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Movies / On DVD / But I'm a Cheerleader
But I'm a Cheerleader

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But I'm a Cheerleader (1999)

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Reviews Counted:12

Fresh:3

Rotten:9

Average Rating:4.3/10

Consensus: Critics think that But I'm a Cheerleader could have been better. The acting is stiff at times and the plot is surprisingly unoriginal.

Runtime: 90 mins

Genre: Comedies

Box Office: $175,182

Synopsis: The girls wear pink and the boys wear blue in BUT I'M A CHEERLEADER, a film billed as a comedy about sexual disorientation. Megan (Natasha Lyonne) is a happy-go-lucky cheerleading teenager in the... The girls wear pink and the boys wear blue in BUT I'M A CHEERLEADER, a film billed as a comedy about sexual disorientation. Megan (Natasha Lyonne) is a happy-go-lucky cheerleading teenager in the suburbs when suddenly her fairly normal behavior (vegetarianism, Melissa Etheridge poster, reluctance to make out with her boyfriend) makes her suspect in the eyes of the community. Megan's super straightlaced parents (Mink Stole of John Waters fame and Bud Cort from HAROLD AND MAUDE), fearing that their precious "little poodle" may be a lesbian, promptly ship a befuddled Megan off to True Directions, a homosexual rehabilitation facility. Unable to take the first step required by the program--admitting that she is in fact gay--Megan butts heads with camp leaders Mary (Cathy Moriarty) and Mike (RuPaul out of drag). Soon enough, Megan finds proof of her heretofore unknown attraction to girls when she falls for Graham (Clea DuVall), a sexy tomboy and fellow inmate at True Directions. Megan's brightly colored and slightly unreal world gets even odder as an unlikely romance blossoms in the least likely of places. As Graham and Megan grow closer, the film's unique comic twists and visual stylization expose the absurd nature of society's rigid social and sexual codes and create an endearing and hysterically funny love story at the same time. [More]

Starring: Natasha Lyonne, Clea DuVall, Cathy Moriarty, Michelle Williams

Starring: Natasha Lyonne, Clea DuVall, Cathy Moriarty, Michelle Williams, Melanie Lynskey, RuPaul Charles, Bud Cort, Mink Stole, Eddie Cibrian, Julie Delpy

Director: Jamie Babbitt

Director: Jamie Babbitt
Screenwriter: Brian Wayne Peterson
Producer: Andrea Sperling, Leanna Creel
Composer: Pat Irwin

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Oct 3, 2000

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Reviews for But I'm a Cheerleader

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1 - 16 (sorted by date)
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Broadly conceived and schematically directed (or is it non-directed?), this is a shallow satire, basically a short extended into feature length movie, about a rehabilitation camp for gays and lesbians that wastes the talent of Natasha Lyons.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
05/10/06
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
Variety
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
07/21/05
Houston Chronicle
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
11/06/02
Jeff Strickler
Jeff Strickler
Minneapolis Star Tribune
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
08/15/02
Kevin Thomas
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
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Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
03/19/02
Globe and Mail
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
08/09/01
Stephanie Zacharek
Stephanie Zacharek
Salon.com
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Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
05/10/01
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
01/01/00
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
01/01/00
Ebert & Roeper
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Too often she substitutes petulance for the curiosity and determination the role requires.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
01/01/00
Amy Taubin
Amy Taubin
Village Voice
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Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Elvis Mitchell
Elvis Mitchell
New York Times
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Ungainly sentiment and unnecessary stylization.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Gemma Files
Gemma Files
Film.com
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Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
01/01/00
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
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Dumb, heavy-handed satire.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Lou Lumenick
Lou Lumenick
New York Post
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But I'm a Cheerleader is funny.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle
San Francisco Chronicle
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Any self-respecting lesbian should rear up in horror at [this movie].

comment Comment
01/01/00
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News | comment Comment
01/01/00
Robert Denerstein
Robert Denerstein
Denver Rocky Mountain News
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Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
01/01/00
Susan Stark
Susan Stark
Detroit News
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1 - 16 (sorted by date)
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Latest News for But I'm a Cheerleader

August 23, 2005: In Other News...Natasha Lyonne, Brad 'n Jen, and Kirsten 'n Jake
According to the NY Post, American Pie star Natasha Lyonne is in the intensive care unit of New York's Beth Israel Hospital, where she is receiving treatment for Hepatitis C, a... More...

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