Dear "But I’m A Cheerleader", you will always be famous.
By Yliana Roland
But I’m A Cheerleader (1999) is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Debuting in September 1999 at the Toronto International Film Festival and in July 2000 in the United States, the reviews weren’t favorable. In September 1999, Variety writer Emanuel Levy described the film as a “shallow, only mildly entertaining satire” that is “broadly conceived”. Levy also argues that Cheerleader has limited return on investment for the production company due to “limited crossover appeal beyond the immediate target audience of young, undiscriminating gay viewers.”
This is the film’s power.
It’s specific. It’s unapologetic in its lesbian expression and sensibility. It’s not for anyone but young, undiscriminating gay viewers, and if you don’t fit into our group and can’t take anything away from a story and experience not your own, that’s on you. If you can, welcome.
It’s not a perfect film. For one, the character of Andre, a hispanic boy acting as a caricature of a Black Woman Stereotype isn’t great, to say the least (though you could argue Jamie Babbitt was trying for some social commentary here). However, it can’t be denied Cheerleader’s titan status in the ecosystem of 90’s and early 2000’s New Queer Cinema and the legacy its forged for WLW filmmaking today.
The New Queer Cinema movement of the 90’s marked an explosion in LGBTQ+ filmmaking, fueled by the rise of indie filmmaking and film festivals in the two decades prior. This is most exemplified by the landmark Grand Jury Prize wins of Paris is Burning (1991) and Poison (1991) at Sundance. As Ruby Rich states in her work Homo Pomo, the films of New Queer Cinema are “full of pleasure” — queer pleasure. Campness, like that seen in Cheerleader, while non-divorced from the realities of queer oppression, is queer pleasure.
Here’s all the moments that encapsulate the campy, queer pleasure and pain of being a young lesbian both then and now.
Further Reading
Babuscio, Jack. “7 ‘the cinema of camp (aka Camp and the gay sensibility).’” Camp, 2019, pp. 117–135, https://doi.org/10.1515/9781474465809-012.
Levy, Emanuel. “But I’m a Cheerleader.” Variety, Variety, 23 Sept. 1999, variety.com/1999/film/reviews/but-i-m-a-cheerleader-1117752174/.
About the Author
Yliana Roland is a storyteller and 2024 graduate of Radio-TV-Film from the University of Texas at Austin. Passionate about amplifying the voices of underrepresented and marginalized communities, she strives to make media more inclusive as a filmmaker, writer, and journalist. As a Point Foundation Disney Flagship Scholar, Yliana is recognized for her academic excellence, leadership, and social impact within the LGBTQ+ community as an up and comer in the media and entertainment industries.
Though proud to be a born and bred Texan, you can now find Yliana writing in Los Angeles, California, with words for ABC Owned TV and other outlets. When she’s not working, you can find her reading, huffing and puffing on the treadmill, or making a mess in the kitchen.