Kristin Adolfson     Chasing Amy Away Kevin Smith, director of Clerks and Mallrats, has written and directed his third independent film, Chasing Amy. This film begins at a comic book convention where two friends, Holden (Ben Affleck) and Banky (Jason Lee) are promoting and signing copies of their co-produced comic book. Through a mutual friend, Holden meets and soon becomes intrigued by Alyssa (Joey Lauren Adams). Believing that she shares an attraction/romantic interest in him, Holden pursues her only to discover that she's a lesbian. Alyssa is a strong female who discovers in the very male, very heterosexual Holden a new ability for friendship with the opposite sex. She explains to a baffled Holden, who claims heterosexuality is right because it's "normal" and "forced by society," that her feelings toward women are exactly how a heterosexual feels for the opposite sex. Alyssa explicitly states and demonstrates throughout the first half of the film that she is comfortable with her sexuality and nothing can change her. So it is clear from the beginning of the film that Alyssa has no intentions other than friendship with Holden. Chasing Amy could be seen as a bittersweet story about two people explicitly made for each other. Beneath the surface, however, Chasing Amy is revealed to be a homophobic story that covertly demeans lesbianism. Throughout the film the male figures make various comments about how lesbians are the lesser "evil" of homosexuals, that it is "cute" to see two women walking down the street holding hands, that they are easier to tolerate than gay men, and are seen as harmless and intriguing. When Holden and Banky discuss Alyssa's sexuality, Banky states that all a lesbian really needs is good "deep-dicking" or the right guy to win her over to heterosexuality. The discussions in the film about lesbianism in the beginning seem to expose the stereotypes of lesbians, in both their outside appearance and their reasons for their sexual preference. Holden first discovers the truth about Alyssa's sexuality at a night club where she sings a long, droning ballad toward his direction in the crowd. Next to him stands a short blonde girl who, along with Holden, is giving Alyssa-as-rock-star the eye. After Alyssa finishes the song, the blonde runs up, and they kiss for a good minute or so. The camera remains on the two in their very awkward embrace, and then cuts to Holden's reaction. Seconds later Holden, Banky, Alyssa, and the blonde are sitting at a table as the two females go at each other in front of the two leering males. At this point the camera lingers excessively on the two kissing women. There is nothing wrong with showing two females kiss; however, this scene is gratuitous and voyeuristic, exploiting lesbianism as the typical erotic turn-on for straight males (probably including the director, who is dating the actress) as well as completely unnecessary for the plot or character development of the film. Alyssa stands as the strong individual, true to herself and her beliefs, set in her sexuality as an unavoidable part of herself throughout the first half of the film. Holden pursues Alyssa fully aware that as a lesbian, she is not attracted to men. He allows himself to fall in love with her, and at the pivotal moment in the film when Holden proclaims his love, she initially remains true to her character. She abruptly leaps out of the car into the pouring rain and exclaims in tears to Holden, "I'm a lesbian ... nothing can change that." Seconds later, however, both the film and the character completely turn against themselves when Alyssa runs back to Holden and literally jumps on him, kissing him passionately. Later that night they end up sleeping together, which leads to a relationship, and Alyssa's identity as a lesbian is gone. This "twist" in the plot supports the opinion that all lesbians can be changed by the right man, and that lesbianism is nothing but a default for an unsatisfied woman. Scattered throughout the film were funny lines, including a hilarious conversation about the details of going down on a woman, possibly the only issue that Smith successfully liberates in a funny yet factual way. There was no innovative camera work, only an obvious switch to a hand-held camera during the first argument between friends Holden and Banky, which appeared sloppy and heavy-handed rather than interesting and inventive. Among all the other slights and exaggerations about lesbians that pervade the film, the "persuasion" of Alyssa to heterosexuality is probably the most offensive. Does Smith really think that lesbianism is just a phase with women, and a good man is all that is needed to make them straight? It is commendable for a director to tackle such stigmas as lesbianism and oral sex, but it would have been nice if Smith did not end up undermining the subject that he was attempting to demystify.

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