When I heard there was a documentary about the impact of “Chasing Amy” I was pretty meh about it at first. The 1997 film wasn’t exactly my favorite. Even way back then its problematic problems were pretty problematic — so that’s a problem. But I also understand the unshakeable connection we queer people have to the media that makes us first feel really seen. That movie or TV show or music or book or painting or whatever kind of art that made us say, even if only to ourselves, “That’s me. I’m like that.” So, yeah, I get why queer trans filmmaker Sav Rodgers wanted to make a documentary about his feelings about the Kevin Smith-Ben Affleck-Joey Lauren Adams movie. I only wish he’d seen and connected with better queer movies of that era in the first place.
But, look, I get it. I grew up in the Midwest too and totally understand the whole you get what you can find media landscape for LGBTQ+ representation in those years. I was at the indie video store renting a copy of “Claire of the Moon” back in the early 90s and getting traumatized. And don’t think I still feel a certain way about Guinevere Turner because of “Go Fish.” (I see you in this documentary, Guin, I see you. I also see you, Trish!)
Still, as the documentary appears to rightfully address, the film has, well, problems. And one of the biggest is that it’s a story about a queer woman told entirely by a bunch of straight white heterosexual dudes. But, again, I get it. Everyone’s journey toward figuring themselves out is different, and none are perfect because there is no perfect. So after watching the trailer I now feel a lot less meh about “Chasing Chasing Amy” because it is a queer story told by a queer filmmaker about the process of becoming a queer filmmaker and the unlikely queer(ish) film that helped him along the way.
Also, if you’re looking for a truly great queer film from the exact same year as “Chasing Amy,” might I direct you toward “All Over Me.” From sister filmmaking duo Alex and Sylvia Sichel, it was a searing look at what it felt like to fall in love with your best friends as a teenager growing up in Hell’s Kitchen New York. Like “Kids,” but less exploitative and shocking for shocking sake. Also, it featured a baby faced, pink-haired Leisha Hailey which is just the cutest. While writing this, I looked up what the Sichel Sisters had been up to recently and I regret to inform you (or reinform you if you’re more up to date than me), that lesbian filmmaker Alex Sichel passed away in 2014. Sylvia, meanwhile, looks like she teaches at NYU. Anyway, might make a good documentary. Just a suggestion.
