Chasing Amy.

Chasing Amy

* Written and directed by Kevin Smith Starring Ben Affleck, Joe Lauren Adams

* Miramax Home Video

* $32.99

Upon Chasing Amy's DVD release, Cathay Che revisits the film from a queer woman's perspective

Kevin Smith's 1997 film Chasing Amy is just like my kid brother--alternately adorable and exasperating and full of cocky witticisms about life with very little experience to back them up. Unfortunately, when I first saw this 20-something comedy about a straight "comix" geek (Ben Affleck) who falls head over heels for a smart-mouthed lipstick lesbian (Joey Lauren Adams), I thought it was actually going to be ... oh ... about lesbians.

All I knew about it at the time was that it was filmed in my favorite East Village dyke bar, Meow Mix, and the filmmakers (Smith and his producer, Scott Mosier) were pals with Go Fish's writer-star Guinevere Turner (who also makes a cameo in the film). But these authentic elements are misleading and totally out of place in a movie that is basically a twisted take on the male fantasy of (to use the language of the film) "deep-dicking" a hot, manfriendly "carpet muncher."

Of course, Smith and company never claimed Chasing Amy was a "lesbian film," and with that in mind, watching it a second time on video, I almost enjoyed it. It's clever and funny; it has some challenging things to say about homoerotic undercurrents in men's friendships and men's fear of complicated, sexually realized women. And as a bisexual woman myself, I liked the idea of Adams's character, Alyssa Jones, an adventurous woman who is open to finding love across gender lines. But Joey Lauren Adams, who at the time was dating Smith and who screams "straight suburban girl," is completely unbelievable from start to finish in her role. For anyone who really knows lesbians, this is a serious breach of the suspension of disbelief. Had the part been played by a stronger performer, it would have had far more substance and would have struck a chord with queer women--even if they didn't like the idea of a character who calls herself a lesbian falling in love with a man.

But again, as much as it would be silly to seek deep insights into lesbian culture from my 18-year-old video game-addicted brother, it would be a misplaced expectation to look to Chasing Amy for anything more than a few zany comedy sketches and irreverent dirty jokes.

Che is a contributing editor of Time Out New York and author of a new biography, Deborah Harry.