The only LGBTQ+ representation in the film is found inside character Christian, who plays strongly into gay male stereotypes. “Clueless,” a huge box office hit, has been recognized as one of the best teen films of all time. Jamie Babbit, director of “But I’m a Cheerleader,” said in a 2020 interview with Variety that she “wanted to make a gay ‘Clueless.’” The critics of today are providing support for LGBTQ+ films that was not seen with the release of “But I’m a Cheerleader.” Some of these include the comedy-drama series “Heartstopper” and romantic drama film “My Policeman.”īoth of these works received wide critical acclaim, while still gaining reasonable criticism from reviewers. However, television series and films produced within the past year feature much broader representation, especially within the LGBTQ+ community. It wasn’t exactly a movie that fit with the status quo of highly regarded films at the time. Therefore, it’s no wonder that films like “But I’m a Cheerleader” were given somewhat mixed, if not much more negative reviews. Films portraying same-sex couples as prominently as in “But I’m a Cheerleader” were few and far between.Īs Cook said, the majority of film critics most likely identified as straight, and due to the lack of national legalization of homosexual couples, they were much less accustomed to seeing them shown on camera. In 1999, full marriage equality was not yet present in the United States. “When we say critics, we mean mostly straight critics who had a difficulty with the film.” “‘But I’m a Cheerleader’ failed to land with critics, and it stumbled upon initial release,” Cook said. Over 20 years later, film site Movies on Weekends reflected back on Ebert’s review of the movie, with critic Sarah Cook writing, “Roger Ebert was right the movie would eventually become a midnight hit.” “‘But I’m a Cheerleader’ is not a great, breakout comedy, but more the kind of movie that might eventually become a regular on the midnight cult circuit,” Ebert wrote. Notably, he finished his review with a prediction. In 2000, Urbana native and film critic Roger Ebert published his review and rating of three stars. “But I’m a Cheerleader” continues to sit at a very mixed 42% on Rotten Tomatoes, and an only slightly more positive 6.7/10 on IMDB.īut upon scrolling through the two websites, a trend emerges: the more recent the review, the more positive the rating. However, despite the talented cast and groundbreaking subject matter, the movie received primarily negative reviews upon its release.Ī 1999 article from Variety described the movie as “a shallow, only mildly entertaining satire” that could only find “limited crossover appeal beyond the immediate target audience of young, undiscriminating gay viewers.”Ī review from The Guardian in 2001 stated that the film “ could have been funnier,” with critic Peter Bradshaw saying that he would have preferred to know more about the actual reality of conversion camps. The film starred actors who have since gained huge levels of fame, including Natasha Lyonne as the protagonist cheerleader Megan, Clea DuVall as Graham, another student at the rehab camp and RuPaul as conversion therapist Mike. In 1999, Lions Gate Films released “But I’m a Cheerleader,” a romantic comedy movie centering around a teenage cheerleader who is sent to gay conversion therapy by her friends and family.
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