Kevin Smith at His Most Human: A Chasing Amy Script Analysis
As discussed in Kinolime’s recent article on Kevin Smith’s debut film, Clerks, he’s an artist who embodies the concept of “write what you know”. In Clerks, he wrote about his experiences working at a convenience store in New Jersey. In his follow-up film, Mallrats, he wrote about the hijinks he and his friends would get into at local Jersey malls. But it’s his third film where he truly makes the jump from writing about “things I experienced” to “the human experience”. Of course, I’m talking about what I believe to be his masterpiece, Chasing Amy.
A simple film about a male comic book artist who falls in love with a lesbian woman, it’s somehow able to analyze an incredibly wide range of our most human flaws: jealousy, insecurity, sexual confusion, sexual curiosity, racism, sexism, and toxic masculinity. No matter how much a person works to avoid displaying any of these negative traits, sometimes life puts you in a corner, and you find yourself being what you hate most. But the point of the script is to emphasize that that’s okay. We’re people. We’re flawed. We make mistakes. The important thing is that we don’t let these things define us, and we work to overcome them.
While mostly praised upon release, many critics argued that Chasing Amy’s depiction of the gay community was offensive. I’d like to argue against this. None of the depictions of the LGBTQ+ community are offensive at all. Every gay character is shown to be smart, well-rounded, and full of depth. The only potentially offensive scenes are the ones where straight characters display homophobia, but that’s the entire point of the script. It’s not a film about how amazing the gay community is; it’s a film about an insecure, straight white man attempting to navigate a world he knows nothing about. And sometimes, during this navigation, his confusion and insecurity are expressed through unfair judgment and homophobia. While Smith doesn’t shy away from this, he makes sure to clarify that the straight characters are the ones who are wrong. They’re the ones who have to take a look in the mirror and realize “I’m the one being an asshole, not them”. But what he also doesn’t do is make these flawed characters out to be horrendously evil villains (which is an incredibly impressive balance to manage). Because, like I said, humans are flawed. Let’s dive in.
OPENING IMAGE
The film opens at a comic book convention in New York City. Nerds, freaks, and costumed superfans roam around from booth to booth in hordes (this may be Kevin Smith’s most mature film, but he’s still gotta add a little touch of the goofy, dorky flare that makes him him). Right away, we know this film is about one thing: outcasts.
SET UP
At one of the booths, we find the artists behind the famous Bluntman and Chronic comic book series. There’s Holden, the author and artist (played by Ben Affleck), and Banky, the inker (played by Jason Lee). When an annoying comic book collector continuously harasses Banky over his lack of contribution to the series (“all you do is trace!”), Banky flips out and attacks the man.
Right away, we realize that Holden is the main character within the duo. He’s the brains, he’s the one who handles all the business, and he’s the one who has to put up with Banky. Banky, on the other hand, is revealed to be insecure, brash, and a loose cannon.
INCITING INCIDENT
Later, the two men meet up with another comic book artist, Hooper, at a press conference he’s giving to promote his new series, “White-Hating Coon” (Hooper is black, if you couldn’t infer). During the press conference, he portrays himself as an angry, no-bullshit Black Panther–even going so far as to shoot Banky with a gun in the middle of the event when Banky argues that Star Wars portrayed black people in a positive light.
Of course, the whole thing was a charade to keep up his intimidating image. In reality, he’s a sensitive, soft-spoken gay man.
Here we learn a couple of things. First, we see that Hooper has to lie about who he is in order to be a successful black man within the comic book industry. The harsh reality is that sometimes, you think you have to be who people want you to be instead of who you actually are (this is important later). Second, we learn that Banky is incredibly homophobic (also important later). So much so that he’s willing to comfortably throw slurs at someone who’s supposed to be his friend. Third, we are introduced to Hooper’s friend, Alyssa. She’s funny, beautiful, and also a comic book artist, so Holden’s immediately lovestruck by her.
A couple of days later, Hooper calls Holden and invites him out to get drinks with Alyssa and him. Obviously, Holden jumps at the opportunity. When Banky hears this, he invites himself to tag along.
Later, at the bar, Holden exhausts all of his energy in flirting with Alyssa. She’s everything he could want in a woman and more. She’s almost TOO perfect. But…something’s just not right.
Out of nowhere, the lead singer of the band on stage stops the music to invite Alyssa up to sing a song. Apparently, she used to be in the band, and everyone at the bar starts cheering for her triumphant return to the stage. She hesitantly agrees.
And there it is: Alyssa’s gay, and Holden doesn’t have a chance.
DEBATE
The next day, Alyssa surprises Holden at his office, and the two go for a stroll in the park. On this walk, they have various conversations regarding sex, sexuality, and gender roles. While a simple scene, it provides the audience with some thought-provoking (although slightly ignorant) questions to ask themselves. What constitutes sex? At what point is virginity lost? Is there even such a thing as a “sexual norm”?
Two things are made clear from this conversation: Holden definitely has some questionable opinions when it comes to sexuality, and Alyssa definitely likes him a little bit. Here lies the debate: should Holden even waste his time trying to pursue Alyssa when he knows she’s gay? Is it morally okay for him to even try? Or should he just put all of his focus on his art and forget all about her?
BREAK INTO TWO
Act 2 begins with Banky and Holden at the airport, about to head out of town for another convention, when Holden gets a call from Alyssa.
Just like that, he’s fully committed to pursuing Alyssa (who now almost definitely likes him) and completely uncommitted to focusing on his work with Banky (who’s starting to despise Alyssa).
FUN AND GAMES
Alyssa and Holden proceed to do everything a couple would do, all without actually dating. They go shopping, play skeeball, and hang out late, telling stories of their youth. They’re practically taking up all of each other’s time, and Banky’s completely pissed.
MIDPOINT
The halfway point of the script finds Holden completely at his breaking point with Alyssa. He really loves her and just can’t take being “just her friend” any longer.
Just like that, Alyssa and Holden are finally together, against all odds.
BAD TO WORSE
The next morning, Banky returns to the office to discover Alyssa and Holden naked, asleep on the couch. Without saying a word, he turns around and walks outside. Holden chases after him.
Holden sticks to his guns. He really likes this girl, and honestly, he likes the idea of being the man who turned her straight. As shitty as that sounds, it makes him feel special. So he’s going to continue dating her, no matter what Banky or anyone else tells him.
Or so he thought…
Later, Banky storms into the office and throws down a yearbook in front of Holden…Alyssa’s yearbook. And right under her photograph is the nickname “Fingercuffs”.
The weight of the possible reality torments Holden’s mind. He confers with Hooper.
Hooper is the first to point out to Holden just what an asshole he’s being (on multiple levels). Why does he care more about the fact that she’s been with guys than the fact that she’s been with a lot of people? Why should he even care if she’s been with a lot of people if he likes her? And was her being a lesbian partially the reason he liked her so much in the first place, and this whole thing stemmed from some male-gaze fetishization of Alyssa’s lifestyle? Even though he’s taking all of this into consideration, Holden still can’t help but be bothered.
BREAK INTO THREE
While attending a hockey game with Alyssa, Holden begins to confront her about her past. It starts off subtle, but he just keeps prying and prying until…
Alyssa storms out of the hockey game, and Holden quickly follows behind.
Throughout the conversation, Holden begins to realize what an asshole he’s being, but he just can’t help his feelings. Sometimes, even when you know you’re doing the wrong thing, you do it anyway. Because, well, that’s human nature.
So, once they come to the depressing conclusion that this relationship will never work, they simply go their separate ways.
Later, a depressed Holden meets up with Jay and Silent Bob, the inspiration for his comic book series, to pay them their likeness fee.
When Jay notices that something’s up with Holden, Holden catches them up on what went wrong with Alyssa. Then, out of nowhere, Silent Bob speaks…
FINALE
Something about Silent Bob’s story touched Holden, and he decided to do something to fix this Alyssa situation. A Hail Mary, so to speak, that will solve his personal problems, his relationship with Alyssa, and his relationship with Banky. He invites the two of them over to his house…
So that explains Banky’s explicit homophobia, his hatred of Alyssa, and his extreme protectiveness over Holden. And while it may seem like Holden’s idea is crazy enough to work, Alyssa refuses. She knows this will come with risks, and it might just make everything weirder instead of solving things. On top of that, this plan is a little too close to just pimping her out for his own purposes. It’s not something you do to the person you love; it’s just downright disrespectful. She explains this all to him, tells him she’s “not his whore” to do with as he wants, and walks out the door.
CLOSING IMAGE
One year later, we cut to another comic book convention. Banky sits alone at a booth, promoting his own comic book series, when a fan approaches him with a Bluntman and Chronic comic to sign.
No longer friends, but far from enemies. Sometimes, people just move on.
Meanwhile, at the same convention, we also find Alyssa and a friend at a booth signing comics. The friend leaves to grab coffee, and just as she does so, a comic drops in front of Alyssa; one that’s titled “Chasing Amy”. She looks up. It’s Holden.
WHY IT’S GREAT
This script is great for a lot of reasons. First of all, if you enjoy Kevin Smith, then you’re definitely going to love it. It has all of the same dick jokes and youthful humor that make all his movies so fun to watch. But on top of that, it actually has a very legitimate message to say. I’m not going to ramble off all the same points I already made regarding human nature and the flaws of a person’s character, but they’re all true. And what makes this film even better is that none of the characters are vilified for their imperfections. Sure, Holden’s a judgmental, insecure asshole who can’t get over his toxic masculinity enough to be with the perfect woman, but he’s not a bad guy. He just has some very deep-rooted personal problems that he has to overcome. The same goes for Banky, who constantly spews homophobic nonsense at every person who crosses his path. On the surface level, you might look at him and go “man, this guy sucks”. But in reality, he’s a closeted homosexual who never had the freedom or bravery to be who he really is. And that left him bitter, jealous, and angry at everyone who did (like Hooper and Alyssa). At the end of the day, he’s just someone who cares very deeply about his friend. And finally, we have Alyssa, whose baggage was the whole reason the plot moved in the first place. Sure, she was a little promiscuous in her youth. And sure, she lied about it to Holden in order to keep their relationship peaceful. But none of these things define her. And if the audience is able to forgive Alyssa for her mistakes, then they should be able to forgive Holden and Banky and everyone else in their lives who has said or done something wrong. Because, like I mentioned before, we’re all human. And that’s what Kevin Smith is really trying to say here.
