on screen which is why rather than have Alyssa be just a sexual promiscuous woman he made the character gay. Smith has said the scene on the swings was very familiar in how he and his brother spoke about his being gay and why he was attracted to men. A lot of people say this movie hasn’t aged well or that Kevin doesn’t understand the gay community but in fairness he did a pretty good job showcasing how particularly back in the 90’s being bi sexual was taboo in both heterosexual and homosexual communities as well as showing how trying to act like an understanding person is not the same as actually understanding and accepting someone for who they are regardless of their sexual preferences and histories. It and Dogma are tied for my favourite movies of his.
Thanks! You know what, I started typing to answer your question and then went to Google to make sure I was remembering things correctly and now I'm convinced that I have Ben completely mixed up in my head with a different actor but I'm not sure who. Now I feel bad for saying that in the video! 😮💨 Thanks for asking that to make me realize this!
@@kaiielle Thanks for answering. I followed his career and he never seemed like a bad guy. When you said it I wondered what he did to make you feel that way. I understand an honest mix up.
NOT defending Banky, however, there are some people who fit the description of old words that would get you cancelled today. Most of them wear it proudly like a badge of honor. Just like some women HATE the "B" word and some LOVE it. I mean the only way to really tell is to go to your gay friends and find out. (DO NOT use "problematic" language with strangers!!!) Alyssa does not come across as a "Dyke" throughout the movie. So, Holden telling Banky not to call her that is reasonable. In my experience that word is typically held for a more "Butch" woman. Nowadays we call it "Masc" but there is no shame in either of the previous terms.(At least with "older" women) This movie is WAY more "Adult" than the previous two. The conversations throughout are...amazing. It is 100% a Holden problem when it comes to Alyssa's past. Silent Bob's Monologue is...Chef's Kiss. Yeah, Holden definitely took the wrong message from Bob. Alyssa's reasoning is 100% on point. She's, unfortunately, the most mature person in the room. While Holden is trying to look at it like a competition. They still love each other, and likely always will, but there is too much drama (Mostly on Holden's part) for them to actually be together. Some people hate that Holden created a Comic that had Alyssa's name in it but it looked like she was OK with him Expressing himself. If anything, Holden's new comic kinda feels like he hit acceptance. Not just of her past, but also of HIMSELF. All of the acting was done very well. Sorry for the long post.
This movie was essentially Kevin Smith's love letter/apology to Joey Lauren Adams (Alyssa), who he was dating at the time. She had something of a wild past, and this was his way of dealing with it.
I've seen people post that claim before (not from Smith himself) and I don't buy it (another fan theory getting posted as undisputed fact). "who he was dating at the time" (that is confirmed true). So they're dating at the time he writes this, submits a script, casts it, gets it made, and he writes it while they're dating to say "Okay so we're going to break up over this and heres the story of how it's going to happen even though we are still together now, do you want to play the part before we actually reach the break up point?". It would be like Holden having written that comic WHILE he was dating Allysa and having it printed and giving it to her before they break up. I have no doubt it is written from personal experience, as most of Smiths movies are his personal experiences to some level, but is much more likely to have been earlier in his life and this was the apology to "Amy" presented long after the break up, just as the comic in the movie was. Oh, and to add "I'm going to apologize for judging you by those wild previous sexual encounters of your past by revealing to the world your wild sexual past".
Kevin Smith was once asked if he would ever write a science fiction movie and he said that according to the LGTBQ community he already did by writing a story where a lesbian fell in love with a man.
