Day 74: Chasing Amy (1997)
With “Chasing Amy,” writer, director and indie film icon Kevin Smith wrote what he knew. Considered the third film in his New Jersey based “View Askewniverse,” Smith brought together a still relatively unknown Ben Affleck and Jason Lee, as well as Joey Lauren Adams, to bring about a film close to his heart, that, on the surface, discusses the conflict found when sexual orientation interfears with romance, but, on a deeper level, actually speaks on the classic male archetype and how the changing of the times has forced it to adapt.
In the film, Holden McNeil (Affleck) and Banky Edwards (Lee) are collaborating comic book artists and childhood friends whose careers have turned bright after their pot smoking superhero comic, “Bluntman and Chronic” has gained a sizable following. Though everything seems to be going well for the two, Holden soon meets Alyssa Jones (Adams) and, to the chagrin of Banky, falls head over heals for the cute blonde. But, just when Holden thinks he’s met his match, there’s just one small catch- Alyssa is a lesbian.
Unsure of how to act towards her now that she can’t be his, Holden decides to develop a sweet and unusual friendship with Alyssa, only further irking the somewhat homophobic Banky and causing a rift in their working relationship. Soon, simply being Alyssa’s friend just isn’t enough and Holden risks everything by confessing his true feelings. Faced with this new truth, Alyssa will have to decide how much Holden means to her and if the lifestlye she has chosen is the one she really wants to live.
With “Chasing Amy,” director Kevin Smith found himself following both the incredible success of his first film, “Clerks,” and the sophomore slump of his second picture, “Mallrats,” with a more honest and personal story than either of the two. Based on his own past relationship with the film’s lead actress, Joey Lauren Adams, Smith created “Chasing Amy” as an almost cinematic therapy session, using his own past to map out the story and explain what he had learned from his own experience. “Watching this film, the viewer can find me in every nook and cranny,” Smith said in an essay for the film’s Criterion edition, “This flick, more than the other two, is me on a slab, laid out for the world to see. And believe me—that’s scary.”
Adding to his semi-biographical story, Smith put a rather modern twist to the boy loves girl story by having it deal with the topic of sexual orientation. In Adam’s Alyssa we find a strong lesbian protagonist, which, up to this point in cinema, was something close to unthinkable. Obviously, with such a subject matter and the dialogue that goes with it, such a topic would have been unheard of in the earlier days of film, but, with the openness of the late 90′s approaching a new millennium, Smith had found the perfect subject matter for his rude and crude style and was able to turn it into both a funny and poignant piece.
“Chasing Amy” is definitely Kevin Smith at his finest and a milestone both for the presence of LGBT in film and its honest realistic comedy, which would hold influence on a certain Judd Apatow a decade later.
To learn more about, “Chasing Amy,” check out Criterion’s page here.
If you would like updated on all things Nathan and “The Criterion Summer,” check out our Facebook page here.