Editing Chasing Amy

{{short description|1997 film by Kevin Smith}}
{{for|the Brooklyn Nine-Nine episode|Chasing Amy (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{use mdy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Chasing Amy
| image          = Chasing Amy film.jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Kevin Smith]]
| producer       = [[Scott Mosier]]
| writer         = Kevin Smith
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Ben Affleck]]
* [[Joey Lauren Adams]]
* [[Jason Lee]]
* [[Dwight Ewell]]
* [[Jason Mewes]]}}
| music          = [[David Pirner]]
| cinematography = [[Dave Klein (cinematographer)|David Klein]]
| editing        = Scott Mosier<br />Kevin Smith
| studio         = {{plainlist|
* [[View Askew Productions]]
* [[View Askew Productions|Too Askew Prod., Inc.]]
}}
| distributor    = [[Miramax Films]]
| released       = {{Film date|1997|1|24|[[Sundance Film Festival|Sundance]]|1997|4|4}}
| runtime        = 113 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $250,000<ref name="productions1">{{cite news|url=http://viewaskew.com/chasingamy/synopsis.html|title=Chasing Amy: Synopsis|access-date=January 18, 2009|work=[[View Askew Productions]]}}</ref>
| gross          = $12 million<ref name="BOM">{{cite news|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=chasingamy.htm|title=Chasing Amy (1997)|access-date=January 18, 2009|work=[[Box Office Mojo]]}}</ref>
}}
'''''Chasing Amy''''' is a 1997 American [[Romance film|romantic]] [[comedy-drama]] film written and directed by [[Kevin Smith]] and starring [[Ben Affleck]], [[Joey Lauren Adams]] and [[Jason Lee]]. The third film in Smith's [[View Askewniverse]] series, the film is about a male comic artist (Affleck) who falls in love with a [[lesbian]] (Adams), to the displeasure of his best friend (Lee).

The film was inspired by a brief scene from an early film by a friend of Smith's. In [[Guinevere Turner]]'s ''[[Go Fish (film)|Go Fish]]'', one of the lesbian characters imagines her friends passing judgment on her for "selling out" by sleeping with a man. Smith was dating Adams at the time he was writing the script, which was also partly inspired by her.<ref name=Criterion>{{cite web |first=Kevin |last=Smith |author-link=Kevin Smith |date= June 26, 2000 | url = http://www.criterion.com/current/posts/79 | title = The Hows and Whys of ''Chasing Amy'' | work = The Criterion Collection | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081209052031/http://www.criterion.com/current/posts/79 | archive-date = December 9, 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The film received mostly positive reviews which praised the humor, the performances and Kevin Smith's direction. The film won two awards at the 1998 [[Independent Spirit Awards]] (Best Screenplay for Smith and Best Supporting Actor for Lee). Characters from the film would go on to appear in later Askewniverse films ''[[Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back]]'' (2001) and ''[[Jay and Silent Bob Reboot]]'' (2019), direct spin-offs of ''Chasing Amy'', with Affleck, Lee, Adams and [[Dwight Ewell]] reprising their roles in cameo appearances; Smith described the characters' roles in ''Jay and Silent Bob Reboot'' as being an "eight-page sequel" to ''Chasing Amy''.

==Plot==
While promoting their comic ''[[Bluntman and Chronic]]'' at a [[comic book convention]] in the [[Manhattan]] borough of [[New York City]], comic book artists and lifelong best friends Holden McNeil and Banky Edwards meet Alyssa Jones. A struggling writer working on her own comic ''Idiosyncratic Routine'', Alyssa is friends with Hooper, an African-American activist writer who militantly masks his flamboyantly gay personality to promote his comic ''White-Hating Coon''. Immediately attracted to her, Holden soon discovers her lesbianism while at an East Village bar called the Meow Mix.

Holden and Alyssa soon bond, as they grew up in the same area of New Jersey, with Holden and Banky being natives of [[Highlands, New Jersey|Highlands]] and Alyssa being a native of [[Middletown Township, New Jersey|Middletown]]. This upsets the homophobic Banky, who resents Alyssa for intervening in their affairs. The duo's business partnership also suffers, as they had almost signed a lucrative deal to adapt ''Bluntman and Chronic'' into an animated television series, and Banky feels that Holden has abandoned their project.

Unable to conceal his feelings any longer, Holden eventually confesses his love to Alyssa. She is initially angry and upset with him, but they later reconcile and begin a romantic relationship that night, which worsens things with Banky when he encounters them sleeping on his couch in the duo's shared studio Bank-Hold-Up in [[Red Bank, New Jersey|Red Bank]] the next morning. Banky encounters an old friend of his, who grew up with Alyssa and tells him she participated in a [[ménage à trois]] with two boys back in high school, which earned her the nickname "Finger Cuffs". Banky relays the story to Holden, who becomes deeply disturbed by the revelation, having believed that he is the first man Alyssa had ever slept with.

Believing that Banky is jealously in love with Holden, disguising his true feelings with macho sexual banter, Hooper advises Holden to be honest and truthful and ask Alyssa about her past. The following night at a hockey game, Holden confronts her and clumsily attempts to bait her into confessing, which she eventually does, and she storms out of the arena. In the parking lot, she angrily confirms the [[threesome]] but defends her past sexual experiences, wanting to continue their relationship. Holden leaves feeling unsure.

Later, Holden meets [[Jay and Silent Bob]], the inspirations for the characters Bluntman and Chronic, for lunch at a local diner. He hands them their monthly residual pay for book sales and discusses his troubles regarding Alyssa. The normally-mute Bob reveals that a couple of years earlier, he had a girlfriend named Amy in a relationship mirroring Holden's. Although he loved her, his insecurities about her past promiscuity caused him to break up with her. He regretted it and has since spent a long time "chasing Amy".

Inspired by Bob's story, Holden devises a plan to fix both his relationship with Alyssa and his fractured friendship with Banky. He invites them over and tells Alyssa that he would like to get over her past and remain her boyfriend while telling Banky that he realizes that he is in love with Holden, kissing him passionately to prove it. He proposes a threesome, which he believes will both end his envy towards Alyssa's broader experiences and resolve Banky's issues with them being a couple. The initially shocked Banky agrees to participate, but is relieved when an appalled Alyssa declines, reasoning that the offensive proposal will not salvage their relationship. Alyssa and Banky both silently depart.

One year later, at a convention, Banky, while promoting his own comic ''Baby Dave'', reveals to a fan that he now owns the publishing and creative rights to ''Bluntman and Chronic'', having dissolved his partnership with Holden. Holden silently congratulates Banky on the success of ''Baby Dave'', and Banky gestures him over to a booth hosted by Alyssa, encouraging him to speak to her. During their brief emotional conversation, Holden gives her a copy of ''Chasing Amy'', his new comic based on their failed relationship, and asks her to contact him if she has anything to say about it. After he departs, Alyssa's new girlfriend arrives and asks about him. Smiling and teary-eyed, Alyssa feigns indifference, casually moves his comic aside, and dismissively replies, "Oh, just some guy I knew."

==Cast==
{{castlist|
*[[Ben Affleck]] as Holden McNeil
*[[Joey Lauren Adams]] as Alyssa Jones
*[[Jason Lee]] as [[Banky Edwards]]
*[[Dwight Ewell]] as Hooper
*[[Jason Mewes]] as [[Jay and Silent Bob|Jay]]
*[[Kevin Smith]] as [[Jay and Silent Bob|Silent Bob]]
*[[Ethan Suplee]] as Fan
*[[Scott Mosier]] as Collector
*[[Casey Affleck]] as Little Kid
*[[Brian O'Halloran]] as Exec. #1
*[[Matt Damon]] as Exec. #2
*[[Carmen Llywelyn]] (credited as Carmen Lee) as Kim
*[[Guinevere Turner]] as Singer
*[[Joe Quesada]] (uncredited) as himself
*[[Michael Allred]] (uncredited) as himself
}}

==Production==
Kevin Smith has said over the years that ''Chasing Amy'' was inspired by his brother being gay, his relationship with Joey Lauren Adams, whom he was dating during the making of the film, and a crush his producing partner [[Scott Mosier]] had on lesbian filmmaker [[Guinevere Turner]].<ref name="Keating">{{cite news |last1=Keating |first1=Shannon |title=Looking Back at the Sexual Politics of ''Chasing Amy'' 20 Years Later |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/shannonkeating/chasing-amy-20-years-later |access-date=25 October 2023 |work=[[BuzzFeed News]] |date=April 18, 2017}}</ref><ref name="Smod">{{cite AV media|title=#97 Glazing Amy |website=[[SModcast]] |date=October 30, 2009}}</ref> Turner met Mosier and Smith at the 1994 [[Sundance Film Festival]] where their respective films, ''[[Go Fish (film)|Go Fish]]'' and ''[[Clerks (film)|Clerks]]'', had premiered. After the festival, Mosier and Turner kept in touch, with Mosier developing unrequited feelings for Turner. Smith told Mosier to channel his heartbreak into a movie about a guy who falls in love with a lesbian, but the filmmakers felt it was too lean a story, so Smith added his own experiences into the character of Holden.<ref name="Keating" /> Smith wrote, "The character of Holden is the closest to me I've ever written (casting Ben was aesthetically wishful thinking perhaps)."<ref name="Criterion" /> Smith, who said he "didn't really know that much about gay culture, and specifically lesbian culture", had Turner look at drafts of the script for her input.<ref name="Keating" /> Turner helped find the location for the bar scenes, which were shot at the since-closed Meow Mix in downtown [[Manhattan]].<ref name="Keating" />

[[Miramax|Miramax Films]] initially offered Smith a $2 million budget on the condition that he cast [[David Schwimmer]], [[Drew Barrymore]], and [[Jon Stewart]] as the leads. Smith rejected this offer in favor of a $250,000 budget with a cast of his choosing.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Callahan |first=Maureen |title=Indie Movies-Now More Than Ever! |page=106 |work=Spin |date=April 1998|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jq-A2xEoAHIC&pg=PA106 |access-date=February 14, 2024}}</ref>

==Release==

The film premiered at the [[Sundance Film Festival]] on January 24, 1997.<ref>{{cite web |date=22 January 1997 |title=Sundance Festival Schedule for Thursday and Friday |url=https://www.deseret.com/1997/1/23/19290936/sundance-festival-schedule-for-thursday-and-friday |access-date=14 February 2024 |website=[[Deseret News]] |language=en}}</ref>

On a budget of $250,000, the film grossed a total of $12,021,272 in theaters.<ref name="productions1"/><ref name="BOM"/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sciretta |first=Peter |date=2018-01-16 |title=The Best Movies Of Sundance Film Festival History 1985-1999 |url=https://www.slashfilm.com/535824/best-movies-of-sundance-film-festival-history/ |access-date= |website=[[/Film]] |language=en-US}}</ref> ''Chasing Amy'' played at three locations and earned $52,446 upon its opening weekend in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=1997&wknd=14&p=.htm|title=April 4-6, 1997 Weekend|work=[[Box Office Mojo]]|publisher=[[Internet Movie Database]]|access-date=March 29, 2012}}</ref> The following week, the film was expanded to a further 22 theaters where it grossed $302,406.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=1997&wknd=15&p=.htm|title=April 11-13, 1997 Weekend|work=[[Box Office Mojo]]|publisher=[[Internet Movie Database]]|access-date=March 29, 2012}}</ref> During the 18–20 April 1997 weekend, ''Chasing Amy'' was screened at a further 494 locations, where it earned $1,642,402 and moved into the Top 10.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=1997&wknd=16&p=.htm|title=April 18-20, 1997 Weekend|work=[[Box Office Mojo]]|publisher=[[Internet Movie Database]]|access-date=March 29, 2012}}</ref>

==Reception==
''Chasing Amy'' received positive reviews from critics. Review aggregation website [[Rotten Tomatoes]] <!-- compiled reviews retrospectively and -->reports an approval rating of 87% based on reviews from 87 critics, with a [[average|rating average]] of 7.30/10. According to the site's summary of the critical consensus, “Although ''Chasing Amy''{{'}}s depiction of queer sexuality is frustratingly clumsy, it handles an array of thorny themes with a mixture of sensitivity, raw honesty, and writer-director Kevin Smith's signature raunchy humor."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/chasing_amy/|title=Chasing Amy (1997)|work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|date=4 April 1997 |publisher=[[Fandango Media|Fandango]]|access-date=May 24, 2022}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film has a [[weighted average]] score of 71 out of 100 based on 28 reviews.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/chasing-amy|title=Chasing Amy|work=[[Metacritic]]|publisher=[[CBS Interactive]]|access-date=March 29, 2012}}</ref> Audiences polled by [[CinemaScore|Cinemascore]] gave the film a grade of "A−".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,287470,00.html |title=Critical Mass |magazine=EW.com |date=1997-04-11 |access-date=December 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202224406/https://ew.com/ew/article/0,,287470,00.html |archive-date=December 2, 2013}}</ref>

[[Roger Ebert]] of the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' gave the film three-and-a-half out of four stars, saying: {{cquote|While the surface of his film sparkles with sharp, ironic dialogue, deeper issues are forming, and ''Chasing Amy'' develops into a film of touching insights. Most romantic comedies place phony obstacles in the way of true love, but Smith knows that at some level there's nothing funny about being in love: It's a dead serious business, in which your entire being is at risk.}} Ebert believed the film was an improvement over Smith's previous effort ''[[Mallrats]]'' and he added that Adams was a discovery.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ebert |first1=Roger |date=18 April 1997 |title=Chasing Amy |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/chasing-amy-1997 |access-date=3 July 2022 |website=[[RogerEbert.com]] |language=en}}</ref>

Charles Taylor, writing for ''[[Salon (website)|Salon]]'', quipped "''Chasing Amy'' isn't going to single-handedly save romantic comedy, but Smith (''Clerks'') has made the only romantic comedy in quite a while that acknowledges, even celebrates, the fact that love and sex are emotional anarchy."<ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.salon.com/1997/05/11/amy_2/ |title=Chasing Amy|last=Taylor|first=Charles|date=May 11, 1997|work=[[Salon (website)|Salon]]|access-date=March 29, 2012}}</ref> Writing in ''[[Time Out New York]]'', [[Andrew Johnston (critic)|Andrew Johnston]] observed: "''Chasing Amy,'' Kevin Smith's third feature, does to romantic comedy what Stan Lee and Steve Ditko's ''Spider-Man'' did to superhero comics in the '60s: It makes a tired genre newly relevant by giving its characters motivations and problems that seem real."<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Johnston|first=Andrew|date=April 2–9, 1997|title=Chasing Amy|magazine=Time Out New York|pages=68}}</ref>

[[Quentin Tarantino]] considered ''Chasing Amy'' his favorite movie of 1997.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 27, 2013 |title=Quentin Tarantino talks about Chasing Amy |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgFVeWKghoM |access-date=2023-10-25 |website=[[YouTube]]}}</ref>

=== Analysis ===
In the book ''Sexual Fluidity: Understanding Women's Love and Desire'', [[Lisa M. Diamond]] cites the film as a notable example of female sexual fluidity in popular culture, writing that ''Chasing Amy'' "depicts a lesbian becoming involved with a man, contrary to the more widespread depictions of heterosexual women becoming involved in same-sex relationships."<ref>{{cite book |last=Diamond |first=Lisa M |date=2008 |title=Sexual Fluidity: Understanding Women's Love and Desire |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |publisher=Harvard University Press |page=2 |isbn=9780674032262 }}</ref>

Though the film has been praised as ahead of its time by some critics in its representation of sexual fluidity and the concept of the [[bromance]], it also received criticism, particularly for its implication that a lesbian can go straight, even if just temporarily, as soon as she meets the right guy.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Darren |first=Alison |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LCzGrV7CCbsC&pg=PA42 |title=Lesbian Film Guide |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2000 |isbn=9781441183644 |pages=42–44 |chapter=Chasing Amy}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kaiser |first=Vrai |date=2015-08-02 |title=Bisexual Hangups: How Chasing Amy Is Still Ahead of Its Time |url=https://www.themarysue.com/chasing-amy-still-ahead-of-its-time/ |access-date=2023-10-25 |website=[[The Mary Sue]] |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Keating" /> The film was criticized by Judith Kegan Gardiner in the book ''Masculinity Studies and Feminist Theory'', describing ''Chasing Amy'' as representative of a "fairly repulsive genre of films" that feature a "heterosexual conversion narrative" that is "set in motion by the desire of a heterosexual person for a seemingly unattainable gay person."<ref>{{cite book |last=Gardiner |first=Judith Kegan |date=2002 |title=Masculinity Studies and Feminist Theory |location=New York |publisher=Columbia University Press |page=346 |isbn=9780231122795 }}</ref> The scene where Alyssa is shamed by her gay friends when they discover she is dating a man also received criticism from the lesbian community.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Walters |first=Suzanna Danuta |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2pSH73isp94C&pg=164 |title=All the Rage: The Story of Gay Visibility in America |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |year=2003 |isbn=9780226872322 |pages=164}}</ref>

On the film's 20th anniversary, Smith said, "For anyone who watches the movie now and goes, like, 'Ew, these sexual politics are ... not very subtle', you’ve gotta remember: It was made by a 26-year-old, 27-year-old guy, who really didn’t know anything and was learning in that moment. As much as it’s a movie that’s closely identified with the gay community, by virtue of the fact that the main character was gay, I really never think about it as such ... To me, it was about a boy who grows up to become a man but loses everything in the process — very bittersweet."<ref name="Keating" />

In 2023, queer filmmaker Sav Rodgers released the documentary ''Chasing Chasing Amy'', which discusses the impact the film had on his life.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Collis |first=Clark |date=June 7, 2023 |title=How Kevin Smith's 'Chasing Amy' saved a queer filmmaker's life |url=https://ew.com/movies/chasing-chasing-amy-kevin-smith-sav-rodgers/ |access-date=2023-10-25 |website=EW.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Chasing Chasing Amy {{!}} 2023 Tribeca Festival |url=https://tribecafilm.com/films/chasing-chasing-amy-2023 |access-date=2023-10-25 |website=Tribeca}}</ref>

===Accolades===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
! scope="col" | Award
! scope="col" | Date of ceremony
! scope="col" | Category
! scope="col" | Recipients
! scope="col" | Result
|-
! scope="row" | [[British Independent Film Awards]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bifa.chaptermedia.com/taxonomy/term/11?page=5|title=1998 British Independent Film Awards|website=[[British Independent Film Awards]]|access-date=March 29, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120701175116/http://bifa.chaptermedia.com/taxonomy/term/11?page=5|archive-date=July 1, 2012}}</ref>
| October 29, 1998
| [[BIFA Award for Best Foreign Independent Film|Best Foreign Independent Film]]
| ''Chasing Amy''
| {{Nom}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Chicago Film Critics Association]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chicagofilmcritics.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=49&Itemid=59|title=Chicago Film Critics Awards - 1988-97|website=[[Chicago Film Critics Association]]|access-date=March 29, 2012|archive-date=August 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150822153706/http://www.chicagofilmcritics.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=49&Itemid=59|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| [[Chicago Film Critics Association Awards 1997|March 1, 1998]]
| Most Promising Actress
| Joey Lauren Adams
| {{Won}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Golden Globe Award]]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9712/18/golden.globes.list/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030325221501/http://edition.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9712/18/golden.globes.list/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 25, 2003|title=Nominees for Golden Globe Awards|date=December 18, 1997|work=[[CNN]]|publisher=[[Turner Broadcasting System]]|access-date=March 29, 2012}}</ref>
| [[55th Golden Globe Awards|January 18, 1998]]
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy|Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy]]
| Joey Lauren Adams
| {{Nom}}
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="3" | [[Independent Spirit Awards]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmthreat.com/news/119/|title=The Independent Spirit Awards: 1998|date=March 23, 1998|website=[[Film Threat]]|access-date=March 29, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190120093730/http://filmthreat.com/news/119/|archive-date=January 20, 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| rowspan="3" | [[13th Independent Spirit Awards|March 21, 1998]]
| [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| ''Chasing Amy''
| {{Nom}}
|-
| [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay]]
| Kevin Smith
| {{Won}}
|-
| [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male|Best Supporting Actor]]
| Jason Lee
| {{Won}}
|-
! scope="row" | Las Vegas Film Critics Society<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lvfcs.org/lvfcs/1997.html|title=1997 Sierra Award winners|website=Las Vegas Film Critics Society|access-date=March 29, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331155139/http://www.lvfcs.org/lvfcs/1997.html|archive-date=March 31, 2012}}</ref>
| January 1998
| Most Promising Actress
| Joey Lauren Adams
| {{Won}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-dec-14-me-64021-story.html|title='L.A. Confidential' Gets L.A. Critics' Top Award|last=Kronke|first=David|date=December 14, 1997|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=March 29, 2012}}</ref>
| [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards 1997|January 15, 1996]]
| [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay]]
| Kevin Smith
| {{Nom}}
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="2" | [[MTV Movie Awards]]<ref>{{cite web |title=1998 MTV Movie Awards |url=http://www.mtv.com/ontv/movieawards/1998/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080423094843/http://www.mtv.com/ontv/movieawards/1998/ |archive-date=April 23, 2008 |access-date=March 29, 2012 |work=[[MTV]] |publisher=[[Viacom (2005–2019)|Viacom International]]}}</ref>
| rowspan="2" | [[1998 MTV Movie Awards|May 30, 1998]]
| [[MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance|Best Breakthrough Performance]]
| Joey Lauren Adams
| {{Nom}}
|-
| [[MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss|Best Kiss]]
| Joey Lauren Adams and Carmen Llywelyn
| {{Nom}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[National Board of Review of Motion Pictures]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nbrmp.org/awards/past.cfm?year=1997|title=Awards for 1997|website=[[National Board of Review of Motion Pictures]]|access-date=March 29, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330103039/http://www.nbrmp.org/awards/past.cfm?year=1997|archive-date=March 30, 2012}}</ref>
| [[National Board of Review Awards 1997|December 8, 1998]]
| Special Recognition for Excellence in Filmmaking
| ''Chasing Amy''
| {{Won}}
|}

==Home media==
''Chasing Amy'' was released by [[the Criterion Collection]], first on Laserdisc in 1997, then on DVD in 2000. It includes audio commentary from cast and crew, [[deleted scene]]s, [[outtake]]s, and a [[trailer (film)|theatrical trailer]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Chasing Amy: Criterion Collection |url=https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/752 |website=DVD Talk |access-date=25 October 2023 |date=June 21, 2000}}</ref> The DVD adds an introduction from Kevin Smith, apologizing for saying "fuck DVD" in the commentary. Later reissues by [[Lionsgate]] and [[Paramount Home Entertainment|Paramount]] are repressings of the Criterion edition.

''Chasing Amy'' was released on [[Blu-ray|Blu-Ray]] on November 17, 2009.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Chasing Amy DVD Release Date|url=https://www.dvdsreleasedates.com/movies/3425/Chasing-Amy-(1997).html|access-date=2021-04-30|website=DVDs Release Dates|language=en}}</ref> This release includes a new commentary track, a Q&A with the cast recorded at Vulgarthon 2005, a conversation between Kevin Smith and Joey Lauren Adams, and a feature-length documentary titled "Tracing Amy" that details the making of the film and its aftermath.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Kenneth |date=November 13, 2009 |title=Chasing Amy Blu-ray Review |url=https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Chasing-Amy-Blu-ray/6370/#Review |access-date=2024-02-14 |website=blu-ray.com |language=en}}</ref>

==Novel==
In [[Japan]], the screenplay of ''Chasing Amy'' was adapted into a novel by Kenichi Eguchi and published by Aoyama Publishing. The unique concept of the book is that it is roughly half-novel, half-[[manga]], with [[Moyoko Anno]] providing the art for the comic book pages.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.viz.com/products/products.php?series_id=&series_id=62&section=profiles |title=Flowers & Bees |website=Vizmedia.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090904234656/http://www.viz.com/products/products.php?series_id=&series_id=62&section=profiles |archive-date=September 4, 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In an episode of ''[[SModcast]]'', Smith revealed that while he was thrilled to have a manga based on his film, he was shocked when he read the novelization, as the characters' sexual histories, which are just mentioned in conversation in the film, are depicted in the novel's manga illustrations as sexually graphic flashbacks.<ref name="Smod" />

Smith had the original screenplay published along with his ''Clerks'' script from [[Miramax Books]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Smith |first=Kevin |title=''Clerks'' and ''Chasing Amy'': Two Screenplays |publisher=Miramax |year=1997 |isbn=978-0786882632}}</ref>

==Soundtrack==
The film had no [[soundtrack album]] released; however, many songs appear in the movie, including "Alive,"; the song written and performed by Joey Lauren Adams in character as Alyssa,  cover of [[The Cars]]' "[[Let's Go (The Cars song)|Let's Go]]" performed by [[Ernie Isley]], "[[The Impression That I Get]]" by [[The Mighty Mighty Bosstones]], "[[Run's House (song)|Run's House]]" by [[Run-DMC]] and other songs by artists such as [[Public Enemy (band)|Public Enemy]], [[The Hang Ups]], [[Gwen Guthrie]] and [[Liz Phair]].<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2018-01-26 |title=Chasing Amy soundtrack and songs list |url=http://www.insoundtrack.com/movie/chasing-amy-1997 |access-date=2023-10-25 |website=InSoundtrack |language=en}}</ref>

Two songs by the band [[Soul Asylum]] are featured in the film: "Lucky One" and "We 3". The band had previously contributed the song ''Can't Even Tell'' to the soundtrack of Smith's 1994 debut film ''[[Clerks (1994 film)|Clerks]]''. Frontman [[Dave Pirner]] composed the incidental music for the film along with the film's theme song, "Tube of Wonderful," which plays over the opening credits.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 21, 1997 |title=Chasing Amy - Build Your Own Soundtrack |url=https://www.viewaskew.com/chasingamy/amysoundtrack.html |access-date=2023-10-25 |website=www.viewaskew.com}}</ref> The song reappears in Smith's 2001 film ''[[Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back]]'', as well as its 2019 reboot ''[[Jay and Silent Bob Reboot]]'', both times introducing the character Holden McNeil.

The [[music video]] for the song "[[Have You Seen Mary]]", performed by the band [[Sponge (band)|Sponge]], features several scenes of the film. In ''Chasing Amy'', the song is played in the scene while Holden and Hooper are at Jack's Music Shoppe.

==Cultural references==
In a scene originally written for ''[[Mallrats]]'', several principal characters share memories of sexual escapades gone awry. This scene reveals the character's own emotional "sex scars" and was purposefully created—down to the style of dialogue and set dressing—to mirror a scene from [[Steven Spielberg]]'s ''[[Jaws (film)|Jaws]]'' in which Quint and Hooper share the physical scars they've both earned from encounters with sharks. However, in this film it's used with Alyssa and Banky.<ref name=Criterion/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb title|0118842}}
* {{TCMDb title|324214}}
* {{mojo title|chasingamy}}<!-- {{Mojo title | id= 0000725 | title= Chasing Amy }} https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=chasingamy.htm -->
* [https://lumiere.obs.coe.int/movie/4223 Chasing Amy] at [[Lumiere (database)]]
* [https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Chasing-Amy Chasing Amy] at [[The Numbers (website)]] 
* {{rotten-tomatoes|chasing_amy}}
* {{Metacritic film}}
* [https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/79-the-hows-and-whys-of-chasing-amy The Hows and Whys of ''Chasing Amy''] by [[Kevin Smith]] at the [[Criterion Collection]]
* [https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2016/08/16/the-big-i/ The Big ''I'': ''Chasing Amy'' and the toxic "nerd masculinity" of the nineties] at [[The Paris Review]]
* [http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/chasing_amy.html ''Chasing Amy'' screenplay] at ''DailyScript.com''

{{Kevin Smith}}
{{Authority control}}

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