But I'm a Cheerleader (1999)

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

Director:

Jamie Babbit

Writers:

Brian Peterson (screenplay) (as Brian Wayne Peterson), Jamie Babbit (story)

Stars:

Natasha Lyonne, Clea DuVall, Michelle Williams

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 Rene	...	Cheerleader #2 (as Danielle Reneau)
Cathy Moriarty	...	Mary Brown
Eddie Cibrian	...	Rock
Melanie Lynskey	...	Hilary
Clea DuVall	...	Graham
Katrina Phillips	...	Jan
Katharine Towne	...	Sinead
Joel Michaely	...	Joel

Storyline

Megan is an all-American girl. She's a cheerleader and has a boyfriend, but she doesn't like kissing him very much, and she's pretty tactile with her cheerleader friends, and she only has pictures of girls up in her locker. Her parents and friends conclude that she *must* be gay and send her off to "sexual redirection" school, full of admittedly homosexual misfits, where she can learn how to be straight. Will Megan be turned around to successful heterosexuality, or will she succumb to her love for the beautiful Graham?

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Plot Keywords:

lesbian | cheerleader | lesbian relationship | lesbian teen | lesbian kiss | 

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Taglines:

A Comedy Of Sexual Disorientation

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language and sexual content involving teens

Did You Know?

Trivia

The song that Rock is dancing to is "Party Train" by RuPaul (Mike).

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Goofs

The top of a crew member's head appears at the bottom of the screen just after Megan and Dolph get out of the pickup, in army clothes, to go and save their respective lovers from the diploma ceremony.

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Quotes

Hilary: It's really easy to be a prude when you're not attracted to him, isn't it?

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Alternate Versions

Two scenes were removed from the movie to obtain an "R" rating. The two scenes were:

• There was a much more longer version of Megan masturbating.
• The sex scene between Megan and Graham was toned down because it was much too explicit and would have caused the movie to receive a "NC-17" rating.

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Connections

Referenced in Late Night with Seth Meyers: Will Forte/Natasha Lyonne/Stephen Perkins (2015)

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Soundtracks

Just Like Henry
Performed by Dressy Bessy
Written by Tammy Ealom, John Hill, Rob Greene, Darren Albert
Published by Little Music (ASCAP)
Courtesy of Kindercore Records

User Reviews

Great satirical movie!

First of all, I must say that I am not gay and actually I watched this movie with my husband. While I am a bit more open-minded than he, we both got a kick out of the movie. Probably the most striking thing to me was the imagery. Right off the bat I made the connection that although it is set in modern times, everyone in Megan's family and school dressed in fifties style clothing. I definitely think that this was making a reference to the way that her community thought about homosexuality. They were back in the fifties, so to say, in their way of thinking. However, towards the end of the movie you see Megan dressing in more modern clothes (especially that cheerleader outfit!)

All in all, I don't think that this movie should be taken too seriously. It seemed to be a social commentary on the closed-minded people in our society. Especially since in the same movie saying that homosexuality is bad, that women should also be cleaning, cooking, and changing babies while the men should be out chopping wood and playing football. Basically it took all the gender stereotypes to the extreme in order to show how silly they are

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 August 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Make Me Over

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,200,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$60,410, 9 July 2000

Gross USA:

$2,205,627

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,595,216

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cheerleader LLC, Hate Kills Man (HKM), Ignite Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min 91 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1