Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Ah, the weekend! The work week is over, and for the first time in about a month, I’ve got the full expanse of an unscheduled weekend in front of me. I just want to kick back and relax, maybe watch something lightweight. Lemme see here…(perusing my shelf of unwatched videos)…Yes! Just the thing: But I’m A Cheerleader (1999, directed by Jamie Babbit).

I remember both Psychovant and kristinahf writing good things about this movie. Sounds pretty fun; I’ll give it at go…

But I’m A Cheerleader opens with slow-motion shots of cheerleaders in mid-jump, skirts flying, legs wide, satin panties visible. Hmm, this could be fun.

The story concerns cheerleader Megan Williams, who apparently finds more passion in cheerleading than with her hunky football player boyfriend Andre. Her parents and friends contrive an intervention, suspicious of her Melissa Etheridge poster, her vegetarianism, and the same-gender pinup in her school locker. She is shipped off to “True Directions,” a correctional camp for persons experiencing same-gender attraction. This camp operates on the worst homophobic and heterophilic stereotypes, and predictably serves more as a homosexual match-making opportunity.

Natasha Lyonne is Megan, and she plays the part with a terminal pout. I mean her whole face pouts - lower lip out, cheeks puffed, and chin slightly jutted. Apparently this full-face pout provides the dramatic element in the film. The pout is encircled by Big Blonde Hair, looking strangely like a cross between an adolescent version of Jean Shrimpton and a bad Dynel fall I had about 30 years ago.

Cathy Moriarty plays the camp manager and gender-role drill sargeant, Mary J. Brown. At first glance, I thought she looked like Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford, and I kept waiting for the “No more wire hangers” parody. Moriarty plays this part like a Nazi Mary Kay empresariess, barking orders into her pink (for girls) bullhorn, her hair always perfectly starched and motionless. She’s always dressed conservatively in pink ensembles (think the spring line at Talbot’s), my favorite of which was the vinyl pink duster (the exception to the apparent Talbot’s theme).

Ru Paul, not in drag, plays Mike, Mary’s lieutenant. He is not entirely macho, but he is believably enthusiastic, trying to reform his cohort of sissies, dressed, like he is, in baby blue. Ru Paul does a creditable, if mediocre, job in this role; he also contributes a song (“Party Train”) to the soundtrack.

The only real acting is by Clea DuVall as Graham. DuVall plays one of the queer girls at “True Directions,” somehow balancing pretty well between utter disgust and a certain half-hearted cooperation with the rehab program. In scenes colored brightly with candy pink and baby blue, surrounded by actors doing their best tryouts for John Waters’ movies, DuVall remains centered and inhabits her character with fine concentration, apparently unaffected by the grand temptation to stray into utter caricature. While Moriarty sternly instructs the campers into the supposed bliss of heterosexuality, DuVall watches with minimal facial expression, just the slightly opened mouth and good eye contact, quite enough to convey the “What tha f***??” thoughts you know her character must be having.

The pairing of brunette Duvall with blonde Lyonne reminded me of another such pair in the 1964 movie “The World of Henry Orient.” In that film brunette Tippy Walker plays a somewhat boyish and rambunctious Val, while blonde Merrie Spaethe plays the wide-eyed, innocent Gil. They form a fast friendship and proceed to stalk Peter Sellars, who plays concert pianist and lothario “Henry Orient.”

While Val and Gil’s friendship is an asexual “het crush,” Graham’s and Megan’s mutual attraction is unabashedly homosexual. Yet each relationship maintains a sweet, girlish quality, effectively depicting the youthfulness and relative simplicity of adolescent attraction. “Cheerleader’s” brief love scenes between Graham and Megan are tender, sweet, and delicate, executed in the utmost good taste [without explicit nudity, for those concerned].

The fact that I found Clea DuVall physically resembled Tippy Walker drew me to make this comparison. Walker, sadly, made few films, and her career highlights seem to be “The World of Henry Orient” plus a short run on the TV series “Peyton Place.” Happily, DuVall seems positioned for a much stronger acting career, already having “Niagara, Niagara” (1997), “The Astronaut’s Wife” (1999), "Girl, Interrupted" (1999) and “But I’m A Cheerleader” (1999) on her resume.

This comparison can only be made because the girls in But I’m A Cheerleader are drawn with a certain complexity and realism. By contrast, the boys are reduced to swishy stereotypes, written as cartoonish pansies. I’m not entirely comfortable even describing these characters using somewhat derogatory language, but the film itself relies not only on simple types but on stereotypes. Because it is intended as a comical film and an attempt at camp, it seems appropriate for me to use those same stereotypes in my commentary. I found the contrast between how the boys and girls are depicted curious and slightly disturbing; yet I would not say the distinction is strong enough to weaken the film.

Babbit liberally dressed her scenes and actors in vivid pink (for girls) and baby blue (for boys), visually emphasizing the rehabilitative attempt to enforce heterosexuality. By contrast the colors used in “real life,” before Megan enters “True Directions,” are quite drab and pale, suggesting a lifelessness in conventionality. The retro use of strong colors, dated costuming, and 50’s-inspired décor contribute to the comparisons of this film to the work of John Waters. Babbit comes up short of the outre’ campiness of Waters, however with a storyline that is neither truly comedy nor truly drama and actors who are too weighted down by the film’s minimal dramatic ambition to really go over the top.

The great triumph of the film is its soundtrack, a delightful use of pop songs with a youthful, somewhat edgy performance. The great crime is that the soundtrack apparently has not been separately released, and fans of “Cheerleader” are scouring Napster and its competitors to pirate their own soundtrack CDs.

“Glass Vase Cello Case” by Tattle Tale is the best song. This song has a Sarah McLachlan-esque sound, a simple melody by a delicate, breathy female singer, accompanied by acoustic guitar and cello. “Evening in Paris” by Lois is another acoustic pop song. Its melodic line is somewhat repetitious, perhaps weakening it as a stand-alone song, but rendering it quite effective as a mood-enhancing soundtrack piece. “Chick Habit,” by April March, has a stronger, more rockin’ beat, reminding me slightly of Bananarama. Saint Etienne’s “We’re In the City” is a good, solid ever-so-danceable disco tune. Likewise, Miisa’s “All or Nothing” begs us to boogie. Go Sailor contribute two songs, “Together Forever In Love” and “Ray of Sunshine,” both pieces happy Go-Go’s style rock songs.

For all its faults – an ambivalence between comedy and drama that renders the film neither, and an overreliance on stereotypes – this film is good, clean fun. Babbit resists the temptation to sensationalize same-gender romance, instead treating it tenderly and respectfully. Moriarty and Ru Paul play their unsympathetic roles with hilarity. And the thoroughly likeable soundtrack carries the film along with a peppy, happy backbeat.

But I’m A Cheerleader is certain to do well in video and DVD release, it did serve as a great Friday-night flick, and Babbit is off to a solid start in her directorial career.



Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older