Natasha Lyonne wonders how she could possibly be gay in 1999's But I'm a Cheerleader. Coming from a time when homosexuality was still a somewhat, kind of taboo topic, the film feels very softball to-day. Most of the jokes don't really land but the romance between Lyonne and Clea DuVall's character is really sweet.
With all the deliberately artificial sets and costumes, the film feels more like an idle fantasy between two girlfriends getting high together, giggling as they discuss what it would've been like if they'd met in conversion therapy.
Cathy Moriarty plays the strict headmistress, let's call her, of the conversion camp--camp being the key word here. Step one is getting inmates to admit they're gay, then conversion can begin. So Lyonne's character, Megan, is forced to reflect on the pinups of women she keeps in her locker at school and on how she dislikes kissing her boyfriend. Clea DuVall's character, Graham, is the bad seed who likes to sneak out and go to gay bars at night. Maybe the best way to tell you what kind of humour this movie has is to say that RuPaul plays one of the conversion therapists.
The film was directed by Jamie Babbit who's gone on to have a long and very solid career directing television. She's directed episodes of Gilmore Girls, The Orville, Only Murders in the Building, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, among many others. It's kind of funny seeing Lyonne playing someone who's supposed to be a stereotypical cheerleader when nowadays she's basically become Columbo. She's good and her innocent Megan with hard boiled Graham is a very sweet combo.
But I'm a Cheerleader is available on The Criterion Channel.
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