Chasing Amy is about people learning and finding their way in life, the arrogance of youth, and the insidious nature of prejudice. It’s also, in retrospect, a cautionary tale about concluding that your personality is done becoming whatever it is you will become. That behind-the-scenes-look at the script’s evolution is as fascinating as the burgeoning friendship between Rodgers and Smith. Smith expresses love and gratitude to Rodgers for, in his words, giving him his movie back.
While making Chasing Chasing Amy, Rodgers realizes that he’s not yet completed his journey of self-discovery and has transformative breakthroughs in conversations with Smith. In a harsher lesson, he also runs face-first into a few of the cold, heartless realities of show business when he learns about Joey Lauren Adams’s experiences during the production and after its release. Adams and Smith also talk about their interactions with Harvey Weinstein back in those days. There are startling parallels between Rodger’s experiences here and Chasing Amy, which is one of the most compelling aspects. Rodgers’ life is changed dramatically during the making of this film in many of the same ways the characters in the original film experience. His identity and relationships change in ways he could not have predicted.
“…heartfelt…”
From the perspective of an LGBTQ+ film, Chasing Amy has always had a conflicted legacy. Having a self-identified gay woman fall in love with a cisgender heterosexual man was always controversial. Yet, the gay characters are portrayed as real people with complicated feelings and lives. The LGBTQ+ community has (mostly) begrudgingly accepted the film as an early and authentic representation. To be fair, Chasing Amy hasn’t aged well. While it is absolutely true to Smith’s real-life experiences, telling the tale through the lens of straight male privilege (which was all Smith knew) colors it in a negative light from the point-of-view of 2023’s culture-war landscape. That said, there’s been a lot of water under the bridge since then, and at least some progress can be attributed to people experiencing this movie in the 90s. It is, on the other hand, understandable that Gen-Z LGBTQ+ advocates and allies see it as dated and problematic.
Chasing Chasing Amy is Sav Rodgers’ heartfelt, transparent, and articulate look at what it is to grow up gay and transgender in a world of heteronormative hostility. This is, hands-down, one of the best film experiences you will ever have. Fans of Chasing Amy will get a wonderful look at the production of that film and the time it came from. Plus, a thoughtful examination of the various impacts, for better and worse, it had on everyone involved, including a 12-year-old in Kansas in terrible pain who didn’t know who he was yet.
Chasing Chasing Amy screened at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival.
"…Chasing Amy has always had a conflicted legacy."
