The Style of Chasing Amy

Kevin Smith has been attacked as a director almost as much as his films have been attacked for lacking morality.  The easiest attack levied at him was that he didn’t have much visual style as a director.  Writing is most certainly his forte and was the calling card for his breakthrough, the seminal 1994 Sundance darling Clerks.  That film was focused entirely on the banter between the two clerks and how they navigated the misanthropic paradise of a central Jersey convenience store.  The movie was almost exclusively a collection of static oners, with some shots lasting well into the five minute range with few cuts in between and little to no camera movement (which makes the choice to go hand-held during the roof hockey game feel like something out of Cloverfield).  Smith himself has taken this criticism to heart, and eventually latched on to the idea of having a “no style-style” as some sort of coping mechanism.  I believe he even copped to as much in the first “Evening With Kevin Smith,” with the notion that if you say it first, then the insult loses its power.  So everyone–including Smith himself–has come to the conclusion that he doesn’t have a visual style.

And to that, I call bullshit.

The Allure of Almost Famous (Bootleg Cut)

Rock n’ Roll has been many things to many people.  It’s been the force that keeps people going and it’s also been the final, subtle nudge to push someone over the edge.  It has been hailed as one of the greatest popular art forms ever created and cited as the reason why millions of people are going directly to hell upon relinquishing of the soul.  It can be loud and abrasive, soft and full of feeling, played in giant stadiums to high school gyms and so many garages and basements along the way.  But one thing is certain, it’s power has had a hold over our society for the better part of 60 years.  Being a “rock star” isn’t a term to be tossed around lightly.  It’s the closest thing Americans have to a coronation.  The allure of this status and all the trappings that come along with it sit at the heart of Almost Famous (or, in my case, Untitled, the extended cut of the original film), the flame that attracts as well as burns.