But I'm A Cheerleader (1999) - Jamie Babbit

Megan is a seemingly normal high school student and member of the cheerleading squad whose lack of romantic enthusiasm for her boyfriend convinces her super conservative parents that she is slowly becoming a lesbian.  This leads her parents to form an intervention which ends with her being shipped off to True Directions, a camp for gay leaning teenagers who are deprogrammed of their homosexual tendencies.  Megan doesn't believe she is a lesbian but when she meets Graham,  a fellow patient, she beings to realize she actually does like girls.  Jamie Babbit's But I'm A Cheerleader is a funny, stylistic satire about homo-sexuality and the stereotypical gender roles that exist in our society.  But I'm A Cheerleader has an intentionally campy tone, seemingly intent on poking fun at the social establishment which deems homosexuality as wrong or not normal.  Stylistically the film has a lot of energy from both an editing and direction standpoint, using lots of interesting and unique compositions to set this playful tone.  My favorite aspect of the film revolves around its aesthetic which is super heavy on pastel colors such as pink and blue.  Blue and Pink are the colors known to represent males and females respectively, and the film uses this to its advantage by pointing out the silly stereotypes which exist in the pre-defined gender roles of society.  If I had one complaint about But I'm A Cheerleader it would revolve around Natasha Lyonne's lead performance as Megan.  Don't get me wrong, Natasha is fine, I just thought she was miscast in the role to begin with.  Jamie Babbit's But I'm a Cheerleader is very funny but how it exposes the ridiculous nature of general roles is what makes it a strong and somewhat profound experience. 
8/10

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