Chasing Amy
I mean what is there to say.
This movie , shaped so much of my life. It laid foundations. It meant so many different things to me during all the different times I watched it.
How the hell did Kevin Smith of all people create a queer masterpiece?
Well the answer has always been simple. He created the most honest movie he could ever make. He ripped his soul out and put it on to film. He also, for better or worse, put the souls of other people on the film as well. His gay film maker friends,
His girlfriend who he openly admits he terrorized.
He learned his lessons, like Holden, and shared it with the world.
The biggest mystery though is the whole Alyssa of it all.
How is she such a strong and effective character ? A big part is that she’s ripped from Joey Adam’s herself. Who despite everything, it’s clear Smith loved and admired. Admired as a full complete person, because wow, she feels so alive. And of course Adam’s brings her to life beautifully.
The hook of “lesbian is converted into loving a man” did so much damage to the movie’s reputation . That was never what the movie was about. Alyson is written with complete agency , as a person whose sexuality is complicated but feels real. I’ve known multiple Alyssas in my life. Sometimes this shit is complicated !
And god. The set pieces here. The main scenes hit so hard. Joey is so good in this. That coupled with the raw, honest dialogue. Hits me every time. When they fight outside of the hockey game. Or when she explains why she is able to love Holden.
And Affleck. God. While he’s likeable for a lot of it, and you can see why someone would fall for him,
He is such a dirtbag at times. A Whiney sniveling dirtbag. Kudos to Smith for being so willing to tell on himself like this.
Finally, though I could go on forever, the Banky of it all. It’s wild to me that there has ever been a feeling that there is ambiguity to how he feels about Holden. Lee plays Banky in a way that makes it so clear that he is in LOVE with Holden. When he catches them together on his couch, and the conversation the have outside. The way Lee pulls at his fingers nervously, sadly, “I’m not talking about the comic.”
The way Alyssa says to him “he’s yours again” YES!
Smith never made another movie that came close to this, but it makes sense.
How could he?
He had captured the essence of all the people around him, his relationships with Scott Mosier, Joey, Guinevere Turner (who’s conversations with smith were literally written into the movie), and his younger self, and he put them in this film. He could never tell a story like this again, because quite frankly, it was only partially his story to begin with.
Despite all that. The movie exists. And thank god for that.