![]() When Megan is shipped off to conversion therapy camp True Directions, however, her feelings of indignation - "But I'm a cheerleader!" is in fact the confused kid's primary argument for why she must be straight - give way to a burning-hot crush on fellow camper Graham, played by Clea DuVall. (Among those friends, by the way, is Michelle Williams in a bit role you just gotta see.) Jamie Babbit’s campy rom-com follows Megan (Natasha Lyonne), a peppy yet pious high schooler accused of “homosexual tendencies” by her family and friends, despite insisting she is not a lesbian. It's a cinematic refresher, a perspective shakeup, a timelessly joyous watch that never fails to improve my outlook.Īn uncynical romance arguing change is always possible. Not just when I saw it as a teenager struggling to come out as queer, but pretty much every time I've watched it since. Turning 21 this year, But I'm A Cheerleader changed my life. But for LGBTQ Pride Month 2021 - an annual celebration that this year just so happens to double as the cathartic end to a global crisis - I'll be obsessing about one movie and one movie only. When family and friends fail to understand, Babbit reminds us there’s always another family, a chosen family, who will encourage us to be our whole selves.From Hedwig and the Angry Inch to The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, plenty of the movies I love are considered queer cult classics. We see that straightness cannot be forced, and personality and looks have nothing to do with sexuality. Not too sexy, though-Babbit had to make a few edits to get the movie’s rating down from NC-17 to R (a pretty clear case of anti-gay bias if you ask me).Īt its core, But I’m a Cheerleader is a silly, saccharine take-down of conversion therapy. Megan and Graham’s love story is both heartwarming and sexy. Although inspired by John Waters, But I’m a Cheerleader has a strong romantic sensibility. In fact, Jamie Babbit’s intention seems to be pretty simple-humor and appreciation for queer love. But I’m a Cheerleader doesn’t aim to make you cry. More recent films, like The Miseducation of Cameron Post, have taken on the abject cruelty of this experience through a dramatic lens. Characters make countless innuendos (some intentional, mostly not), such as counselor Mike working on a car and asking male campers, “Who wants to go down with me?” Nearly every hand goes up.Īs of 2019, nearly 700,000 LGBTQ adult in the US are estimated to have received conversion therapy. The ironic result is that campers spend plenty of time in close proximity with their preferred genders. At True Directions, the campers are made to wear either pink or blue outfits and engage in stereotypical gendered activities. ![]() The vivid color palette, fabulous casting choices (see RuPaul as an “ex-gay” camp counselor who clearly hasn’t lost his appreciation for men), and general mocking tone towards straight culture all make it a clear example of camp cinema. Whenever “camp” comes up in conversation, I can’t resist bringing up this movie. Despite her denial, Megan winds up at True Directions, where she and her fellow campers go through a five-step program to convert to heterosexuality. Clued in by her interests in vegetarianism and lesbian singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge, Megan’s friends and family stage an intervention. Released in an era rife with bleak depictions of LGBTQ relationships, But I’m a Cheerleader is a lighthearted film that never ignores the challenges of going against heterosexuality. Natasha Lyonne’s Megan Bloomfield is enduringly peppy, charmingly naive, and essentially, an all-American girl. Of all the queer films I binged during that era, Jamie Babbit’s tale of a high-school cheerleader sent to conversion therapy camp left one of the firmest impressions. I first watched this movie when I was in high school, sure of my queerness but not quite sure what love could look like. It’s hard to put to words the cultural behemoth that is But I’m a Cheerleader. Film, Go To GO TO: But I’m a Cheerleader (2000) dir.
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