But I'm a Cheerleader

But I'm a Cheerleader was Babbit's first feature film.[3] She had previously directed two short films, Frog Crossing (1996) and Sleeping Beauties (1999). Babbit and producer Andrea Sperling secured financing from Michael Burns, vice president of Prudential Insurance, after showing him the script at Sundance festival.[3][4] Their one-sentence pitch was "Two high-school girls fall in love at a reparative therapy camp."[5] Burns gave an initial budget of US$500,000 which was increased to US$1 million when the film went into production.[4]

Babbit, whose mother runs a halfway house called New Directions for young people with drug and alcohol problems, had wanted to make a comedy about rehabilitation and the 12-step program.[5] After reading an article about a man who had returned from a reparative therapy camp hating himself, she decided to combine the two ideas.[4] With girlfriend Sperling, she came up with the idea for a feature film about a cheerleader who attends reparative therapy.[6] They wanted the main character to be a cheerleader because it is ... "the pinnacle of the American dream, and the American dream of femininity."[7] She wanted the film to represent the lesbian experience from the femme perspective contrasting with several films of the time that represented the butch perspective (Go Fish and The Watermelon Woman).[4] She also wanted to satirize both the religious right and the gay community.[6] Not feeling qualified to write the script herself, Babbit brought in screenwriter and recent graduate of USC School of Cinematic Arts Brian Wayne Peterson.[6][7] Peterson had experience with reparative therapy while working at a prison clinic for sex offenders.[5] He has said that he wanted to make a film that would not only entertain people, but also make people get angry and talk about the issues it raised.[5]

Babbit recruited Clea DuVall who had starred in her short film Sleeping Beauties, to play the role of Graham Eaton. She was able to meet a lot of the cast through DuVall, including Natasha Lyonne and Melanie Lynskey.[3] Lyonne first saw the script in the back of DuVall's car and contacted her agent about it.[5] She had seen and enjoyed Babbit's short Sleeping Beauties and was eager to work with her.[8] She was not the first choice for the role of Megan. Another actress had wanted to play the part but eventually turned it down due to her religious belief and not wanting her family to see her on the poster.[3] Rosario Dawson was also considered for Megan but her executive producer persuaded her that Dawson, who is Hispanic, would not be right for the All-American character.[6]

A conscious effort was made to cast people of color in supporting roles to combat what she described as "racism at every level of making movies."[6] From the beginning she intended the characters of Mike (played by RuPaul), Dolph (Dante Basco) and Andre (Douglas Spain) to be African American, Asian and Hispanic. She initially considered Arsenio Hall for the character of Mike but Hall was uncomfortable playing a gay role.[7] As Mike, RuPaul made a rare appearance out of drag.[9]

The True Directions campers picket the ex-ex-gays. Intense colors were used to represent the artificiality of heteronormativity.

Babbit says that her influences for the look and feel of the film included John Waters, David LaChapelle, Edward Scissorhands and Barbie.[6] She wanted the production and costume design to reflect the themes of the story.

The progression from the ordinary world of Megan's home life where the dominant colors are muted oranges and browns, to the contrived world of True Directions with intense blues and pinks, is intended to represent the artificiality of heteronormativity.[6]

The germaphobic character of Mary Brown represents AIDS paranoia and her clean, ordered world is filled with plastic flowers, fake sky and PVC outfits.[6] The external shots of the colorful house complete with bright pink agricultural fencing were filmed in Palmdale, California.[5]

But I'm a Cheerleader grossed $2,595,216 worldwide. In its opening weekend, showing at four theaters, it earned $60,410 which was 2.7% of its total gross.[13] According to Box Office Mojo, it ranked at 174 for all films released in the US in 2000 and 74 for R-rated films released that year.[13] The film was a hit with festival audiences and received standing ovations at the San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.[16] It has been described as a favorite with gay audiences and on the art house circuit.[17]

Initial mainstream critical response to But I'm a Cheerleader was mostly negative. On Rotten Tomatoes it has an approval rating of 42% from 89 reviews.[18] On Metacritic it has a weighted average score of 39 out of 100 based on 30 critics, indicating "Generally unfavorable reviews."[19] The New York Times praised Lyonne and DuVall for their performances.[20] The Los Angeles Times described the movie as having "jaunty, superficial humor" that "tends more to confirm homosexual stereotypes for easy laughter than to skewer the horror of [conversion therapy]".[21] Variety described it as a "shallow, only mildly entertaining satire".[22]

Reviews from gay media were positive, and the film has undergone a critical reassessment over time, being analyzed in recent times as a deliberately satirical and campy take on the subject matter. Feminist website Autostraddle declared the film to be number one in a list of the "100 best lesbian movies of all time" in 2015[23] AfterEllen.com named it "one of the five best lesbian movies ever made";[24] the site had considered the movie's story "predictable" and characters "stereotypical" in its initial 2006 review.[25] Curve called the film an "incredible comedy" that had "redefined lesbian film."[26]

The film won the Audience Award and the Graine de Cinéphage Award at the 2000 Créteil International Women's Film Festival.[27]

It was nominated by the Political Film Society of America for the PFS Award in the categories of Human Rights and Exposé the same year.[28]

In 2005 the New York Musical Theatre Festival featured a musical stage adaptation of But I'm a Cheerleader written by lyricist Bill Augustin and composer Andrew Abrams. With 18 original songs, it was directed by Daniel Goldstein and starred Chandra Lee Schwartz as Megan. It played during September 2005 at New York's Theatre at St. Clement's. The musical was also performed as part of MT Fest UK from 18 to 20 February 2019 at The Other Palace, London with a cast featuring Bronté Barbé as Megan, Carrie Hope Fletcher as Graham, Jamie Muscato as Jared, Matt Henry as Mike, Ben Forster as Larry, Stephen Hogan as Lloyd and Luke Bayer as Clayton.

A production of the musical will premiere at the Turbine Theatre in London, beginning previews 18 February and with an opening night of 23 February, running until 16 April 2022. It will be directed by Tania Azevedo, choreographed by Alexzandra Sarmiento with lighting by Martha Godfrey, and produced by Paul Taylor-Mills and Bill Kenwright, in association with Adam Bialow, by special arrangement with Lionsgate..[31]

But I’m a Cheerleader: The Musical Will Return to London's Turbine Theatre. Following a London premiere earlier this year, But I'm a Cheerleader: The Musical will return to The Turbine Theatre next month. The run will begin October 7 and continue through November 27 with a Gala Night scheduled for October 11. The musical features a book and lyrics penned by Bill Augustin, music by Andrew Abrams, and direction by Tania Azevedo. Jamie Babbit conceived and directed the original film, which featured a screenplay by Brian Wayne Peterson. But I'm a Cheerleader: The Musical is presented by Paul Taylor-Mills and Bill Kenwright in association with Adam Bialow, and by special arrangement with Lionsgate. [32]