#chasing chasing amy movie review

[thequeereview]

Outfest LA 2023 Closing Night Film Review: Chasing Chasing Amy ★★★★

If you’re the kind of person who reads film reviews, the chances are that there has been a time in your life when a specific movie has become an all-consuming obsession, a movie that you’ve returned to so frequently that it’s become like an old familiar friend to take comfort in. If you’re queer, trans, gender nonconforming, or struggled to see yourself reflected anywhere on screen or in the…

[jimsmovieworld]

CHASING AMY- 1997 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Comic book artists Holden (Ben Affleck) and Banky (Jason Lee) are riding the wave of success of their Bluntman and Chronic books. Theyre introduced to fellow artist Alyssa (Joey Lauren Adams) and Holden falls for her, unaware shes a lesbian...

One of my favourite Kevin Smith films. Stronger/more consistent dialogue than in some of his other movies. Joey Lauren Adams has such a great voice. Ben Affleck loves to be the guy who turns lesbians straight. Quentin Tarantinos favourite film of 1997. Its astounding that Holden heard Silent Bobs monologue and arrived at the conclusion that he needed to do a three way with Banky and Alyssa, what a complete fucking idiot.

[carterreviewsmovies]

Chasing Amy (1997) Review

Chasing Amy Directed by Kevin Smith

Year Released: 1997 Duration: 113 Minutes Filming Format: 16mm Video: Colour Audio: Stereo Language: English Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Joey Lauren Adams Marathon 2/3

Chasing Amy follows comic book artist, Holden McNeil (Ben Affleck), his best friend and partner, Banky Edwards (Jason Lee), and the alluringly modern and sexually liberated, Alyssa Jones (Joey Lauren Adams). Holden and Banky are the successful creators of the “Bluntman and Chronic” comic book starring Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith) with a cartoon deal in the works. They are both introduced to Alyssa after helping their friend, Hooper X (Dwight Ewell) with a rather elaborate publicity stunt. Holden immediately takes to Alyssa, and she soon invites him out to a club. It’s then revealed, after she performs an intimate ballad, that Alyssa is gay. This shatters Banky’s worldview and crushes Holdens dreams of being with her. However, fuelled by a misguided lust, Holden continues to pursue Alyssa, putting strain on his and Banky’s relationship.

On my first viewing, I resented this film. It felt as though Kevin Smith had a surface understanding of sexuality and experimenting but chose to run full force as if he were an expert on the topic. However, after having some time to digest, read the essay included in the criterion release, and re-watch the film through a new lens, I can see the merit of Chasing Amy. Is it a flawed film? Definitely. Are the performances good? Joey Lauren Adams’ is. Does it have any value? Absolutely!

The film is, to Kevin Smith's admittance, pseudo-biographical about his relationship with the film’s co-star, Joey Lauren Adams, with Holden being a “generous” self-insert. It’s clear through Smith’s essay that he feels regret his reaction to Adams’s sexual past and has since learned from it. This revelation, however, is poorly portrayed. Holden is self-centred, shallow, misguided, and misogynistic, believing he can “change” a girl who has told him she’s gay. While this doesn’t end up being the full truth, it doesn’t change the fact that Holden was motivated by lust, not love, regardless of what he might say. He mistakes friendship for romance at every turn, even when firm boundaries are set for him. Even after making a highly inappropriate offer and having the situation explained to him clearly, Holden refuses to learn. However, the film does make some interesting remarks (mostly provided by Alyssa and Silent Bob) but unfortunately seems to contradict itself at every turn.

After the critical failure of Mallrats (1995), Smith said he wanted to make an honest film and he succeeded in that. Yet, Holden’s lack of accountability and sense of entitlement creates an entirely detestable and slightly disturbed protagonist. Perhaps Smith is apprehensive to show the world his softer side and admit he’s changed for the better, or maybe at the time he hadn’t learned his lesson. Either way, the film is an interesting expression of guilt, wrapped up in a 16mm package and signed with Joey Lauren Adams's sweet raspy voice.

-- Carter

[flightlesscipher]

Ello🫡In the process of running thru the view askewniverse movies and 😳😳😳😳😳. Just finished watching chasing amy for the first time. What a fucking emotional rollercoaster that was. Especially now that it's almost 2025, I feel like that movie touched more touchy topics than I can count on my hands. I gasped way too many times at how many plot twists there were. I've never agreed and disagreed with multiple characters at the same time before. There was so much rawness and detail and depth I can't even process it all😭😭this is one of those movies that needs to be STUDIED..I feel like each scene and subject was so important, even the hidden easter eggs I probably failed to notice. I can't even describe what I'm feeling rn besides wow💀truly a case of if u know u know. Classic story of straight man falling in love with a lesbian that makes u wanna roll ur eyes at the idea but BOOM, multiple deep meanings come flying at u. As someone who likes to put their feet in other ppls shoes and understand why they may feel or act certain ways, I fr was so baffled at every character's back stories and emotional makeup. It's just a movie yet it's also a profound story. And the situation could've been a simple solvable one too, but bc of the human experience, it makes sense why it became so complicated. I feel like I need to throw up and cry at the same time 🤣 shit had such a unique strong blend of hate and confusion with love and PASSION. FUCKKK. Such a good lesson on why communication, emotional maturity, and respect is soooo important. I need a drink lmfaoo. And to watch this movie again after I take the week to process it. Feel free to tell me ur opinions as well if any other fans read this far😆sry 4 da yap..rlly big into movies like this with deep meaning. Impressed with how kevin smith can create movies with the same stoner, romantic loser, sex joke filled (normal tbh) style while so effortlessly dropping insanely deep meanings that changes the way u think.

[greensparty]

Movie Review: Chasing Chasing Amy

There is a joke among documentarians and filmmakers that often times, a filmmaker sets out to make a doc about a topic and instead of diving deep into the topic, they end up interviewing their siblings and parents and they end up talking a lot about their own interest in the topic. But the genius in the new documentary Chasing Chasing Amy about Kevin Smith’s 1997 film Chasing Amy is that director Sav Rodgers has it both ways: it’s a deep dive into the indie comedy but it’s also a very personal film about the role the film had on Rodgers coming out and transitioning to male. You get the deep dive, but also the talking with parents about their interest in the topic! The doc has been creating a buzz at film festivals in recent months. I took an interest immediately when I heard about this because of my interest in Kevin Smith and Chasing Amy.

movie poster

For context: Chasing Amy was the third film in Smith’s NJ Trilogy about guys dealing with their relationships in NJ following the sardonic Clerks and the whimsical Mallrats. After the $6 mil. studio production Mallrats flopped, Smith went back to his indie roots and did Chasing Amy for $250K. At this time, I was heavily influenced by his films. A few weeks before the release, Kevin Smith came to Boston to do a special advance screening at the Nickelodeon cinema. He did a lively Q&A and was joined by his lead actor and Boston native Ben Affleck. They talked about how they were getting ready to film Good Will Hunting (Affleck was an actor/writer and Smith an executive producer). Afterwards, I met them and they signed autographs for me. Cool guys! This is definitely Smith’s strongest directing. I still consider Clerks my favorite movie, but Amy is superior in many ways. I saw Chasing Amy again a few months later and again in 1998 at Smith’s Vulgarthon Festival. There wasn’t an official soundtrack album released, but I ordered an unofficial CD from the News Askew website (early fan website of Smith’s films). The film itself looks at the complexities of relationships. It is about a heterosexual male (Ben Affleck) who falls in love with a lesbian (Joey Lauren Adams), but on many levels it is about the insecurities one can face in a relationship and the problems therein. But I digress. In the year 2023, Chasing Amy is looked at very differently. In 1997, sexual identifications like pan sexual, poly sexual or sexually fluid were not well known terms. One way of reading the film is that it’s a woman who is gay until she meets the right man and then she is “cured” of being a lesbian. Another way of looking at it is that the character of Alyssa Jones is independent and owns her sexuality, doing whatever she wants regardless of labels or what her lesbian friends might think or her male partner might think of her. Another reading of this from the standpoint of film history is that gay characters were rarely represented in cinema and when they were they were victims, stereotypes or caricatures, but here was a hip young New Yorker who creates comic books and jumps onstage to sing with an indie rock band. She was cool that’s for sure!

theatrical movie poster of Chasing Amy

Rodgers did a Ted Talk about Chasing Amy in 2019 that went viral. This doc is seriously unpacking the film from a lot of different angles: film pundits, cast, crew and programmers chiming in on it, but it goes beyond that and actually talks with Kevin Smith about all of the influences on the movie, most notably his relationship at the time with actress Joey Lauren Adams. As a documentarian who has made a doc heavy on archival footage, I was quite impressed with a number of the clips and footage presented in this doc. Interwoven throughout the doc about Chasing Amy is Sav’s story about growing up in Kansas and even before knowing their own sexuality was inspired by Chasing Amy’s representation. Sav does talk with his girlfriend and mother and he even hits up all of the locations featured in Chasing Amy in NJ and NY. But it’s the interviews with Smith and Adams (together and separately) that push this beyond a fan doc. That is when it’s getting deeper into the idea that the film might have meant something to Sav, but it wasn’t a positive memory for those involved (the time period and what went along with being an actress at that time was very different for Adams). Smith actually forms a friendship with Sav and it seems like he is very appreciative for getting recognition for the film all these years later that many now look at as problematic. This doc is really two docs about the film and about the doc filmmaker, but Sav’s story is so fascinating that the interweaving of both works here in a way it wouldn’t for just anyone.

For info on Chasing Chasing Amy: https://www.chasingamydoc.com/

4.5 out of 5 stars 

[urdeadbestfriend]

kevin has yet to let me out of his basement. here's a review of various chasing amy reviews

[zhabk4]

tag game: 3 books, 3 movies, and 3 songs

that changed your life or you just love.

@karinzany , thank you for tagging me <3

3 books:

"a wild sheep chase" by haruki murakami - life changing in a way of being my introduction to surrealism/postmodernism in literature. not my favorite murakami book but at the time i was amazed.. i'm pretty sure reading it changed my views not only on literature, but on life overall too

"bel-ami" by maupassant – i didn't like this book, i hated reading it and everything about its contents but that was in fact quite life changing (lol). "The story chronicles journalist Georges Duroy's corrupt rise to power from a poor former cavalry to one of the most successful men in Paris, most of which he achieves by manipulating a series of powerful, intelligent, and wealthy women" - at the time i was still an inexperienced reader so i was quite shocked that 1. a character such cheap and shallow as the mc gets everything he wants in the most disgusting way possible; 2. succeeds without any punishment or judgement from the narrative (which is absolutely normal but kindhearted little me was mad lol); 3. the reviews though were the scariest and saddest part "i rooted for this guy and enjoyed seeing him fool all those naïve and stupid women🤣" ..........many such cases... disgustingly misogynistic

"a clockwork orange" by anthony burgess - a classic💯

3 movies:

i rarely watch movies and the ones i like are usually quite well known so nothing inch resting here, but if i had to pick the most impactful one it'd probably be "the danish girl".. the movie that made me think about gender and sexuality probably for the first time in my life (lol)

3 songs:

"endlessly" by muse - beautiful song that made me realize that music is in fact an art full of emotion

"you know what they do to guys like us in prison" by mcr - beautiful song that turned me emo (lol)

prelude in e minor from wtc1 by j.s.bach - beautiful piece that probably changed my life forever by making me fall in love with classical music

i'm tagging @shortpersonstruggles @skelabra @kurhanchyk @hotyka @grouchydonut @exrocist and whoever feels like doing this

and whoever doesn't feel like doing this please feel free to ignore!

=￣ω￣=

[soulofamy]

syzoth for the “send me a character and i’ll tell you” thingie?

Send Me a Character & I'll Tell You✨️

My first impression "isnt he supposed to be a villain? why does he look so much like a kicked puppy?" lol my first exposure to syzoth was through a maximillian dood mk1 video reviewing fatalities, i have never touched MK before that. i kinda had just heard his name tossed around in the peripheral and made assumptions about him

My impression now i think he deserves better than what the storymode of mk1 gave him, he got so little. "heres the reason i look like a kicked puppy" and then we never hear from him again. such a shame. but god i love him

Favorite thing about that character i love that his life was filled with tragedy but that he became a better person for it rather than a worse person. i would love to see what his life was like pre-shang tsung. thats a million dollar animated mk movie idea if i ever did have one

Least favorite thing i dont really like that shang tsung was like "i killed your family!" and then syzoth was like "rah!!" and then it was never addressed again. like they were literally walking through a forest that housed the souls of the dead, that would have been the PERFECT place for syzoth to discuss how much his wife and sons deaths hurt him. like imagine this: johnny: 'do you know anyone here?' baraka: 'some distant relatives' syzoth: '...my wife and son...' LIKE !! he never addressed it again in the story, and literally no one gave him their condolences, not even baraka who i feel would have sympathized!!

Favorite line/scene pretty much anything that took place or was said in the escaping sun do scene.

Favorite interaction that character has with another i like when he, while invisible, lifts ashrahs hat. i feel like you could interpret it as him being a little playful maybe. i also like all his intro dialogues with ashrah and with johnny

A character that I wish that character would interact with more ashrah LOL i want to see them bond

Another character from another fandom that reminds me of that character i spoke about it here in this post how he reminds me of amy sorel from soulcalibur but he also reminds me a bit of chase young from xiaolin showdown, at least from an aesthetic perspective

A headcanon about that character he sleeps in his zaterran form and as such, blankets dont really do anything for him. he doesnt generate his own bodyheat so a blanket doesnt really keep him warm. however, this changes if he has a warmblood partner. he will at least start out sleeping in his human form and share a blanket with them because he likes the warmth. he may or may not shift back into his zaterran form while sleeping

A song that reminds of that character i dont have one

An unpopular opinion about that character ive seen the blender images where his hood is removed and i have to say, im not a fan of his haircut.

Favorite picture this one by @terminaltimeline feels very powerful to me and makes me wish to see what syzoths life was like before mk1's events. it also inspired me to write my fic sins of the father

thanks for the ask!

[adultswim2022]

Clerks #1: "Leonardo Leonardo Returns and Dante Has an Important Decision to Make" | ‎February 20, 2001 (DVD) | Unaired Premiered on Adult Swim November 14, 2008 @ 11:00PM

Clerks began airing on Adult Swim in late 2008. I don't recall it lasting a very long time, but it lasted longer than I remember; they showed it pretty frequently in 2009, taking it on and off the schedule here and there, and then they also aired it in 2010 for one last hurrah.

Clerks was retroactively retitled Clerks: The Animated Series, which makes sense. I still like calling it Clerks for some reason. The show was supposed to air on ABC. Some of it did air on ABC, but most of the episodes made their debut on DVD. They also aired on Comedy Central in 2002. I always remembered this as a Comedy Central acquisition more than an Adult Swim one, personally.

In 2000, I was solidly a Kevin Smith fan. I'm still sheepishly a Kevin Smith fan; It's not that I think he's making good movies, it's just that I feel compelled enough to watch them, which I think is a bare-minimum definition of what a fan is. I was very excited for this show, and I even taped the Super Bowl just to record the one Super Bowl commercial it had. I also made the show appointment viewing for it's two episodes. I was kept abreast of the show's production via various View Askew fan sites and forums I checked regularly. Goddamn, I was a fucking loser.

My Kevin Smith journey was this: was intrigued by Clerks after seeing trailers for it on various non-R-rated movies I rented as a boy. I also recall seeing Siskel and Ebert review it. Was way too young to see it, and I was tad too young for Mallrats, too. But those movies left an impression as I looked up to the Gen-X definition of cool, and aspired to be that thing one day. At the height of my MTV watching, I saw the hour-long Jay & Silent Bob's Secret Video Stash special, where Kevin Smith and company watched goofy 80s videos and made fun of them with his friends, and they played the newly commissioned Jay & Silent Bob MTV promo spots throughout the show. This was the first View Askew production I ever saw. The idea that these guys made movies together and they were all somehow interconnected with one another finally sunk in.

I got my hands on the Jersey trilogy. Beholden to what the handful of video stores had on hand, I remember renting Mallrats first, then Clerks, then Chasing Amy. I spoiled Dogma by reading the screenplay online. Then there was this: A fucking prime time cartoon! Kevin's march towards mainstream legitimacy was progressing nicely. Maybe my mom will become a fan?

As the story goes, the show was considered a disaster by ABC. They only aired two of the six episodes. They didn't air this episode, but they did air the second episode, which heavily references this episode. According to the DVD commentary, the plan was to air this one fifth, which is why there's a text crawl that explains that it's the lost pilot to Clerks, and that there will be a much better episode next week.

This episode isn't all that great; it's one of two that I consider especially weak. The plot is: Leonardo Leonardo (voiced by Alec Baldwin) arrives in town and opens up a new "Quicker Stop" across the street from the Quick Stop. This one does have some funny stuff in it; my favorite gag is Dante and Randal's dedication to The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer, a short-lived (in the real world) sitcom that in the world of Clerks is appointment television and a monster success.

Notable things in this episode include the defanging of Jay and Silent Bob, who now sell fire-crackers. There's also obviously no swearing, but there's some coarse language that wouldn't fly today. Not only do they say "re-re" but they also say "retarded", and "queer" (as a pejorative; one of the weirder instances of a show showing it's age because "that word is actually good now"). There's also one of my favorite gags; the end of the episode has a tacked-on, "Safety tips" segment featuring Jay & Silent Bob. Jay dashes off the line "if Silent Bob could talk, he'd tell you--" right after Silent Bob speaks normally. I loved shit like that.

In general, the sense of humor this show had was very indicative of the sense of humor I had in 2000, and still mostly have today. A lot of the jokes are deconstructive of sitcom humor. The resolution to this episode is vague and absurd, and comes because Dante and Randal copy it from Desmond Pfeiffer. The episode they watch is about a rival opening up a bigger and better "White House of the future" across the street from the white house. I still love that joke!

[adultswim2021]

Space Ghost Week

Space Ghost Coast to Coast #64: “Rio Ghosto” | September 18, 1998 | S05E07

This is a really significant episode for me, and I’m gonna get way too personal to explain why. Yes, this is a memoir-style post where I get nostalgic about my childhood VCR. Don’t worry, I hate when I do this, too. Feel free to skip around.

Space Ghost has written a very bad screenplay (I can relate!). So, he lines up three sophisticated cutting-edge indie directors as his three guests. After a Dick-Dale sounding opening and some Moltar title-card mischief, we get to our first guest. It’s… Ben Stiller?? Well, he does have bleach blonde hair. That was pretty cutting-edge in 1998.

Space Ghost also has a bit of a chat with Kevin Smith before he had the stink of Dogma all over him (or the stink of Chasing Amy, but that’s more of a retrospect thing). Kevin and Zorak have a moment where they shout each other out, only to have Space Ghost interrupt it by shouting out his own name. Very funny! Maybe the funniest thing Kevin Smith ever did (other than [spoiler alert] k*ll D*nte)

This episode more-or-less represents my becoming an actual regular viewer of Space Ghost. I think we had JUST gotten Cartoon Network on our cable system earlier in 1998. I was in high school, and was taking a sincere stab at being social and hanging out with girls I had crushes on and stuff like that. Luckily that didn’t take. I haven’t spoken to or even really want to ever see those people again. I am watching this episode of Space Ghost probably for the 23rd time in my life.

The entire reason, more-or-less, that I tuned into (and taped!) this episode of Space Ghost was because Kevin Smith was on it. I was fanatical for him at this time, and remember anticipating Dogma so rabidly that I actually did the unthinkable: I downloaded the script from the internet and read it before the movie came out. The movie in my head turned out to be way better than the movie we currently, uh, I guess we don’t actually currently have Dogma, do we? I guess that one fat rapist has to die first?

I don’t really wanna turn this into a Kevin Smith post. I write way too much about that guy. I still watch his movies even though most of them leave me cold. But: I basically remember a few moments in which Kevin Smith appeared on my radar: I’m pretty sure I saw the trailers for Clerks, Mallrats, and Chasing Amy attached to various VHS tapes I rented. Also, I distinctly remember seeing Clerks reviewed by Siskel and Ebert, and being fascinated by the idea that a rude R-rated comedy could also be a black and white art film.

Austin Stories, a faintly remembered MTV Show starring Laura House, Chip Pope, and Howard Kremer (second place only to Freaks and Geeks as my favorite one-season TV series of all time) was getting enough buzz that it merited an article in TV Guide that compared it to other burgeoning slacker-related media. They listed the films of Kevin Smith and Richard LInklater. I remembered those names.

The first Kevin Smith project I ever saw was either Mallrats, or Jay and Silent Bob’s Video Stash on MTV, an hour long special hosted from Kevin Smith’s famous comic book store. The purpose of the special was to show the collected interstitials Smith directed for the network which starred Jay & Silent Bob. But these things helped me understand the idea that films had directors, and those directors had a particular style, and if you like a movie by a certain director it’s a good idea to seek out their other movies. Clerks came next. Chasing Amy after that. Dogma was the first one I got to see in the theaters. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back was the second. I leveled off after that one. What a pair of stinkers.

Space Ghost also talks to Jim Jarmusch, who also made funny black and white movies about slackers just like my “hero” Kevin Smith. If I only I knew that then! This episode didn’t really serve as any kind of introduction to these guys, sadly. The episode, like many episodes of Space Ghost, sorta rely on you already knowing who these guys are. I had no live for Jarmusch from this episode. Stranger Than Paradise is so wonderful. I should really go through the guy’s filmography sometime, I think I’ve only seen like five of them.

This episode got me into watching Space Ghost pretty regularly. I remember taping this to the beginning of a tape. Then, I transferred a recording of Mystery Science Theater to the tape so I could edit the commercials out. For some reason I decided to do this after the Space Ghost episode, making it sorta like a theatrical short that plays before a feature film. I liked the pairing of the two shows so much I began simultaneously recording Mystery Science Theater and Space Ghost and filling up the ends of edited-for-commercials MST3Ks with Space Ghost reruns (also SCTV repeats from NBC’s Later). Man, I would love it if I had all those tapes still. I still think that’s a killer combo. I paired down when they were coming out on DVD.

Favorite bits: Ben Stiller’s exchange with Zorak where Zorak is echoing Ben’s descriptors of him “yeah, I’m ribald”. “Yeah, I’m ribald” was in the running for my favorite Zorak quote for a very long time. Ben Stiller talking about Cable Guy 2 (wow, he’s so self-effacing!). The brief video clip of Andy Merrill (I assume) rolling around laughing that played during the break (was there actually commercial breaks for this season? I forget!). The cut to Zorak, now a Squirrel, saying “Screwy, Ain’t It?” which was a then-current reference to Cartoon Network’s on-air branding, which used that tagline over clips of particularly goofy cartoon moments.

At the end we get a very brief clip of George Lowe in a Space Ghost costume, with a holster at his side, looking serious. This is, I assume, taken from this footage from a live-action shoot, where George Lowe loses his marbles with a dwarf pony. This brief tag seems to be the only remnants of this shoot, which is why it became a DVD Easter egg on the volume four DVD (as well as a series of anniversary bumpers that aired on Adult Swim). The resulting use of the footage is comically unspectacular, so much so that I remember almost cutting it out of my tape because I thought it was a Cartoon Network bumper or something. I really wonder if the writers thought this live-action sequence was going to be a huge pay-off for the episode.

A landmark episode! For me! And me only!

MAIL BAG

tell that other commenter they already brought Lewis back, he's Mario's nemesis in The Mario's Movie. It's the same voice actor and everything, look it up. "Lewis Lectures, here we come!" i couldn't agree more!

What couldn’t you agree more with?

oh please don't edit out my slur. I'll be nice!

Nice girls don’t slur

you badmouthed HBOMax and then the next day they added SG to the Leaving Soon list.

Yeah. I guess you catch more flies with funny and boy, isn’t that funny?

[bi-buddha]

[fantastica-daily]

Nightbitch Movie Review

In Nightbitch, Amy Adams plays a stay-at-home mom who’s literally going to the dogs—and honestly, who can blame her? Trading her artist’s brush for endless piles of hash browns and sippy cup searches, Adams’ character (known simply as ‘Mother,’ because apparently, the suburbs strip you of even basic identifiers) finds herself growing mysterious fur and developing an unusual appetite for kibble. It’s less “An American Werewolf in London” and more “An American Werewolf in the PTA.”

Don’t let the horror-comedy marketing fool you—this isn’t your typical transformation tale. Instead, Nightbitch is a metaphorical musing on motherhood that occasionally remembers it’s supposed to be funny. Adams, as always, sinks her teeth into the role with admirable commitment, whether she’s deadpanning “What fresh hell is this?” at her newfound body hair or eating mac ‘n’ cheese sans fork from a dog bowl (a scene that surely wasn’t in her Oscar-nomination highlight reel).

The film is at its strongest when it’s mining the dark comedy from suburban maternal purgatory. The “book baby” group scenes are deliciously cringe-worthy, and Scoot McNairy’s well-meaning but hapless husband character perfectly embodies every partner who’s ever asked “Where are the towels?” while standing directly in front of them. But when director Marielle Heller tries to pivot from satire to serious commentary, the film starts chasing its own tail.

The metaphor isn’t exactly subtle—woman feels dehumanized by motherhood, literally becomes animal—but the execution is surprisingly toothless. Just when you think it’s going to sink its fangs into deeper themes about the devaluation of mothers in society, it settles for surface-level observations and the occasional glowing-eyes effect that feels borrowed from many other movies. (If you’re looking for domestic satire with a twist of fantasy, look no further than 2018’s brilliant Tully, starring Charlize Theron.)

In the end, Nightbitch is like a well-groomed show dog—beautiful to look at, impressively trained, but ultimately performing tricks we’ve seen before. Adams’ masterful performance keeps the film from straying too far off-leash, but one can’t help but wish it had been a little more willing to bite the hand that feeds it. For a film about embracing one’s wild side, it plays it frustratingly safe.

= = =

S.L. Wilson

[reyturnofbensolo]

So relevant!😛

[oneofusnet]

Screener Squad: The 4:30 Movie THE 4:30 MOVIE FILM REVIEW Kevin Smith is one of the defining Gen X filmmakers. Clerks, Mallrats, and Chasing Amy inspired countless storytellers from the 90’s to today. He’s also the guy who made Cop Out and Yoga Hosers. The guy’s had a mixed bag of a career. So, it comes as a wonderful surprise to Mike, Ryan, and T.C. that after over a decade of his “for fans only” movies, Smith appears to have made an actual film again. This semi-autobiographical coming-of-age film tells the story of Brian David, a kid in love with two things: movies and Melody… Read More »Screener Squad: The 4:30 Movie read more on One of Us

[greensparty]

Movie Review: The 4:30 Movie

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Kevin Smith's directorial debut Clerks, one of my all-time favorites. When I was getting into filmmaking, seeing Clerks was highly influential. It was a full-on “you can do this too” moment for me. Since that debut, Kevin Smith has had such a unique career in that he has made big budget movies, low budget, and everywhere in between for both studios and independently. He has built up a cult following and brought his characters into various sequels including 2022's Clerks III (read my review here). When I interviewed Clerks III stars Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson after it's release, they both spoke fondly of Smith and the fun environment he creates. Smith's earlier work like Mallrats and Chasing Amy are his strongest era. Since then, he has tried to dip his toes in other genres with mixed results (i.e. Red State and Tusk), but he tends to do his best work when it's somewhat personal. Being released this week from Saban Films is his semi-autobiographical coming-of-age comedy The 4:30 Movie.

movie poster

In suburban NJ during the Summer of 1986, teen Brian David (Austin Zajur) gets up the guts to call Melody Barnegat (Siena Agudong), a girl he flirted with the previous Summer and never got the guts to do ask out. She agrees to meet him for a movie at 4:30PM that day. Before that he goes with his goofy buddies Belly (Reed Northrup) and Burny (Nicholas Cirilo) to the same movie theater for some cinema trickery (one buys a ticket and sneaks the others in, etc). But when they piss off Manager Mike (Ken Jeong) the plan for Melody to meet Brian at that same cinema becomes endangered. There's small appearances from Kate Minucci, Method Man, Sam Richardson, Adam Pally, Rachel Dratch and loads of View Askew alumni.

Smith directing

The tone of this movie is similar to Mallrats in that it is a teen movie that's combining romanticism with crude humor, which isn't always easy to pull off. It is a coming-of-age teen movie in the vein of Smith's hero John Hughes, which in 2024 is refreshing to see. I'll start with the positive about this movie: this was something that truly spoke to me and more specifically the person I was at 16, even though that was more than a few years past 1986. The protagonist is a teen film geek, who has a vast knowledge of film and pop culture, insists on keeping quiet during a movie and staying for the credits, and reads Starlog magazine. To say I could relate would be an understatement! There was a real heart to this movie that looked back a pre-cell phone era (there's a funny gag where a character calls the movie theater and ties up the landline, drawing the ire Manager Mike). Now here's what I had an issue with: since this was Kevin Smith, I had hoped it was going to be LOL funny throughout. Instead there was some funny parts and then long periods before the next part I laughed at. Some of the jokes were low-hanging fruit winking-at-the-audiences references to the time period and what we know changed since (i.e. jokes about how no one would care about Star Wars sequels, prequels or spin-offs). In other coming-of-age comedies like Adventureland for example, I'm alright with it not being laugh-a-minute, but there's a certain expectation with Kevin Smith and because of this I wished it had been funnier. There's also some characters that are more like caricatures. I am pleased to see Smith going inward and personal like a lot of his best work (i.e. the Clerks movies). Clerks III was a serious comeback for him and here he's trying to sustain that...with mixed results, but it's the main character / Smith alter-ego Brian who makes this movie as we don't often get movies about film geeks (Clarence in True Romance being one of the notable exceptions). Let's hope Smith's next semi-autobiographical film is even better!

For info on The 4:30 Movie

3.5 out of 5 stars

[ulkaralakbarova]

A mom and dad who usually say no decide to say yes to their kids’ wildest requests — with a few ground rules — on a whirlwind day of fun and adventure. Credits: TheMovieDb. Film Cast: Allison Torres: Jennifer Garner Carlos Torres: Edgar Ramírez Katie Torres: Jenna Ortega Nando Torres: Julian Lerner Ellie Torres: Everly Carganilla H.E.R.: H.E.R. Mr. Deacon: Nat Faxon Hiring Executive: Molly Sims Jean the Paramedic: Fortune Feimster Officer Jones: Arturo Castro Billie / Concert Coordinator: Tracie Thoms Layla: Megan Stott Tara: Yimmy Yim Hailey Peterson: Snowden Grey Officer Chang: Hayden Szeto Julie: Alana Baer Brian: Graham Phillips Brent: Wolf Fleetwood-Ross Trevor: Adam Faison Mr. Hwang: James Kyson Counter Gal: Michelle La Mr. Chan: Leonardo Nam Miss Hoffling: Naomi Ekperigin Chase: James Calixte Rob: Alek Cole Jeremy: William Samiri Tony: Ruy Iskandar Teacher Beth: Cloie Wyatt Taylor Nurse Linda: Joanna Strapp Bob: Brent Morin Joan: Cass Buggé Karen: Lynn Andrews Security Guard: Jordan Johnson-Hinds KC: K.C. Clyde Mary: Katie Baker Rosemary: Ava Allan Brad: Cameron Johnson Woman on Something: Taylor Cooper Mom in Car: Faryn Einhorn Kablowey Maroon Team Player: Jeremy Culhane Kablowey Green Team Player: Kristi Lauren Kablowey Blue Team Player: Olivia Norman Korean Customer: Arvin Lee Man from Bathroom: Peter S. Kim Officiant: Ron Yerxa Helium Kid #1: Nicholas Sean Johnny Helium Kid #2: Cameron James Elie Seven Year Old Nando: Romyn Smith Ten Year Old Katie: Aliyah Torres Terrified Kid: Joshua Gallup Stevie: Danielle Jalade Woman in Cheetah Suit: Erin Allin O’Reilly Officer Antonio: Rafael Boza Harry: Tyler Riggin Kablowey Orange Team Player: Mike Lane Kablowey Orange Team Player #2: Sandy Fletcher Sound Mixer: Chase Meyer Party Kid #1: Lola Raie Party Kid #2: Aidan McGraw Maid of Honor: Rachel Amanda Bryant Athletic Kid #1: Coral Coye Athletic Kid #2: Kodiak Lehman Athletic Kid #3: Makea Leonard H.E.R. Band Member: Keithen Foster H.E.R. Band Member: Carrington Brown H.E.R. Band Member: Alonzo Harris H.E.R. Band Member: Ricardo Ramos H.E.R. Band Member: Ajanee Hambrick H.E.R. Band Member: Malik Spence Allah-Las Band Member: Miles Michaud Allah-Las Band Member: Matthew Correia Allah-Las Band Member: Pedrum Siadatian Allah-Las Band Member: Timothy Hill Film Crew: Production Design: Doug J. Meerdink Original Music Composer: Michael Andrews Producer: Jennifer Garner Set Decoration: Rosemary Brandenburg Makeup Artist: Deborah La Mia Denaver Director of Photography: Terry Stacey Executive Producer: Miguel Arteta Assistant Art Director: Mike Piccirillo Editor: Jay Deuby Costume Design: Susie DeSanto Supervising Sound Editor: Darren Sunny Warkentin Supervising Sound Editor: Andrew DeCristofaro Executive Producer: Mark Moran Producer: Daniel Rappaport Costume Supervisor: Mitchell Ray Kenney Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Will Files Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Mark Paterson Visual Effects Supervisor: Jean-François Ferland Executive Producer: Justin Malen Stunts: Kelli Barksdale Makeup Department Head: Cristina Waltz Producer: Lawrence Grey Set Costumer: Natasha Romanow Set Costumer: Cesha Ventre Visual Effects Producer: Marie-Claude Lafontaine Second Unit Director: Shauna Duggins Set Dresser: Fante Zamora Book: Tom Lichtenheld Utility Stunts: Mallory Thompson Set Decoration Buyer: Jennifer Pray Producer: Ben Everard Art Direction: Jason Perrine Production Coordinator: Sally Potters Makeup Artist: Jamie Hess Book: Amy Krouse Rosenthal Producer: Nicole King Executive Producer: Adam Simpson-Marshall Visual Effects Producer: Erin Hewitt Set Dresser: Max Bostic Visual Effects Supervisor: Brandon Nelson VFX Artist: Sébastien Chartier VFX Artist: Jason Evanko VFX Artist: Alyssa Koncelik-Diemer Movie Reviews: r96sk: Rather unoriginal, though the cast make it more likeable than it would otherwise be. ‘Yes Day’ is exactly what it says on the tin, you will not be shocked to find out what the plot is. It plays out in the most predictable way possible, even the hearty moments are a little too sickly at times. With that sai...