In CHASING CHASING AMY, filmmaker Sav Rodgers takes a journey of self-discovery while making a documentary about Kevin Smith’s‘ ‘Chasing Amy’‘ and its polarising reputation among the LGBTQ+ community. The film explores the transformational impact of a ‘90s rom-com on a 12 year old kid from Kansas, coming of age and contending with queer identity. For young Sav Rodgers , the Kevin Smith cult classic, CHASING AMY, became a life raft. As Rodgers examines the film and its making as a cornerstone of LGBTQ+ cinema, he finds himself at a complicated crossroads.
The documentary features exclusive interviews with key figures including Kevin Smith, Joey Lauren Adams, Jason Lee, Guinevere Turner, Scott Mosier, Andrew Ahn, Robert Hawk, Princess Weekes and Academy Award-winner Kevin Willmott.
Sav Rodgers journey towards making this film started with a TED Talk he gave in 2018 about how watching Chasing Amy had helped him get through some tough times, the talk resonated with a lot of people online and gained some traction even leading to some of the film’s creators and stars to reach out to Sav and that process is documented here; it is a film that wears it’s heart on it’s sleeve with the film-maker being front and centre and the story of making the film is woven into it. 
We do see a great selection of interviews with the film’s director Kevin Smith, stars (including an incredibly raw interview with actress Joey Lauren Adams that turns out to pivotal to the film’s story) and other commentators offering insightful and varying perspectives on the films legacy and impact and how it can be problematic when viewed as as queer film. However the most compelling part of ‘Chasing Chasing Amy’ is following the film makers own journey and relationships through the process of making the film and coming to terms with their own identity and sexuality and letting us into some incredibly vulnerable and personal moments along the way which are sure to resonate. Overall the film is incredibly accomplished and feels more like a conversation with the viewer and is wrapped around with some fun ‘comic book’ style graphics used as a device to mark chapters in the story and a very 90’s indie film vibe that is fitting for the subject matter.
5/5 – What starts out as an insightful retrospective look at ‘Chasing Amy’ as a queer film turns into an incredibly moving story of the film-makers own journey with their identity and sexuality.
Following its festival and limited theatrical run, CHASING CHASING AMY is finally be available to a wider audience via VOD platforms in the USA/Canada from December 17th, 2024.
The film’s Virtual World Premiere w/ LIVE Q&A featuring Sav Rodgers & Kevin Smith is also available to stream until January 18th 2025 worldwide.
Watch ‘Chasing Chasing Amy’ now on Amazon in the USA/Canada
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Indie Mac User 