She had previously directed two short films, Frog Crossing (1996) and Sleeping Beauties (1999). Melanie Lynskey as Hilary Vandermuellerīut I'm a Cheerleader was Babbit's first feature film.The final scene shows Peter and Nancy uncomfortably attending a PFLAG meeting to come to terms with their daughter's homosexuality. Megan then performs a cheer she composed for Graham declaring her love for her, finally winning her over. While Dolph successfully coaxes Clayton away, Graham declines Megan's invitation to join them. The pair plan to rescue Graham and Clayton by infiltrating the graduation ceremony. Graham, afraid that her continued defiance will result in her father potentially disinheriting her permanently, stays behind.ĭisowned by her parents and homeless, Megan goes to stay with Larry and Lloyd, discovering that Dolph now also lives with them. When Mary discovers their escapade, Megan, now unapologetically comfortable with her sexuality, is dismissed from the premises. Megan and Graham sneak away one night to have sex and begin to fall in love. Upon discovering what they did, Mary forces all of them to picket the couple's house, carrying placards and shouting homophobic abuse. Two of Mary's former students, ex-ex-gays Larry and Lloyd Morgan-Gordon, encourage the campers to rebel against her by taking them to a local gay bar called Cocksucker, where Graham and Megan's relationship becomes romantic. After Mike catches them in the act, Dolph is dismissed from the premises and Clayton is punished with isolation and is sent to a doghouse for a week. Early on in her stay, she shockingly discovers retail worker Clayton Dunn making out with a fellow male camper and varsity wrestler named Dolph. The group's prompting forces her to reluctantly admit her lesbianism, which contradicts her traditional religious upbringing and distresses her, so she puts every effort into becoming heterosexual. Megan meets several other adolescents and young adults trying to cure themselves of their homosexuality. Although Graham is more comfortable in her sexuality, she was forced to attend the camp or risk being disowned by her family after her stepmother caught her having sex. Mary's son Rock is seen throughout the film making multiple sexual overtures towards Mike and the other male campers.ĭuring the program, Megan befriends college student Graham Eaton. Upon arrival, she meets strict disciplinarian Mary J. She is then sent to True Directions, a two-month-long conversion therapy camp intended to convert attendees to heterosexuality via a five-step program in which they admit their homosexuality, rediscover their gender identity by performing stereotypically gender-associated tasks, find the root of their homosexuality, demystify the opposite sex, and simulate heterosexual intercourse. Aided by ex-gay Mike, they surprise her with an intervention. This, combined with her interests in vegetarianism and Melissa Etheridge, leads her parents, Peter and Nancy, and friends to suspect that she is a lesbian. However, she does not enjoy kissing Jared, instead preferring to look at her fellow cheerleaders. Seventeen-year-old Megan Bloomfield is a happy high school senior who loves cheerleading and is dating Jared, a football player. The film has since developed a cult following. The lead actors were praised for their performances but some of the characters were described as stereotypical. The film was not well received by contemporary critics of the time, who compared it unfavorably to the films of John Waters, and criticized the colorful production design. When interviewed in the documentary film This Film Is Not Yet Rated Babbit criticized the MPAA for discriminating against films with homosexual content. When it was initially rated as NC-17 by the MPAA, Babbit made cuts to allow it to be re-rated as R. The costume and set design of the film highlighted these themes using artificial textures in intense blues and pinks. She used the story of a young woman finding her sexual identity to explore the social construction of gender roles and heteronormativity. The supporting cast includes Clea DuVall, RuPaul, and Cathy Moriarty.īabbit was inspired by an article about conversion therapy and her childhood familiarity with rehabilitation programs. At camp, Megan realizes that she is indeed a lesbian and, despite the "therapy", comes to embrace her sexuality. Natasha Lyonne stars as Megan Bloomfield, a high school cheerleader whose parents send her to a residential in-patient conversion therapy camp to "cure" her lesbianism. But I'm a Cheerleader is a 1999 American satirical teen romantic comedy film directed by Jamie Babbit in her feature directorial debut and written by Brian Wayne Peterson.
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