Kevin Smith recalls the time Ellen walked out of the theater during a screening of ‘Chasing Amy’
Chasing Amy, the 1997 Kevin Smith rom-com with a rather complicated legacy. Evaluating its problematic nature and place in gay media is the subject of new documentary Chasing Chasing Amy.
Nevertheless, Smith has been aware of its issues since the initial release, thanks to one scathing review from “the most famous lesbian in the world.”Subscribe to our newsletter for a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.Ellen DeGeneres.The Clerks director shared the story with queer documentarian Sav Rodgers, who developed the new project as a means of unpacking his deep connection to the ’90s flick. (While its theatrical release was met with little to no controversy, it’s since been criticized for promoting the trope that lesbians can “turn” straight for the right man.)After being asked if he understood “why certain LGBTQ+ people may not like Chasing Amy,” Smith explained that he “got used to that on the f*cking first week it came out.”“The biggest blowback … was when they told me Ellen and [then-partner] Anne Heche went to see Chasing Amy, and it was reported that they walked out in the first half hour,” he recalled. “[We were] like, ‘Well, that’s the most famous lesbian in the world.
We just lost her. That means we’re never getting on The Ellen Show.’”For those unfamiliar with Smith’s film, it follows a struggling comic book artist (Ben Affleck) who falls in love with a lesbian (Joey Lauren Adams) and attempts to woo her, much to the detriment of other relationships in his life.To be fair, the movie arrived at a unique time for LGBTQ+ representation, hitting theaters the same year DeGeneres came out in her sitcom and IRL.
Although Chasing Amy was a surprise box office hit, DeGeneres’ career didn’t fare as well; after receiving death and bomb threats, her eponymous show was canceled a season later.Quarantine cleaning my office and I found a CHASING AMY ticket stub from 1997, as well as drink coasters from a.
