But I'm a Cheerleader

So many people do not like this movie simply because they do not understand it. First of all, yes the movie is full of stereotypes, but that's the point. They're there to show how ridiculous these stereotypes really are and to show that in the end, you cannot change who you are, you just have to learn to accept it and get the people around you to accept you. Second, some stereotypes that I've heard people notice really weren't there. I don't think anywhere in the movie did they try to make Christians look stupid (hey, the homophobic Christians are pretty good at making themselves look stupid WITHOUT help). Okay maybe Megan's comment about "God is good, God is straight - hey that's pretty good," but still, I think sometimes people LOOK for something to be offended by. I think this movie does make fun of many straight people, who claim that gays are recruiting, when it is actually the other way around (as one can see by the existence of True Directions, and in the fact that when Megan asks them to teach her to be a lesbian, they tell her that they can't do that). All in all, this is a great movie and I really enjoyed it! As for people who didn't, hey, you're allowed to not like it, but if it is for reasons that really don't seem warranted, maybe you should give But I'm a Cheerleader another look.

For anyone who grew up or is growing up gay in middle-America or just about all of America, get ready to return to the most twisted version of your high school years and laugh till you're pink in the face. But, I'm a Cheerleader is one of the best gay themed movies to date. It is certainly one of the best comedies. Sort of a Jeffrey turned female high school cheerleader meets John Waters with only the best qualities of each.

I only wish this film had been available when I was a high school senior nearly fifteen years ago. It could have saved me thousands of dollars a year in therapy! If you are gay, and especially young or dealing with coming out at any age either to yourself and/or to others please go rent this movie. This is one of the only films I've seen which shows you can have a wonderful life and be happy and be loved and be gay.

This film is a biting and hilarious parody of people who not only force themselves into artificial molds but also feel the to make other people fit the same stereotypical molds. The main attack of the satire is on the delusion that homosexuals can be cured by people who are themselves repressed homosexuals.

Deliciously silly victorian roles of males and females are superimposed on the teenagers who struggle not to be who they really are. But the garishly-colored costumes of the 1950's "Father Knows Best" and "Leave It To Beaver" style are as incongruous as the fake role-playing. In the end, at least some of the young victims of this cruelty escape to face a life of being themselves.

Incredible social commentary. Yes, It's a little campy, but it's all supposed to be that way. It's an amusing look at attempting to 'rehab" homosexuals with therapy and "finding their roots". Great acting all around, excellent writing.

Personally, it was the subtle things that did it for me. Mary's son was funny, and the cut-outs (just pay attention to the boys' lessons) were Hilarious. I thought it was a great tongue-in-cheek way of saying "okay, this is stupid, we need to let them be" for the gay community.

If you're in the mood for a lot of laughing, and RuPaul out-of-drag to boot, rent this one.

Young Natasha Lyonne's parents, Bud Cort and Mink Stole, have noticed a disturbing tendency in their daughter. She has not been developing an interest in the opposite sex as a 'normal' teenage girl should even if she is a cheerleader, the most heterosexual of activities you would think.

Anyway being the good Christians they are, Natasha's sent off to one of those reorientation centers so popular now among fundamentalist Christians, those who refuse to recognize such evil people as Freud and Kinsey and their work, and want to raise normal heterosexual kids.

The place is called True Directions and it's run by this huckster of a woman played by Cathy Moriarty. She's the nurse Ratched of the Christian psychological group, she plays the part beautifully. She's assisted by RuPaul Charles out of drag who's a graduate of her center and son Eddie Cibrian, a really hunky sort who's a role model for the boys and a sex object for the girls.

But I'm a Cheerleader doesn't quite have the production values of a studio film, but no regular studio would make something like this. It's a topic that needs to be addressed, the fraud of these ex-gay ministries.

When I was a working person at New York State Crime Victims Board, I had a case from a rural part of upstate New York. It concerned a young teenage girl who came from a fundamentalist background like our protagonist here. She and the young wife of the youth pastor of the church she came from, discovered their true nature and fell in love and consummated their first sex at a Bible Conference.

Of course when mom discovered what was going on by snooping through her daughter's computer, the young wife was arrested and given a slap on the wrist by the judge because he thought it was too much the case. Nevertheless the woman is now a registered sex offender.

The young girl was put right into therapy and as long as I live, I will never forget the remark the therapist made on his report to us that the girl is refusing to cooperate in the therapy because she did not consider herself a victim. It's also why her lover got off as lightly as she did.

That case is the reason I enjoyed this film so much and recommend it highly to audiences, especially young gay audiences.