But I'm a Cheerleader (1999)

Director:

Jamie Babbit

Writers:

Brian Wayne Peterson (screenplay)
Jamie Babbit (story)

Release Date:

16 November 2000 (Australia)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance | Drama

Tagline:

A Comedy Of Sexual Disorientation

Plot:

A naive teenager is sent to rehab camp when her straitlaced parents and friends suspect her of being a lesbian.

Plot Keywords:

Lesbian | Cheerleader | Rehab | Gay | Homosexual

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Natasha Lyonne	...	Megan
Michelle Williams	...	Kimberly
Brandt Wille	...	Jared
Bud Cort	...	Peter
Mink Stole	...	Nancy
RuPaul	...	Mike (as RuPaul Charles)
Katie Donahue	...	Cheerleader #1
Danielle Reneau	...	Cheerleader #2
Cathy Moriarty	...	Mary Brown
Eddie Cibrian	...	Rock
Melanie Lynskey	...	Hilary
Clea DuVall	...	Graham
Katrina Phillips	...	Jan
Katharine Towne	...	Sinead
Joel Michaely	...	Joel
Douglas Spain	...	Andre
Dante Basco	...	Dolph
Kip Pardue	...	Clayton
Kyle Thatcher	...	Joel's Father
Robert Pine	...	Mr. Eaton
Rachelle Carson	...	Graham's Stepmom
Wesley Mann	...	Lloyd
Richard Moll	...	Larry
Julie Delpy	...	Lipstick Lesbian
Charles Braden	...	Bruce
Jacqueline Aguirre	...	Extra
Amy Ash	...	Extra
William Bilaclac	...	Extra
Patricia Cadena	...	Extra
Thai Chau	...	Extra
Jeff Diehl	...	Extra
Tony Dimaio	...	Extra
Robert Francis	...	Extra
Katina Garrett	...	Extra
Terri Gloyd	...	Extra
Candi Guterres	...	Extra
Nathan Hayden	...	Extra
Ryan Nick Hilckmann	...	Extra
My Hua	...	Extra
Sam Irwin	...	Extra
Justine Jagoda	...	Extra
Jolynn Jones	...	Extra
Seth Jones	...	Extra
Bret Keisel	...	Extra
Carolyn Krieger	...	Extra
Rocky Leiva	...	Extra
Alfred Leivas	...	Extra
Linda Lichtman	...	Extra
Beverly Neufield	...	Extra
Lonnie Moreno	...	Extra
Sheri Ozeki	...	Extra (as Sherri Ozeki)
Charlene Pascall	...	Extra
Christopher Perez	...	Extra
Jenny Rounds	...	Extra
Marilyn Sanders	...	Extra
Andrew Seder	...	Extra
Bambi Shulte	...	Extra
Dawn Stobaugh	...	Extra
Heidi Sulzman	...	Extra
Manuel Tombakian	...	Extra
Jeffrey Vandenburgh	...	Extra (as Jeffrey Vandenberg)
Dawn Zika	...	Extra
Lindsay Calnon	...	Cheerleader
Charlene Hooper	...	Cheerleader
Jamie Jessick	...	Cheerleader
Angela Klein	...	Cheerleader
Kristina Klein	...	Cheerleader
Kimberly Martinez	...	Cheerleader
Michelle Patterson	...	Cheerleader
Bethany Swader	...	Cheerleader
Katy Swader	...	Cheerleader
Danielle Vachal	...	Cheerleader
Jenni Pulos	...	Cheerleader (as Jeni Pulos)
Niki York	...	Cheerleader
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert Farrior	...	Extra (uncredited)
Ione Skye	...	Kelly (uncredited)

Directed by
Jamie Babbit

Writing credits
Brian Wayne Peterson		(screenplay)
Jamie Babbit		(story)

Produced by
Effie Brown	....	line producer (as Effie T. Brown)
Michael Burns	....	executive producer
Marc Butan	....	executive producer
Leanna Creel	....	producer
Andy Kaplan	....	co-executive producer
Donald Kushner	....	executive producer
Peter Locke	....	executive producer
Alexis Magagni-Seely	....	co-executive producer
Andrea Sperling	....	producer

Original Music by
Pat Irwin

Cinematography by
Jules Labarthe		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Cecily Rhett

Casting by
Sheila Jaffe
Julia Kim
Georgianne Walken

Production Design by
Rachel Kamerman

Art Direction by
Macie Vener

Costume Design by
Alix Friedberg

Makeup Department
Walter Kenyon	....	assistant hair stylist
Walter Kenyon	....	assistant makeup artist
Rosemary Lawrence	....	key makeup artist
Michele Lewis	....	assistant hair stylist
Michele Lewis	....	assistant makeup artist
Nicholas Serino	....	key hair stylist

Production Management
Effie Brown	....	unit production manager (as Effie T. Brown)
Ross Guidici	....	post-production supervisor
Wendy Kutzner	....	production supervisor (as Wendy J. Kutzner)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
James Barrett	....	second second assistant director
Van Hayden	....	first assistant director
Linns Williamson	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Rob Alexander	....	carpenter
Treven Bedwell	....	lead man (as Morgan Treven Bedwell)
Lisa Cherry	....	scenic artist
Leslie Davidson	....	art department seamstress
Candi Guterres	....	property master
Jed Hallaway	....	carpenter
Pearl Hsiung	....	title illustrator
Susan Hutchinson	....	lead scenic artist
Eric Jobson	....	carpenter
Melissa R. Jones	....	scenic artist (as Melissa Jones)
Bill Kincaid	....	swing gang
Frank Lawas	....	assistant property master
Minette Lew	....	art department seamstress
Peter Mathus	....	swing gang (as Peter Mathis)
Takashi Matsubara	....	swing gang
Bryan Matulay	....	property master (as Bryan Daniel Matulay)
Frank Mazzotta	....	carpenter
Patricia R. Mitchell	....	scenic artist (as Patricia Mitchel)
Gayle Mosely	....	art department seamstress
Jeff Nakao	....	swing gang
Steve Nestlerode Jr.	....	construction coordinator
Kat Pankam	....	art department assistant
Nick Ralbovsky	....	on-set dresser
Andrea Rutledge	....	lead art department seamstress
Margie Schnibbe	....	assistant property master
Kye B. Sharp	....	carpenter
Brent Smith	....	carpenter
Suzette Stotts	....	scenic artist
Adam Svatek	....	carpenter
Tracy Michele Tabb	....	graphic designer (as Tracy Tabb)
Jed Hathaway	....	set dresser (uncredited)

Sound Department
Trip Brock	....	supervising sound editor
Stan Bush	....	sound effects editor
Eric A. Christoffersen	....	sound consultant: Dolby (as Eric Christoffersen)
Kevin Compayre	....	boom operator
Jason DeLaurentis	....	assistant sound editor
Jim Eustace	....	foley artist
Shawn Holden	....	sound mixer
Daniel S. Irwin	....	adr supervisor
Todd Langner	....	adr mixer
Jen MacNeill	....	foley artist
Greg Morgenstein	....	assistant sound editor (as Greg Morganstein)
Tim O'Connell	....	sound re-recording mixer
Peter Persaud	....	foley recordist (as Pete Persaud)
Scott Purdy	....	foley recordist
Scott Purdy	....	sound re-recording mixer
Lee Starkman	....	assistant sound editor
Ronald J. Webb	....	sound effects editor
Skip Williams	....	dialogue editor
Brad Zoern	....	foley recordist (as Brad Zorn)
Mark Zsifkovits	....	sound re-recording mixer
Dennis C. Salcedo	....	sound mixer (uncredited)
Jenessa Salcedo	....	sound utility (uncredited)
Mike Woroniuk	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Tony Venezia	....	digital effects: THDX
Christopher Dusendschon	....	in-show optical process and effects compositor: THDX (uncredited)
Christopher Dusendschon	....	optical element Hazeltine colorist: THDX (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Mike Bergstrom	....	first assistant camera
Kevin Cadwallader	....	electrician
Eric Cross	....	best boy grip
Amy Hoffecker	....	electrician
Jeffrey G. Hunt	....	Steadicam operator (as Jeffrey Hunt)
Patrick Lennon	....	gaffer (as Packy Lennon)
Mark Lipson	....	still photographer
Denis Maloney	....	camera operator: "b" camera (as Dennis Maloney)
Eamon McGillicuddy	....	key grip
Gabe Miller	....	grip (as Gabriel Miller)
John M. Plume	....	electrician
Beth Puorro	....	second assistant camera
David C. Romano	....	grip (as David Christian Romano)
David A. Seekins	....	camera loader (as David Seekins)
Jandy Sexton	....	grip
Joann Sweiven	....	best boy electric
Chris Thornton	....	grip
Michael Valenzuela	....	grip
Jon Weiner	....	electrician (as Jonathan M. Weiner)

Casting Department
Sherry Aude	....	extras casting: Millennium Casting
Victor Dagan	....	extras casting: General Casting
Jessie Disla	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Kimmie Furlong	....	costume supervisor
Frank Helmer	....	set costumer
Larry Karns	....	tailor
Kim Kottler	....	wardrobe intern

Editorial Department
Jon Cinman	....	post-production assistant
Adam Clark	....	color timer
Bryson Jones	....	avid technician
Mike Knibbs	....	post-production assistant
Mary Nelson-Duerrstein	....	negative cutter: Executive Cutting
Joel T. Pashby	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Ryan Brown	....	assistant music supervisor
William Garrett	....	music producer
William Garrett	....	music recordist
Pat Irwin	....	musician: guitars, keyboard
Sara J. Seiver	....	musician: cellist
Stephen E. Smith	....	music supervisor
Greg Vossberg	....	music editor
David Falzone	....	music consultant (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Tom Calzia	....	transportation captain
Jeffrey F. Jones	....	driver (as Jeff Jones)
Luis Mata	....	driver
Manuel Ruiz	....	driver
Steve Shoemaker	....	driver
Kevin Simmons	....	driver
Darcy Souza	....	driver
Travis Stake	....	driver
Vaughn Wahlen	....	driver
Greag Waldrop	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Ray Amador	....	location intern
Jose Avitia	....	titles and opticals: Title House
Michael Back	....	set production assistant
Blake Busby	....	titles and opticals: Title House
Genevieve Chalom	....	assistant: Ms. Creel
Lara Cody	....	adr loop group
Nicole Colombie	....	production secretary
Robert Darwell	....	legal counsel: Troup, Steuber, Rasich, Reddick & Tobey (as Robert A. Darwell)
Shawn Davis	....	production coordinator
Karen Marls Dimwiddie	....	assistant accountant
Michael Enriquez	....	set production assistant
Kai Ephron	....	location manager
Ted Gidlow	....	production executive: Ignite
Kent Hamilton	....	production insurance
Candice Hinds	....	choreographer: cheerleaders
Ben Hines	....	set production assistant
Heather Jones	....	choreographer: cheerleaders
Nikki Kelber	....	unit publicist: MPRM
Nikki LaRosa	....	office production assistant
Sandy Laureno	....	craft service
Michael Lawson	....	unit publicist: MPRM
Monika Lowe	....	set production assistant
Bernice Moschini	....	production accountant (as Bernice B. Moschini)
Jonathan Nichols	....	adr loop group
Mark Patterson	....	key set production assistant
Jennifer Rae Smith	....	titles and opticals: Title House
Irwin M. Rappaport	....	production attorney (as Irwin M. Rappaport Esq.)
Kristi Reed	....	epk: Farm Fresh Productions
Michael Reisz	....	adr loop group
Dan Riley	....	legal assistant
Ian Root	....	assistant location manager
Tino Sage	....	epk: Farm Fresh Productions
Marcia Scanlon	....	office production assistant
Pat Scanlon	....	production coordinator
Eddie Schmidt	....	hot gluer
Marianne Shiffrar	....	payroll accountant
Michael Sipes	....	post-production accountant (as Michael D. Sipes)
Robert 'Skid' Skidmore	....	set production assistant
Winnie Tanaka	....	script supervisor (as Carrie 'Winnie' Tanaka)
Daisy Tormé	....	adr loop group
Truman Van Dyke	....	production insurance

Thanks
Keith Allan	....	thanks
Mark Allan	....	thanks
Gregg Araki	....	thanks
Harold Babbit	....	thanks
Nikki Babbit	....	thanks
Jen Baers	....	thanks: Digital Soup
Scott Bernstein	....	thanks
Tom Bianchi	....	thanks
Ridge Blackwell	....	thanks
L.D. Brinkman	....	thanks
Pete 'The Chairman' Burns	....	thanks
Melissa Busby	....	thanks
Fernando Cardenas	....	thanks
Chic Chaldu	....	thanks: Sony Pictures Studios, Property
Morty Coyle	....	thanks
Winston Creel	....	thanks
Rachel deBrier	....	thanks
David Drake	....	thanks
Julia Drumheller	....	thanks (as Julie Drumheller)
Clea DuVall	....	thanks
Melissa Etheridge	....	thanks: Island/Polygram Records & WF Leopold Management
Keythe Farley	....	thanks
Robert Farrior	....	thanks (as Rob Farrior)
Michael Fisher	....	thanks
Molly Fitzsimons	....	thanks (as Molly FitzSimons)
R. Lee Fleming Jr.	....	thanks (as Lee Fleming)
Matt Frauman	....	thanks
Morgan J. Freeman	....	thanks
Ari Gold	....	thanks
Kal Gowdy	....	thanks
Enid Graddis	....	thanks
David Hagberg	....	thanks (as Dave Hagberg)
Martha Haight	....	thanks
Christopher Johnson	....	thanks
Mark Kaplan	....	thanks
Heather Kindberg	....	thanks
Josh Kramon	....	thanks
Steven Levy	....	thanks
Patty Long	....	thanks
Christopher Makos	....	thanks
Tony Maxwell	....	thanks
Jeffrey Nicholson	....	thanks
Narween Otto	....	thanks
Christine Palczynski	....	thanks
Julie Pearce	....	thanks
Jodi Peikoff	....	thanks
Angela Robinson	....	thanks
Victoria Robinson	....	thanks
Matt Saver	....	thanks (as Matthew Saver)
Joan Scheckel	....	thanks
Jenny Shimizu	....	thanks
Parker Shipp	....	thanks
Debi Shockley	....	thanks
Ione Skye	....	thanks
Kelly Sounders	....	thanks
Lara Spotts	....	thanks
Sean O. Strub	....	thanks (as Sean Strub)
Joel Unangst	....	thanks
Scott Valentine	....	thanks: Sony Pictures Studios, Property
Andrew Volk	....	thanks: B. Black and Sons
Barney Volk	....	thanks: B. Black and Sons
Jan Watkin	....	thanks
Kim Welsh	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Cheerleader LLC
• Hate Kills Man (HKM)
• Ignite Entertainment
• Kushner-Locke Company, The

Distributors

• A Plus Entertainment (2000) (non-USA)
• Advanced (Germany)
• Entertainment 7 (2001) (Non-USA) (all media)
• Kushner-Locke Company, The (non-USA)
• Lions Gate Films (2000) (USA) (a Lions Gate Entertainment company)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)

Special Effects

• THDX Studios (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Action Payroll  payroll services
• Adidas  thanks
• Anderson Video  dailies telecine transfers
• Armaggedon Design  title design: main titles
• Consolidated Film Industries (CFI)  dailies telecine transfers
• David Brown Productions  thanks
• Day & Date Post-Production Services  post-production sound editing
• Executive Cutting Service  negative cutting
• Farm Fresh Productions  electronic press kit
• Fiji Water  thanks
• General Casting  extras casting
• Hate Kills Man (HKM)  avid provided by
• Hollywood Script Research  legal clearances
• Interlock Audio Post  thanks
• MAC Cosmetics  thanks
• MPRM Public Relations  unit publicity
• Michael Levine Fabrics  thanks
• Millenium Casting  extras casting
• Monkeyland Audio  sound post-production
• NT Audio Visual  optical sound negative
• Otto Nemenz International  cameras provided by
• PFLAG-Los Angeles Chapter  thanks
• Papa's Catering  catering
• Paramount Pictures Production Services  grip and lighting equipment provided by
• Peet's Coffee  thanks
• Premiere Entertainment  thanks
• Prerogative Graphics  thanks
• Reel Team, The  voice casting
• Sit & Sleep  thanks
• Sony Pictures Studios  thanks
• Sportsrobe  thanks
• The University of Iowa Alumni Association  thanks
• Title House  titles and opticals
• Troup, Steuber, Pasich, Reddick & Tobey  legal consulting
• Vixen Creations  thanks
• Westwind Media  adr stage

Also Known As:

Make Me Over (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong language and sexual content involving teens.

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Canada:18A (Manitoba) | New Zealand:M | Australia:M | Canada:14A | Germany:12 | UK:15 | USA:R

Company:

Cheerleader LLC

Trivia:

Melanie Lynskey was Jamie Babbit's first choice to play Hilary after the director had seen her in Heavenly Creatures (1994) and Ever After (1998). Additionally, Lynskey had already worked with Natasha Lyonne (Megan) in Detroit Rock City (1999).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Dolph and Megan get in the truck to go and kidnap Clayton and Graham from graduation, the back window of the truck is not painted. When Graham climbs in the back of the truck after Megan's cheer, the window is painted red and white.

Quotes:

Dolph: Hey I'm doing this for you, not for Clayton!
Megan: Yeah, right.

Movie Connections:

References Raging Bull (1980)

Soundtrack:

Ray Of Sunshine

fun clever comedy

As gays and lesbians have achieved more and more acceptance in our society, a countervailing force – led mostly by conservative religious organizations - has been rearing its head in recent years. The movement is often referred to as `reparative therapy,' the rather absurd notion that, with just a little grit, determination and behavior modification, homosexuals can be `cured' of their `illness' and groomed to take their place as fine, upstanding members of the heterosexual community. Certain `treatment centers' dedicated to this dubious cause have even begun to spring up in areas around the country, modeling themselves after 12-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous.

The makers of `But I'm a Cheerleader' have chosen to have a little fun with the concept, imagining one of these centers in almost surrealistic terms. Sweet-faced Natasha Lyonne stars as Megan, a regular teenager happily content to give her all to her cheerleading squad and only mildly confused as to why she can't seem to get quite as excited by her boyfriend as by thoughts of her buxom cheerleader buddies. Suspecting her of being a lesbian – long before Megan herself does, actually – her `concerned' parents, friends and boyfriend cart her off to True Directions, a treatment center tucked safely away in the country. In this bucolic setting, Megan and a group of other `deviants' are put through the rigors of a 5-step therapy program which includes admitting their homosexuality, undergoing gender role playing and even `practicing' man/woman sexual behavior under the stern tutelage of the mistress of the place. In keeping with the near-surrealism of the subject matter, the center is done up in an almost Montessori school motif, with bold colored walls and furniture somehow emphasizing the cold, inhuman sterility of the setting.

`But I'm a Cheerleader' is, by no means, a great or entirely successful comedy. Its attempts at humor, particularly in its opening scenes, seem a bit forced and heavy-handed at times. Moreover, the tone shifts a bit uneasily every so often, running the gamut from stylized absurdity to heartbreaking seriousness. Still, the undisciplined messiness is really part of the film's overall charm. It removes the work from the same category as all those ultra-slick bubble-headed comedies about teens that major studios seem to release with frightening regularity. And the movie does have many laugh-out-loud moments of inspired lunacy, showing to what preposterous lengths many straights and even some pressured gays will go in order to `correct' the uncorrectable. We see the girls being given instructions on how to use a vacuum cleaner, wear makeup and change diapers. The boys are instructed in the fine arts of wood chopping, throwing a football and fixing cars. These scenes work, in particular, not only for their comic effectiveness but their underlying poignancy, as these scared youngsters – many threatened with disownment by their parents if they don't `straighten up' – give it their all, against all hope, to truly change, to deny the very person their raging hormones are screaming at them to be.

The movie also manages to make the gay characters seem real and believable. Thanks to a superb cast, many of the teens emerge as touching, three-dimensional people rather than the cartoon characters that they might have become in a similar film of this kind - particularly when it would be so easy for them to become so in the face of the caricatures of parents and camp counselors who swirl around them in this highly stylized setting. Prime among these is Cathy Moriarty, brilliant as Mary, the prim and proper leader of the establishment, a woman whose righteous wrong-headedness the actress captures to a comic tee. In contrast, Rue Paul, out of drag for once, gives a superbly understated performance as an `ex-gay' now working for the enemy. Among the teens, Lyonne and Clea DuVall, as the girl Megan falls in love with, are the obvious standouts. They turn these potentially cardboard comic characters into full-sized, instantly recognizable young women filled with yearning, confusion and a desire to both please others and be true to themselves.

And that is the ultimate message of this film. Though done in an absurd way, the movie strives to point out that all of us must be allowed to be who we are and to live the life that best suits us. Whether we are gay, straight or whatever, that's a philosophy of life we all need to be reminded of from time to time.