Director: Kevin Smith

Stars: Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, Jason Lee

Distributor: Metrodome

Running Time: 111

Opens: November 14

SO you think you’ve got problems? Comic book artist Holden (Affleck) has just met Alyssa (Adams), the love of his life, and she’s a lesbian. Added to this, he is starting to feel that the hostility of his comic drawing partner Banky (Jason Lee) towards the woman is based on something more than friendly interest and healthy manly admiration…he may be just a tad jealous, perhaps? Bluer than a Bernard Manning routine and twice as touching as The English Patient, this is the filthiest, funniest and most moving film I’ve seen all year. Fans of Kevin Smith’s “Clerks” will relish the scene where a militant comic book artist claims Darth Vader as a black power icon, and the return of Smith’s own Greek chorus, lovable misanthropes Silent Bob and Jay. But the film also adds depth to Smith’s ouevre. Alyssa is a stereotype-busting heroine and the progress of her and Holden’s relationship is at once hilarious, tragic and, bar a few outrageous moments, ultimately believable. A glorious movie for anyone who has been lucky enough to find true love and stupid enough to lose it. A foul-mouthed ‘Casablanca’ for Generation X, take granny to see something else and treasure it for yourself.