It is possible for a movie, TV show or book that seems groundbreaking on its release gets dated very poorly over the years.
When Chasing Amy opened in theaters in the spring of 1997, it seemed at the time having a movie focusing on LGBTQIA characters in a more positive light than what they’re known for was groundbreaking. However, over the years if you look at it closer, there are some huge cracks. Kevin Smith, writer/director, said he was inspired by his friend and producing partner Scott Mosier, getting infatuated with filmmaker Guinevere Turner, who made the movie Go Fish. Turner is a lesbian.
Chasing Amy is about Holden McNeil (Ben Affleck), a comic book artist who eventually falls in love with fellow artist Alyssa Jones (Joey Lauren Adams), who is a lesbian. However, Alyssa has a past that includes multiple heterosexual partners. And Holden’s friend and business partner, Banky Edwards (Jason Lee), tries his best to drive a wedge between Holden and Alyssa.
The movie was considered controversial mainly for its portrayal of lesbians but I think it hit the right note by focusing on how some men may be secretly in love with their other men friends in a platonic and emotional way. It’s a difficult movie and Smith as an outsider did his best. I still think it’s probably one of his best written and best directed movies. The 1990s was the first decade in which LGBTQIA characters were treated more humanely and not always the punchline or victims.
You can’t blame Smith for trying. I will say the movie would’ve seem a cop out if Holden and Alyssa remained together at the end. I think it looks more at the pigheaded stubbornness of men who always have to think their women have to be virgins to be the perfect partner/spouse. Alyssa’s willing to love Holden no matter what. But Holden becomes upset about Alyssa’s past when she fooled around in high school.
Chasing Chasing Amy, a movie by Sav Rodgers, a transgendered man, fails to find its voice. Mostly, it’s because Rodgers is more concerned about telling his own story than whether or not the 1997 movie should still be revered for what it did. It reminds me of a phrase I once heard, “It was good, but it’s good that it was.”
Chasing Amy still can’t get past some of the New Jersey dudebro hockey fanatics that Smith appealed to for many years. Some of the warranted criticism of the 1997 movie is how it portrays lesbians either as fantasies of straight men or in need of “just finding the right man.” There’s also the way Alyssa’s friends seem to immediately shun her once they learn she’s dating Holden. And even Turner, who appears briefly in the movie, criticizes Smith for how “fisting” is simulated
Of all his movies, I’d argue it’s his most serious and that’s taken into account the over-the-top violence of Red State which goes from exploited to comical. As Jay and Silent Bob only appear in one scene, it doesn’t distract from the overall movie. However, Smith says studios were willing to pay him more money to cast David Schwimmer, Drew Barrymore and Jon Stewart in the roles. And that’s why I think it would’ve turned into Three to Tango.
Rodgers does seem to have a nice friendship with Smith. He does portray that even a flawed inspiration is still an inspiration. Remember that 30 years ago, a movie like this was almost impossible. Even Nathan Lane, who appeared in The Birdcage, said he was told he was “too gay” to appear in Space Jam as Michael Jordan’s assistant. Many celebrities, like Paul Reubens, Paul Winfield and Luther Vandross, have lived their lives in the closet out of fear they would get as much work.
Some movies and books that were once considered classics are now very questionable. Look at the 1915 movie The Birth of a Nation or how in Gone With the Wind, the roles played by Hattie McDaniel and Butterfly McQueen are nothing more than black stereotypes, even with McDaniel being the first black person to win an Oscar.
When it came out in 1999, American Beauty divided people for its portrayal of WASP families in suburbia, where the same-sex couple of Scott Bakula and Sam Robards seem to be the the happiest. I’ve heard some people theorize if your parents weren’t divorced when you saw the movie, you didn’t like it as much. Magnolia, which featured Robards’ father, Jason, in his last role also divided people including Smith who publicly trashed it.
Now, Magnolia is considered a classic and possibly Paul Thomas Anderson’s best movie next to There Will Be Blood. And even Smith has walked back his dislike of the movie as well breaking down crying admitting the complains he had with Bruce Willis while filming Cop Out were petty. This came as Smith, just as the rest of us, learned Willis is suffering from aphasia and has retired from acting.
And as Smith wrote in his 1999 movie Dogma, it’s easier to change an idea than a belief. I still believe American Beauty, despite the controversy over Kevin Spacey, is a wonderful examination of the facade of suburban life especially how people live so close to each other on streets but rarely communicate with each other correctly.
Chasing Amy touched on difficult subjects in all relationships. But I think Smith was wrong to make Banky a closeted gay man because many people with homophobia aren’t gay. Adams gives her best with the role but I feel her distinct voice turned off some critics and the marketing behind it made some people feel it was just another typical rom-com.
It does seem odd that Rodgers’ life somewhat mirrors the movie as when he identified as a woman he fell in love with a queer woman, Regina. And as he transitioned, Rodgers and Regina stayed together and eventually got married. The tagline of Chasing Amy is “It’s not who you love. It’s how.” And I think that’s great that Rodgers and his wife have found each other. I just don’t exactly think their story needs as much attention.
I will give Rodgers credit for keeping this from being The Problem With Apu or Don’t You Forget About Me. He does a good job at presenting fans of the movies who are willing to see its faults. And there’s something funny how one person says Affleck’s goatee was an issue. To be honest, I’ve never really bought Affleck as a comic-book writer in the Jersey suburbs. Lee made Banky seem like he could be an arrogant hipster who thinks he’s better than everyone else but basically traces over what Holden already draws.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 