Back when nerdy filmmaker Kevin Smith was a brand new face in the indie filmmaking scene, his View Askewniverse had kicked off to a good start with cult hits like Clerks and Mallrats. One of the films in that franchise, Chasing Amy, has endured one of the better stand alone legacies in Smith's filmography, mainly for its sensitively portrayed themes of conflict between love and sexuality. Not only have Smith enthusiasts viewed it as a fascinating grey area in depicting cinematic relationship conflict, but its lasting impact has stemmed partially from its portrayal of queer people during a different time in our culture.
The film follows a comic artist named Holden McNeil who falls in love with a struggling writer named Alyssa Jones who turns out to be a lesbian. This causes complications in Holden's personal feelings and his relationship with his best friend and partner Banky Edwards. Loosely inspired by a crush that Smith's producing partner Scott Mosier had on lesbian filmmaker Guinevere Turner, the feature is often at its most intense in depicting how brutal these kinds of relationships can be for anyone who takes love seriously. The complicated relationship between Holden and Alyssa are elevated by Ben Alleck and Joey Lauren Adams's flaunting chemistry as they grow together and apart on account of just how complicated their feelings are for one another. As crude and immature as the setting might be, the film's themes of problematic tension are handled with such raw honesty that anyone who has ever been in a serious relationship can feel for the leads in more ways than one. It's hard to believe such a thorough depiction of relationships could come from the world of Clerks.
In addition to its central core of complicated romance, the film also explores how frustrating bromance can be for two best friends. On top of the aforementioned Banky being resentful to Alyssa's queer presence, his close partnership with Holden borders on uncomfortable due to faltering plans to bring their popular comic series Bluntman and Chronic into the mainstream. While seemingly despicable and unpleasant, Jason Lee adds an extra layer of relatable intensity into how much Banky doesn't want to lose his best friend to some stranger who isn't attracted to him in the way he thinks, no matter how repugnant he may seem. Other notable characters add into the hilarity behind Holden's complicated relationship such as the flamboyant black comic creator Hooper and the legendary duo that is Jay & SIlent Bob, the latter of whom share a similarly heart wrenching story as Holden's. Considering that Kevin Smith went out of his way to feature as many recurring actors from his older projects as possible, it makes the feature all the more like a proper View Askewniverse endeavor.
Now with all of that said, it's best to acknowledge on whether this film's depiction of the LGBTQ community holds up or not. Considering that this film reflects more on a straight man learning about what it means for a woman to be gay and fall for them at the same time, it makes the depiction of gay women around Alyssa's life feel more like after thoughts in service of the main narrative. While this film was fairly progressive for its time period, knowing where queer culture has grown since then might rub some viewers of today the wrong way in the context of the film's main narrative focus. However, I think it's best to analyze this film less as a legitimate breakdown of the lesbian experience and more as a wake up call for those who cannot see past their own views on romantic relationships. Whether people would like to admit it or not, heterosexual dudes of the late '90s were still coming to terms with their own feelings in the wake of queer revolution, and smaller stories like this are just a dime a dozen as far as what Smith and his friends were getting across since their beginnings.
So while its queer representation might not be as authentic as today's standards, Chasing Amy holds up well as an emotionally raw romcom that tackles its tricky themes with genuine honesty and frustrating introspection smoothly. Unless the work of Kevin Smith isn't your cup of tea, I highly recommend this for anyone who has been in similarly tumultuous relationships as the ones depicted in this feature and especially to newcomers of the View Askewniverse. Even after 27 years since its release, this film has managed to seep into pop culture so well that it's hard to imagine anyone who also hasn't been chasing Amy either.
The film follows a comic artist named Holden McNeil who falls in love with a struggling writer named Alyssa Jones who turns out to be a lesbian. This causes complications in Holden's personal feelings and his relationship with his best friend and partner Banky Edwards. Loosely inspired by a crush that Smith's producing partner Scott Mosier had on lesbian filmmaker Guinevere Turner, the feature is often at its most intense in depicting how brutal these kinds of relationships can be for anyone who takes love seriously. The complicated relationship between Holden and Alyssa are elevated by Ben Alleck and Joey Lauren Adams's flaunting chemistry as they grow together and apart on account of just how complicated their feelings are for one another. As crude and immature as the setting might be, the film's themes of problematic tension are handled with such raw honesty that anyone who has ever been in a serious relationship can feel for the leads in more ways than one. It's hard to believe such a thorough depiction of relationships could come from the world of Clerks.
In addition to its central core of complicated romance, the film also explores how frustrating bromance can be for two best friends. On top of the aforementioned Banky being resentful to Alyssa's queer presence, his close partnership with Holden borders on uncomfortable due to faltering plans to bring their popular comic series Bluntman and Chronic into the mainstream. While seemingly despicable and unpleasant, Jason Lee adds an extra layer of relatable intensity into how much Banky doesn't want to lose his best friend to some stranger who isn't attracted to him in the way he thinks, no matter how repugnant he may seem. Other notable characters add into the hilarity behind Holden's complicated relationship such as the flamboyant black comic creator Hooper and the legendary duo that is Jay & SIlent Bob, the latter of whom share a similarly heart wrenching story as Holden's. Considering that Kevin Smith went out of his way to feature as many recurring actors from his older projects as possible, it makes the feature all the more like a proper View Askewniverse endeavor.
Now with all of that said, it's best to acknowledge on whether this film's depiction of the LGBTQ community holds up or not. Considering that this film reflects more on a straight man learning about what it means for a woman to be gay and fall for them at the same time, it makes the depiction of gay women around Alyssa's life feel more like after thoughts in service of the main narrative. While this film was fairly progressive for its time period, knowing where queer culture has grown since then might rub some viewers of today the wrong way in the context of the film's main narrative focus. However, I think it's best to analyze this film less as a legitimate breakdown of the lesbian experience and more as a wake up call for those who cannot see past their own views on romantic relationships. Whether people would like to admit it or not, heterosexual dudes of the late '90s were still coming to terms with their own feelings in the wake of queer revolution, and smaller stories like this are just a dime a dozen as far as what Smith and his friends were getting across since their beginnings.
So while its queer representation might not be as authentic as today's standards, Chasing Amy holds up well as an emotionally raw romcom that tackles its tricky themes with genuine honesty and frustrating introspection smoothly. Unless the work of Kevin Smith isn't your cup of tea, I highly recommend this for anyone who has been in similarly tumultuous relationships as the ones depicted in this feature and especially to newcomers of the View Askewniverse. Even after 27 years since its release, this film has managed to seep into pop culture so well that it's hard to imagine anyone who also hasn't been chasing Amy either.