The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This almost-inept, often heavy-handed, little "queer" Comedy from 1999 was basically nothing but a contrived, one-note joke that got real tiresome, real fast. I'd say that But, I'm a Cheerleader (BIAC, for short) could've probably been a somewhat amusing little film had the script not been such a inane mess right from the start.Personally, judging from what I saw, I'd say that neither the director nor the blasted screenwriters had the slightest understanding at all when it came to the many subtle nuances of homosexuality. I mean, these guys couldn't have possibly had the least bit of insight into the subject, otherwise BIAC would've surely been destined to become something of a certified cult movie classic, indeed.Megan Bloomfield, a cute, 17 year-old, high school cheerleader, is suspected (for the most preposterous reasons imaginable), by her less-than-enlightened parents, of being 100% lesbian. (Oh, my gosh!) You know, I really wonder how many level-headed parents out there go through this sort of ordeal, trying to determine whether the peculiar behaviour of their little brat indicates sexual deviance from the "so-called" norm? The method taken to get Megan "normal", and back onto the old straight and narrow again, was to promptly send her (thanks to dear old dad & mom) to a ridiculous "reparative" therapy camp aptly named True Directions.Run like a concentration camp by an outrageously strict disciplinary named Mary Brown, it's here that the students (otherwise referred to as homosexual misfits) are put onto a regimental 5 step-program (very similar to that of AA's) that's supposedly guaranteed to convert even the most hardened homo-slut into a perfectly wholesome, happy, little hetero-twinkie in no time flat.And from this point onwards BIAC was nothing but a moronic chant of - 2-4-6-8 - God is good. God is straight. (Ad Nauseum)

A catholic teenage cheerleader is sent by her parents to a reform school for queers before she herself even realizes that she is one.Even if it is a broad comedy where everyone is gullible and has an IQ of 90 at best, it doesn't seem right that the vast majority of the jokes in a "pro-gay" film do little else but to confirm all the homosexual stereotypes. All the adults in the film are obsessed with the sexual orientation of the kids which is part of the satire, this is one thing, but the film itself seems equally obsessed with it all the time, including the many scenes that don't feature any adults. Everything the kids do seems to relate to their sexual orientation, not even for a minute are they shown being, you know, just human beings.But the bigger problem is that it is simply not a good or very fun movie. All the characters are incredibly inconsistent and you'll struggle to find anything clever in the plotting or in the humor which is kind of cute, inoffensive, and rarely particularly funny.It's also not believable for a minute. The reform school is lead by two "teachers" who don't have the least bit of authority. They rely on the teenagers' good-will to pay any attention to their rules and lessons or to even stay at the camp, and paying attention they sure do even when they don't even want to be "healed" (half the time the kids want to become straight, half the time they don't, it changes from scene to scene).In the end 'But I'm a Cheerleader' seems more like an excuse for the set designers, the costume designers and the makeup artists to go full camp. It's nowhere near impressive enough in those regards that one could actually call the film stylish, but along with the actors who have fun playing their stereotypes it's probably the main thing that keeps the film entertaining enough to be at least quite watchable.

This movie has almost exactly the same plot as Save Me (2007, IMDb title tt0772200), except the sexes are reversed and it's a comedy instead of a drama. Although Cheerleader gets credit for attacking homosexual conversion therapy eight years earlier, Save Me is a very much better movie in every way.Save Me is both more entertaining and rewarding and MUCH more effective in addressing the therapy fad that claimed to turn gays straight through prayer and therapy but by now (thank God) has been pretty much abandoned even by the fanatics who most strongly pushed it.The "humor" in Cheerleader is so excessively stupid, relentless and campy that it completely undermines any serious message the movie might be trying to present. It comes across as simply a mindless, pointless, frantic, unfunny mess - like a Jerry Lewis movie, for those who remember him.The head of the conversion camp in both movies is a woman, but the characters are as different as night and day. Judith Light in Save Me is a compassionate person who honestly believes in the work she does and really loves the men who are sent to her for "help". Her realization that what she does may NOT actually help, and may instead hurt them, is a far more powerful indictment of the therapy than the gratingly moronic, maniacal, twitching monster Cathy Moriarty plays in Cheerleader.This movie's only assets are three of its actors: Natasha Lyonne, who can't help being charming no matter what she does; Clea DuVall, who is so subtly and sultrily sexy that she makes even this gay man drool; and RuPaul - OUT of drag - completely credible in an entirely male role: the relatively macho athletic director of the camp, of all things.But the movie is so stupidly written and directed, and the other actors are so bad, that it is not worth watching - unless by lesbians who can identify more easily with these women than the gay men in Save Me. Gay men have a hard enough time finding good movies, but the selection is even worse for lesbians.

To many viewers this is probably not much more than a well-made, feel-good satirical comedy about teenage homosexuality and adult homophobia mixed with some heart-warming moments, and indeed it serves that function of somewhat superficial entertainment well. But it is a lot more than that. If you watch carefully, this is an incredibly honest, revealing and touchingly sensitive film on teenage identity crisis and identity search interacting with social influences. It tells you more than any psychology book could tell on adolescence, because one cannot put all that into words. Natasha Lyonne as 17 year old Megan (the heroine of the story) demonstrates amazing qualities of acting in a role which is probably the most demanding any actor or actress can face: that of a changing adolescent personality re-discovering one's inner, formerly suppressed unconscious self over two months, while still remaining herself in a way. If you compare her different faces at different phases of the story, e.g. when she "just cannot think of anything" at the camp, and when she looks into the bathroom mirror much later in the film washing her teeth, you will see what I mean. If you are not distracted by hilariously funny bits and jokes and you do not consider poor acting by Cathy Moriarty, it is in fact a top quality drama made superbly. Intimate conversations between the two leading actors (Natasha Lyonne and Clea DuVall) tell more in one minute of this film about life than most movie star celebrities do throughout their whole career. Natasha Lyonne should have received an Oscar for this as best actress, and she should have been offered leading roles in less superficial films than "American Pie". A talent wasted. Her performance in this film is an extraordinary achievement and a very touching experience for anyone sensitive enough to resonate to it. I highly recommend it for re-watching it several times: you will not get bored if you are attentive enough.