Smith keeps indie vibe with emotional ‘Chasing Amy’ (1997)

In his four 1990s films, writer-director Kevin Smith challenges himself more each time. So while it’s up for debate whether “Chasing Amy” (1997) is his best film up to this point, it’s certainly his most robust and layered. And his most complex to describe.

Simple geekery and complex romance

For instance, Alyssa (Joey Lauren Adams) – no, she’s not named Amy – is often labeled a lesbian in synopses, but she’s bisexual. The label might be for the sake of the film’s twist, which I admit shocked me cuz I hadn’t seen the film since it came out (and my immature self didn’t like it back then).

After Holden’s (Ben Affleck) confession of love, Alyssa storms out into the rain, but then she storms back – into his arms!

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Alternatively, Alyssa’s incorrect label might’ve come about because gay people were a new thing for mainstream Hollywood storytelling in 1997, and society wasn’t ready for that next level of complexity.

At a quick glance, “Chasing Amy” is a departure from the pop-culture geekery of “Clerks” and “Mallrats.” But really it’s not.

It’s even more steeped in that world. Many scenes are filmed at New York Comic-Con, and Holden and Banky (Jason Lee, mellowed from “Mallrats”) are the creators of “Bluntman & Chronic.”

At one of the conventions, Hooper X (Dwight Ewell) rants about “Return of the Jedi,” arguing – inexplicably, but it’s for the sake of a joke – that the Empire represents oppressed black people. This ranks among Smith’s most cringeworthy “Star Wars” references, but we have to remember “Amy” came out before “Episode I.”

Then there’s Banky’s classic rant about how he’s not a “tracer,” he’s an inker.

You, your girlfriend, and me

Yet “Amy” is not as comedic as Smith’s first two films. Or rather, our final impression is not that we’ve watched a comedy. This is because the laughs are separate from the romance. The relationship between Holden and Alyssa goes through many emotions, but rom-com style guffaws are not among them.

For a complex, controversial film about sexual preference and activity, Smith impressively threads the needle so “Amy” can be read universally.

Up until that surprising moment where we learn Alyssa is attracted to Holden, the film plays like a tale of heartache where one person falls for another who doesn’t return the love. Smith gets a lot of mileage out of this awkward situation.

Holden starts falling for Alyssa even before he finds out she’s queer, but even afterward, they have tons of fun hanging out, and – woopsie – he’s in love with her.

Later, it’s suggested that Banky is gay, and attracted to his best friend. But if this film didn’t have that element, Banky’s concern for Holden being in a relationship with Alyssa is valid – even if his stated reasons (such as Alyssa possibly having STDs) are mean and nasty.

Points of view

Although “Chasing Amy” is a guy’s rom-com, Alyssa is a fully developed character (too fully developed for Holden’s taste, as it turns out). And Holden, despite being a male lead written by a guy, comes off as an idiot.

Partially this is on purpose: Indeed, Silent Bob (Smith) tells Holden the titular story from his own life. It mirrors not only what Holden is going through so far, but also the mistake he’ll make after that: rejecting his perfect match over something that he’ll later realize was trivial.

And partially Holden comes off this way because he represents an antiquated 1990s way of thinking. True, the film challenges all of Holden’s positions on what are accepted norms. But he’s the main character, so his views have weight, and the movie (and Alyssa) forgives him for his old-fashioned thinking.

Which is good and right. Banky’s mean-spiritedness is enough; we don’t want the movie itself to end with that vibe. But Holden’s POV is also why “Amy” is often labeled Smith’s most dated film.

A specific point in time

Ah, but that puts it more firmly in 1997, and I’m not going to complain about that. Comic book conventions before they became corporate. A CD-store walk-and-talk. Soul Asylum on the soundtrack – appropriately with “We 3” and its cagey lyrics that can be interpreted different ways — and band leader Dave Pirner providing a nice piano-heavy score.

Plus, Smith still has that rough-and-tumble style, sometimes swinging the camera back and forth to capture two sides of a scene. Sometimes the video and audio are a little amateurish.

But his pre-polished style (the transition comes with 2001’s “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back”) also means we get golden performances. Emotional speeches by Affleck and Adams are often recorded in a single take. At the same time, “Amy” is a bigger film than Smith’s first two, so no mediocre takes make it into the final edit.

With her high voice and quirky looks, Adams is as unconventional a female lead as her character. Affleck is more measured and likable than we had seen him, making this one of his breakthrough films. Lee is more controlled after the showmanship of “Mallrats.”

Even though I don’t rank it as Smith’s best film, “Chasing Amy” hits a sweet spot. It’s his most mature movie up to this point, yet his indie aesthetic remains. Smith isn’t a storytelling “adult” yet; he’s still fascinated by relationships and attempts to codify them.

His passion for the material runs through his actors to the audience.