Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
30-year-old poses as high school student; violence.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Identity Theft of a Cheerleader
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In IDENTITY THEFT OF A CHEERLEADER, Vicky (Maiara Walsh) was an awkward high school girl who didn't make the cheer team, and her critical, prestige-conscious mom (Gail O'Grady) never let her forget it. Downtrodden at school and at home, Vicky seemed to accept that she was doomed to failure. Now 12 years later, she lives with a deadbeat boyfriend and works as a cashier at a big box store beside high school-age employees. Certain she can still start her life the right way, she presents a high school girl's ID to "transfer" into a local high school. Vicky, now "Caitlyn," uses her wiles to get on the cheer squad, and then deliberately injures the captain to get that spot for herself. She steals the football star away from Heather (Karis Cameron), the fellow cheerleader who has been nice and welcoming. Then Caitlyn charts a path of scheming and murder to clear the way toward the success her crazy mother assured her would be hers if she only captained her cheer squad.
Is It Any Good?
It's hard to believe a minute of this bizarre tale, which is based on a true story, but for some viewers that might be a campy plus. As one high schooler puts it, "Who would want to redo high school?"
Surely someone trying to prove herself to her impossibly critical mom would want to aim a little higher than a leadership role on a cheerleading team at the age of 30. What's hard to fathom is Vicky's transition from a girl who recognizes her mother's nastiness to someone who adopts the mom's cruel behaviors for her own purposes. Vicky cheats, schemes, and murders, suggesting that in some cases a harshly critical and loveless upbringing might create a psychopath more readily than an overachiever. The behaviors of mother and daughter, as portrayed here, seem largely preposterous.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the destructive dynamic between a relentlessly critical mother and her low self-esteem daughter. How can constant criticism affect a child?
Vicky seems to have no conscience about hurting others. Do you think some people are incapable of empathy?
What happens when people put some form of "success" above all other goals in life?
How would you define "success" in life?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : September 7, 2019
- Cast : Maiara Walsh , Karis Cameron , Gail O'Grady
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s) , Latino Movie Actor(s) , Female Movie Writer(s)
- Studios : Netflix , Lifetime
- Genre : Drama
- Topics : Family Stories ( Moms ) , School ( High School )
- Run time : 87 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : June 10, 2026
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