A sharp, talky indie romance with real emotional bite, but it’s also dated in ways that are hard to ignore. The chemistry, comic-book-world texture, and wounded sincerity still land; the treatment of sexuality and identity does not always age well.
47% ★★☆☆☆ (241,988)
Chasing Amy
Where to watch: Paramount
Movie · Comedy · Drama · R
1997 · 1h 54m · ★ 47% (242K)
It's not who you love. It's how.
Director: Kevin Smith
Starring: Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, Jason Lee
Overview
Holden and Banky are comic book artists. Everything is going good for them until they meet Alyssa, also a comic book artist. Holden falls for her, but his hopes are crushed when he finds out she's a lesbian.
Director
Kevin Smith
Production
View Askew Productions, Miramax
Cast
Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, Jason Lee, King Mustafa Obafemi, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, Ethan Suplee, Scott Mosier, Casey Affleck, Matt Damon, Brian O'Halloran, Carmen Llywelyn, Guinevere Turner, Joe Quesada, Welker White, Mike Allred, Vincent Pereira
Where to watch
fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, MGM Plus, Philo
Curator Review
Verdict
A sharp, talky indie romance with real emotional bite, but it’s also dated in ways that are hard to ignore. The chemistry, comic-book-world texture, and wounded sincerity still land; the treatment of sexuality and identity does not always age well.
Best for
Viewers interested in 1990s indie cinema and Kevin Smith’s early work
Fans of messy, dialogue-driven relationship dramas
People curious about a culturally influential but controversial romance
Skip if
You want a modern, affirming queer love story
You’re sensitive to outdated or clumsy depictions of bisexuality and lesbian identity
You prefer subtle filmmaking over extended, argument-heavy scenes
Overview
Chasing Amy is one of those films that feels both more ambitious and more embarrassing than its reputation suggests. Kevin Smith pushes beyond slacker comedy into a wounded, confessional romance about ego, insecurity, and the fear of not being enough for someone you love. The comic-book setting gives it a specific, lived-in texture, and the performances help sell the emotional volatility even when the script overreaches.
Worth noting
What’s most striking now is how much of the movie’s drama depends on misunderstandings around sexuality that the film handles with a very 1997 level of awareness. That makes it hard to recommend uncritically. Still, there’s a reason it remains a touchstone: it captures the messiness of young-adult longing and male self-sabotage with unusual bluntness, and it does so in a voice that helped define a whole era of indie filmmaking.
Bottom line
If you’re watching it as a time capsule, a relationship drama, or a key artifact of late-90s independent cinema, there’s plenty to engage with. If you’re looking for a sensitive queer romance, this is not the place to start.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Brian Brecker (4.5★) · 2449 likes
Half of this movie's problems would be solved by the word "bisexual."
👽 Zara 👽 (1★) · 1267 likes
keep kevin smith the fuck away from anything to do with lgbt culture and especially, lesbians
Ellie (0.5★) · 1165 likes
The only funny thing about this movie is the idea that someone would give up sleeping with women to date the goateed cry baby which is Ben Affleck.
Adryon Thomas (3.5★) · 802 likes
I guess bisexuals didn't exist in 1997.
Jeffrey Coté (0.5★) · 757 likes
Remember when that one straight guy you know baked you a cake shaped like a naked woman with huge breasts on your birthday, and you were totally okay with it and laughed hysterically together? Yeah. Me neither. Chasing Amy exists in a world where straight people are allowed to be abrasively, disgustingly rude toward queer people with absolutely no repercussion. Apparently you can just lob insults and ignorance at us all day long and we’ll still wanna be your friend.… more