Movies

LGBT Movies: But I’m a Cheerleader (1999)

Megan follows the rules. She goes to church. She gets good grades. She’s a cheerleader. But her peers realize something she doesn’t. Megan is a lesbian. Her parents quickly ship her off to a conversion camp. There she’ll meet her first love and find her true self.

But I’m a Cheerleader confused some critics in 1999. The opening act suggested a raunchy satire. The setting promised a grim melodrama. Instead, filmmaker Jamie Babbit and co-writer Brian Peterson offered a cotton candy romcom. There’s pain at the fringes. But the film isn’t here to eviscerate the hypocrites and charlatans who run these programs. It simply thumbs its nose at them and casts them aside.

Natasha Lyonne gives a fantastic performance. She’s the glue that holds a scattershot film together. Clea DuVall makes a strong impression, with less screen time, as her rebellious love interest. Cathy Moriarty nearly steals the film as the deluded camp counselor. The ensemble is an embarrassment of riches with vivid cameos from Michelle Williams, Mink Stole, RuPaul and flock of TV mainstays. The most memorable part for me is the production design. Alix Friedberg’s costumes and Rachel Kameran’s sets imagine the camp as a candy colored doll house for heteronormative play.

Let’s quickly recap the plot. Spoilers ahead.

Hang Up The Chick Habit

Scene One: Denial
CATHY MORIARTY (Chief counselor): Welcome to True Directions. We’re here to heal you degenerates.
RUPAUL (Co-counselor): Worry not kids. I was once a gay. Now I’m an ex-gay.
NATASHA LYONNE (Age 17): But I’m not gay. I’m a cheerleader. I don’t know why my parents sent me here.
CATHY: You eat tofu, listen to Melissa Etheridge and keep pin-up posters in your locker.
NATASHA: Oh my God! I’m a lesbian!

Scene Two: Exercises
CATHY: Our exercises will establish traditional gender roles. The boys will chop wood while the women clean house. Stroke those vacuum cleaners.
NATASHA: I’ll do my best.
CLEA DUVALL: This place is a racket, pom-poms. You can’t change. The trick is not getting caught.
NATASHA: Then why are you here?
CLEA: I got caught.

Scene Three: Rebellion
CLEA: Let’s sneak into a gay bar. Then dance with other people while staring at each other. It’ll be just like Get Real.
NATASHA: Is that a gay film? I don’t watch those. Because I’m not…
(Clea kisses Natasha.)
NATASHA: Do that again.
(After a few montages they have sex. A jealous rival turns them in.)

Scene Four: Graduation
MEAN PARENTS: Drop this gay thing. Or you can’t come home.
CLEA: I’ll cooperate.
CATHY: Of course you will. Now simulate sex with my hot gay son.
RUPAUL: Yes ma’am! Oh… you meant Clea.
NATASHA: (dons her cheerleader uniform.) Two-four-six-eight. We both know that we aren’t straight. Let’s-run-away-please! I’ve found a queer youth shelter where we can earn our GEDs!
(Clea runs away with Natasha. They kiss.)

THE END

Come To My Window

I’m really interested in the theme of repression. It’s fascinating to me. ~ Filmmaker Jamie Babbit

What happens next? A brief epilogue shows Lyonne’s parents attending a PFLAG meeting. The rest of the teens will have to find their own way. But I’m a Cheerleader premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 1999. It toured the circuit, then went on to a wide release in 2000. It retains a cult audience. The film was remastered in 2020. It was adapted into a stage musical in 2005 and revised in 2022.

When I first saw the film, I was disappointed that it didn’t maintain the hilarity of the opening act. The romance seemed too blandly sincere for the cartoon world it was set in. The silly camp activities ignored the violence and psychological torture that occurs at those places. But I’ve since watched a range of conversion “therapy” films, across a variety of genres. But I’m a Cheerleader is no longer asked to represent everyone’s experience. The film, like its heroine, is free to be its quirky self.

You can find more of my reviews on The Avocado, Letterboxd and Serializd. My podcast, Rainbow Colored Glasses, can be found here.

Some resources:

  • PFLAG: Parents and Families of Lesbians and Gays
  • The Trevor Project: A national 24-hour, toll free confidential suicide hotline for LGBTQ youth.
  • Lambda Legal: Resources for LGBT youth by state.