But I’m a Cheerleader (1999)

Directed by Jamie Babbit. Starring Natasha Lyonne, Clea DuVall, Cathy Moriarty, RuPaul Charles, Dante Basco, Melanie Lynskey, Douglas Spain, Katharine Towne, Katrina Phillips, Kip Pardue, Joel Michaely, Eddie Cibrian, Bud Cort, Mink Stole, Richard Moll, Wesley Mann, Brandt Wille, Michelle Williams. [R]

High school cheerleader Lyonne may be dating a hunky football player, but whenever he aggressively jams his tongue into her mouth, she distracts herself with thoughts of females. It takes being shipped off to a gay conversion therapy camp for her to finally realize that she’s a lesbian, but in an environment of brainwashing and oppression, how will she ever find happiness? Self-satisfied, exaggerated kitsch plays like neutered John Waters on Prozac; a one-joke satire without bite, which is no surprise since there’s no reason to bear teeth against such a wimpy Bible-thumping foe. Because the script provides the cast only one note to play, the performances are as repetitive as the campy humor, although Lyonne at least appears to be trying to forge some wiggling room. Did more to expose the hypocrisy of the MPAA (which initially slapped the film with an NC-17 for sexual content that would be labeled as “tame” if it involved straight characters) than to disclose the insidious nature of heteronormative intolerance or to celebrate queer lifestyles. Screenplay by Brian Wayne Peterson, with story credit going to director Babbit. Julie Delpy appears briefly. Later turned into a stage musical.

38/100