But I'm a Cheerleader

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

In this satire, parents who are worried that their children might not be walking the straight and narrow path discover a rehabilitation camp designed to curb alternative lifestyles. Megan (Natasha Lyonne), a high school student and member of the cheerleading squad, seems like an ordinary enough teenage girl, but her habit of honestly expressing herself and lack of romantic enthusiasm for her boyfriend convince her very repressed parents, Peter (Bud Cort) and Nancy (Mink Stole), that Megan is becoming a lesbian. So Megan is shipped off to True Directions, a camp for gay and gay-leaning teens, where Mary Brown (Cathy Moriarty) attempts to deprogram kids with homosexual tendencies. The first step in the process is to get each teen to admit to their homosexuality, which Megan is loath to do, since she doesn't believe she's a lesbian -- or at least she didn't think so before she met her new friend Graham (Clea DuVall), who seems quite sure that she likes girls. Meanwhile, Mary's son Rock (Eddie Cibrian) may be exempt from the camp's activities, but he turns more than a few heads among True Directions' male inmates. Noted female impersonator RuPaul appears as a camp guide, and Julie Delpy has a cameo as a "lipstick lesbian." ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Number of Discs: 1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 (Theatre Wide Screen)
• Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Features:
  • cc
  • 16 x 9 widescreen (1.85:1)
  • English and Spanish subtitles

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Natasha Lyonne - Megan
       Cathy Moriarty - Mary Brown
       Bud Cort - Peter
       Mink Stole - Nancy
       RuPaul - Mike
       Clea Duvall - Graham
       Eddie Cibrian - Rock
       Julie Delpy - Lipstick Lesbian
       Kip Pardue - Clayton Dunn
       Brandt Wille - Jared

• Director:

  Jamie Babbit

• Producer:

  Leanna Creel, Andrea Sperling

• Screenwriter:

  Jamie Babbit, Brian Wayne Peterson

• Cinematographer:

  Jules LaBarthe

• Composer (Music Score):

  Pat Irwin

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Stephen E. Smith

• Editor:

  Ross Guidici, Cecily Rhett

• Production Designer:

  Rachel Kamerman

• Art Director:

  Macie Vener

• Executive Producer:

  Michael Burns, Donald Kushner, Peter Locke, Marc Butan, Jamie Babbit

• Costume Designer:

  Alix Friedberg

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Shawn Holden

• Makeup:

  Rosemary Lawrence

• First Assistant Director:

  James Lee Barrett, Van A. Hayden, Linns Williamson

• Casting:

  Georgianne Walken, Sheila Jaffe, Julia Kim

• Re-Recording Mixer:

  Tim O'Connell

• Co-Executive Producer:

  Alexis Magagni

• Post Production Supervisor:

  Ross Guidici

• Production Coordinator:

  Pat Scanlon

• Properties Master:

  Candi Guterres

• Line Producer:

  Effie Brown

• Unit Production Manager:

  Effie Brown

• Supervising Sound Editor:

  Trip Brock

• Steadicam Operator:

  Jeff Hunt

• Re-Recording Mixer:

  Mike Woroniuk

• Co-Executive Producer:

  Andy Kaplan

• Hair Styles:

  Nicholas Serino

• Production Supervisor:

  Wendy Kutzner

• Assistant Sound Editor:

  Lee Starkman

• Music Editor:

  Greg Vossberg

• Sound Effects Editor:

  Ronald J. Webb

• Electrician:

  Kevin Cadwallader

• Production Executive:

  Ted Gidlow

• Gaffer:

  Packy Lennon

• Key Grip:

  Eamon McGillicuddy

• Grip:

  Gabe Miller

• Production Accountant:

  Bernice Moschini

• Grip:

  David C. Romano

• Camera Loader:

  David A. Seekins

• Best Boy Electric:

  Joann Sweiven

• Script Supervisor:

  Winnie Tanaka

• Electrician:

  Jon Weiner

• First Assistant Editor:

  Joel T. Pashby

• Title Design:

  Blake Busby

• Re-Recording Mixer:

  Scott Purdy

• Electrician:

  John M. Plume

REVIEW:

• But I'm a Cheerleader, MTV director Jamie Babbit's debut feature, will probably never be considered her breakout film, though its brightly colored art direction and over-the-top cast of characters may very well turn it into a camp regular among the cult circuit. While the somewhat choppy pacing reveals Babbit's own lack of directorial development, it unintentionally strengthens the plight of Megan (Natasha Lyonne), who, like the film itself, awkwardly delves into precarious territory without having had the chance to grow into herself beforehand. But I'm a Cheerleader is also a blatant, if lighthearted, send-up of gender stereotyping in all of its ugliness. The neon assault of pink-for-the-girls and blue-for-the-boys effectively reinforces the idea of predetermined gender roles throughout the film, and it doesn't take much satire from the sex-obsessed camp staff to indicate that the budding homosexuals may not be as "addicted" to so-called acts of sexual deviance as certain members of their hetero-leaning counterparts seem to be. In fact, little satire is needed to exaggerate the rigorous emphasis of gender roles on society, and Lyonne's performance as a sweet-but-ditzy cheerleader smart enough to realize that something isn't quite right makes for a heartfelt journey into the surreal existence of camps like True Directions. Glimpses of John Waters-inspired absurdity peeks through in Cathy Moriarty's portrayal of Mary Brown, the camp director who presides over the "at risk" teens with an iron fist while in denial concerning her own son's obvious homosexuality, as well as within drag queen RuPaul Charles' performance as a True Directions graduate who was successfully shoved back into the closet. Judged on its own terms, But I'm a Cheerleader is an enjoyable experience which, despite lacking the gritty political implications of other gay & lesbian films, successfully uses its own lightness as a vehicle to impart the weighty nature of the message itself. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi