| ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. | |
| PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. | |
| OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. | |
| NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Parents need to know that this movie depicts teenage gays and lesbians in their first sexual experiences. There's kissing and making out by boys with boys and girls with girls. There's also implied masturbation and one sex scene (handled discretely -- you don't see anything). Teens go to a gay bar called the Cocksucker. Parents reject their children for their sexual orientation and the teens must find a place to live when they fail to become straight. There's also some cursing, smoking, and drinking.
In BUT I'M A CHEERLEADER, Megan (Natasha Lyonne) is an innocent. As she says, "I'm not perverted! I go to church, I get good grades... I'm a cheerleader!" But her parents and friends suspect she has an "unnatural" attraction toward other girls. Their proof? She's vegetarian, she listens to Melissa Etheridge, she has pictures of girls in her locker, and she hates kissing her boyfriend. They whisk her off to True Directions, a campy version of real-life ex-gay ministries, to straighten her out. Surrounded by fey boys and some tough girls, Megan realizes she's attracted to girls and starts a relationship with one of the girls (Clea DuVall). Meanwhile, True Directions instructors Mike (de-dragged RuPaul) and Mary (Cathy Moriarty), try to bring them back into the heterosexual fold with instruction on proper gender roles and talk therapy.
But I'm a Cheerleader is a satire, and as such, is over-the-top. Girls aren't just girls -- they wear pink and live in sickeningly pink bedrooms. Boys aren't just boys -- they all should learn how to fix cars and play sports. And they definitely shouldn't be gay. But behind all the camp, this is a love story between two girls. It's the classic girl meets girl, girl loses girl, girl tries to get girl back.
But the obvious creepiness of True Directions gets tiring. Director Jamie Babbitt doesn't trust you to understand their icky tactics. Instead, she has Mary "planting" plastic flowers and everyone wearing ridiculously gender-specific colors (pink and blue, natch). In the end, if you can get past the preaching and the campiness, what you have is a love story and a lesson for teens about being true to who you really are -- no matter how strong the pressure is to be otherwise.
Families can talk about their feelings about homosexuality and the gay reform movement. They can also talk about gender roles and stereotypes, and whether or not they feel the pressure to conform to such rigid standards.
| Studio: | Lionsgate |
| Director: | Jamie Babbitt |
| Cast: | Cathy Moriarty, Clea Duvall, Natasha Lyonne, Ru Paul |
| Genre: | Comedy |
| Run time: | 85 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | July 10, 1999 |
| DVD release date: | July 22, 2003 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | sexual situations and adult subject matter |