dir. Jamie Babbit

1999 // 1 hr 25 mins // Digital Projection

Based on both Babbit’s own experiences and ones she had read about, But I’m a Cheerleader playfully confronts the homophobic practice of conversion therapy. Natasha Lyonne stars as Megan, an effervescent, all-American cheerleader whose parents (played by cult icons Bud Cort and Mink Stole) begin to fear that she’s a lesbian and send her off to a reparative therapy center called True Directions. Under the leadership of Mary Brown (Cathy Moriarty), the young attendees are made to deconstruct their identities and adopt behaviors that reinforce stereotypical gender roles. A hot-pants-clad RuPaul teaches the men how to chop wood and repair the undercarriage of a car, while the women paint each other’s toenails, try on wedding dresses, and learn how to scrub a kitchen floor. But when Megan meets the lovable rebel Graham—played by Clea DuVall with a charming mix of vulnerability and sensuality—she awakens to her own desire. Employing kitschy, midcentury production and costume design, Babbit bathes the film in an atmosphere of high camp, highlighting the artificiality of the world True Directions seeks to create.

YEAR OF LOVE:

In 2024, we are falling in love with a lineup of the best romance films. Beginning on Valentine's Day, we will screen one film a month about love. Tales of heartbreak, screwball comedies, a basketball movie, campy classics, and sensuous period dramas are bound to get your heart stirring in what is destined to be our most romantic year yet.