~Se Ciize Kae'for free
Check out "Citizen Kane" in all its splendor. A part of the Orson
Welles film series, this classic is based on the life of William
Randolph Hearst. Don't miss the opportunity to see it again on the
big screen for free. Screenings will be at 1 and 4:30 p.m. at the
Michigan Theater.
Thursday
April 17, 1997
Silent Bob speaks!
'Clerks' director tries hand at drama with 'Chasing Amy'
~ryan Lark
y Film Editor
In the three years since the scatological bombardment of
"Clerks' writer/director Kevin Smith, known to most as
Silent Bob, has grown up - he just refuses to admit it.
"Yeah, I've made these movies with lots of dick and fart
jokes and some would call them juvenile," Smith said. "But
deep down, they're all about these really sweet guys who just
"-want to fall in love."
Arguably mature the whole time, Smith, whether he likes it
or not, has indeed seemed to grow up with his latest film,
"Chasing Amy,' in which the love and emotion previously
,hidden beneath flatulence comes to excrutiatingly enjoyable
dight.
After the rush of humor and audacity that was "Clerks" and
the critical and commercial drubbing that was "Mallrats,"
Smith returned triumphantly to the Sundance Film Festival in
January, where "Clerks" had premiered in 1994, to unveil the
heartfelt "Amy."
Met with admiration and standing ovations, the erstwhile
Silent Bob, who opted to speak with The Michigan Daily on
the fire escape of the State Theater after an Ann Arbor screen-
ing last month, was overwhelmed and extremely pleased with
the reaction.
"I kind of felt vindicated. People ask, 'Do you feel
redeemed?' But it's not like with 'Mallrats' I was the archi-
tect of the final solution," Smith joked. "I don't think I did
anything bad. I just made a flick that some people didn't like
and there were a lot of critics who wrote us off saying that
'Clerks' was obviously a fluke and Smith's just a one-hit
wonder. 'Chasing Amy' kind of disproved that. It just felt
good."
With the reception at Sundance and his third effort gaining
acclaim, Smith has nothing to do but feel good.
Most of Smith's happiness can probably be credited to Joey
Lauren Adams, who is his leading lady onscreen and off.
Smith feels that Adams' love finally offered him something
mature and private to communicate through film.
But is the story of a man coming to terms with his lover's
past completely autobiographical?
"Absolutely," answered Smith. "That's pretty much me
speaking in the flick. Being in the relationship with Joey
absolutely gave me something personal to say and it came out
of a painful time in our relationship. I had to spice it for the
film, though - two hours about a guy who can't accept that
his girlfriend had been to Australia and he hadn't wouldn't be
that exciting. Absolutely, 'Chasing Amy' to me is the exam-
ple of what the love of one good woman can do. Sounds
corny, I know."
Joey Lauren Adams wasn't the only absolute in the pro-
duction of "Chasing Amy." Having worked with all three of
his "Amy" leads in "Mallrats" (Adams, Ben Affleck and
Jason Lee), Smith thought of no one else occupying the film's
central characters - "I wrote the roles for all three of them,
for Ben, Joey and Jason"
Ben Affleck, more so then his co-stars, seems best poised
for stardom following "Chasing Amy." Smith believes the
amicable and attractive Affleck deserves all the laurels he
may receive.
"I really enjoyed working with Ben, but I really enjoyed
knowing Ben more. He's such a sweet guy, he should be a
leading man - he's got leading-man looks - but tradition-
ally, he's the dude who plays the asshole who gets paint
dumped on him in 'Dazed and Confused' or the asshole who
gets arrested for fucking girls in the ass in 'Mallrats.' It could-
n't happen to a nicer guy - what happened to (Matthew)
McConaughey should happen to Ben"
Working with people he likes so much again and again,
Smith seems to be developing a Robert Altman-esque corps
of actors.
"It's just people I like to keep around. It's the idea that mak-
ing movies can be tremendously difficult if you're working
with the wrong people - Shannen Doherty - but, um, like,
Kevin Smith directs Ben Affieck on the set of "Chasing Amy."
to surround yourself with friends and make the flick is com-
forting."
Doherty-less and comfortable with his cast and crew,
Smith created "Chasing Amy" last summer for the astronom-
ically low sum of $250,000, upholding the independent cine-
ma sensibility he has come to embrace.
"It's just like not having to go through a development
process," Smith explained about his self-reliant approach.
"It's always a pleasure to not have to water an idea down to
reach the widest possible audience and not have to answer to
anybody. It's your vision from beginning to end."
Vision is a concept Smith knows much about, seeing that
his first three films are all part of an elaborate, intertwining
vision of small-town New Jersey life, something the placid
Garden State native knows much about.
"It has nothing to do with affinity for my home state. It
just has to do with keeping everything in one universe and
that's a real comic book influence. It all takes place in this
tri-town area and you hear names mentioned in each flick,"
Smith said, excitedly illustrating his tri-fold vision. "Like,
Alyssa Jones is a name that comes up in 'Clerks' and finally
we see her character in 'Chasing Amy.' That kind of thing
where everyone knows everyone and everyone knows that
Rick Darrus is a notorious slam-hound. Everyone seems to
know Jay and Silent Bob and that to me is a small town, It
doesn't come out of this place like 'I fucking love l
Jersey, man!'
Sometimes, you do want to go where everybody knows your
name, perhaps explaining why Smith returns a third time, as
wordless drug dealer and hoodlum Silent Bob in "Amy," along-
side Jason Mewes as Jay. In the film, Silent Bob speaks at
length in the form of a touching soliloquy that elucidates:the
film's elusive title, while Jay plays silent and rolls a joint.
Chasing Amy, as spoken by Silent Bob, is the notioin of
never letting go of the one person, place or thing that got away
- you're always chasing an Amy of some sort.
With Joey Lauren Adams at his side, soon-to-be-star 8l
Affleck in his movie, his third creation in theaters and sever-
al projects on the horizon (writing "Superman Lives" and
directing the long-awaited Catholic satire "Dogma"), a very
satisfied Smith can finally give up the pursuit and give his
personal Amy a much-needed rest.
Jason Mewes (left) and Smith (right) reappear in "Chasing
Amy" as Jay and Silent Bob.
'Pearl' EP is only for devoted fans
.:
Underworld
Pearl's Girl
TVT Records
With last year's success of "Born
Slippy" on the "Trainspotting" sound-
track and the critical acclaim of its
most recent effort, "Second Toughest
in the Infants," Underworld has
released its maxi-single, "Pearl's
Girl."
Containing four remixes of the single
and five other tracks, this maxi-single
may seem like a good buy solely on the
amount of material; however, this single
may be best suited for only the most
devoted of fans.
The single starts off with the "Tin
There" version. Underworld, which
sometimes remixes its tracks to the
point of disguise, do so on this version.
Although it sounds nothing like the
original version, it is a decent eight-
minute remix that suffers only due to a
lack of any breakbeats or change in
tempo.
The 1996 version of "Pearl's Girl" is
a sub-par remix in which the listener is
left with the Edit and Album
versions. It's a good
choice for a single with
the monotone vocals
of Karl Hyde supple-
menting the fast -
beats and bass
booms.
This leaves us
with the five remain-
ing tracks. "Oich Oich"
was a track that first
appeared on a Select magazine
compilation tape in 1995, and the
track features Hyde's vocals chopped
up and broken down to fit the mid-
tempo beat. However, this track is not
very exciting and, at times, it is
almost boring.
"Mosaic" features a bluesy atmos-
phere but, again, this seems to be a
give-a-way track without much to
offer. "Puppies" is probably the best
out of the new tracks with its ambient
feel, but it pales in comparison with
any track off of "Second Toughest in
the Infants." "Deep Arch"
and "Cherry Pie" are'so-
so tracks, and they do
not add any depth to
Underworld's sound.
Clocking in at
little more than ,
minutes, the maxi-
single was quite a
disappointment; how-
ever, the title single
itself is worth the pur-
chase. However, I would
strongly suggest "Second Toughest in
the Infants," which includes "Pearl's
Girl," or even its previous album,
"Dubnobasswithmyheadman," which
doesn't include "Pearl's Girl" Agay
this single is mainly for the tru y
devoted fan.
- Philip" Son
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