“I loved Clueless,” director Jamie Babbit told Variety recently. I wanted to make a gay Clueless.” And so But I’m a Cheerleader was born. It’s the story of teenage Megan (Natasha Lyonne in a breakthrough role), sent to the True Directions conversion camp by her concerned, conservative parents to straighten her out. But hanging out with a bunch of queers for two months does not have the intended effect…
Decked out in Barbie pinks and blues, and saddled with a blatantly homophobic R rating, But I’m a Cheerleader didn’t get a lot of love from film critics in 1999 but has since become a treasured gay classic, not least for the iconic casting RuPaul as one of the reparative counsellors. You might also spot Michelle Williams and Julie Delpy in small roles.
Staff Pick: Eirinn, Gemma, Jana & Perry
That this doesn’t feel like the gender studies lesson it is, is mostly down to the tone of intelligent mischief, punctuated by tender moments when illicit romance beckons. First rate performances all round.
Sue Sharpe, Time Out
Media Partner
Jamie Babbit
Natasha Lyonne, Clea DuVall, Michelle Williams, Ru Paul, Bud Cort, Mink Stole, Melanie Lynskey, Cahty Moriarty
USA
1999
English
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Credits
Screenwriter
Brian Peterson
Cinematography
Jules Labarthe
Editor
Cecily Rhett
Original Music
Pat Irwin
Production Design
Rachel Kamerman
Art Director
Macie Vener
90s, Baby!
Ten years. 11 weeks. 90 films from the 1990s. This summer, 90’s Baby! takes a deep dive into a defining decade of cinema.
Three Colours: Blue
The first of Kieslowski's acclaimed Three Colours Trilogy, inspired by the French Revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity and the French flag, the Tricolour. Blue stars Juliette Binoche as a young woman grieving her husband and child.
Schindler's List
One of the most acclaimed films of the 90s, Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Thomas Keneally's Schindler's Ark is the story of a German industrialist whose conscience is stirred to save his Jewish workers from the camps.
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Three Colours: Red
Irène Jacob plays Valentine, a runway model living in Geneva, who crosses paths with a retired judge (Jean-Louis Trintignant) who's a bit of an eavesdropper. Initially repelled, she becomes intrigued by this man, as do we... Kieslowski's sublime adieu.
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Four Weddings begins with an onslaught of fucks. It's the first signal that this rom-com will break from tradition, despite the ritualized structural conceit described in the title. The witty screenplay is by Richard Curtis — it's still his best.
The Lion King
With its beautifully drawn East African setting, its humour, pathos, and engaging characters, as well as its stirring songs, The Lion King stands as the pinnacle of traditional Disney family entertainment.
Image: © Disney, 1994
To Die For
Buck Henry (The Graduate) wrote this acidic black comedy about a ruthless weather girl on the make (Nicole Kidman in her breakout role). A young Joaquin Phoenix is the dim teen she seduces on her way to achieving stardom.
Casino
Revisiting the wise guy milieu for the third (but not the final) time, Scorsese tells the story of Ace Rothstein and Nicky Santoro (Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci), two New York hoodlums who become major players in the history of Las Vegas.
Andrea Superstein Sings Burt Bacharach + Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery Film Screening
Local hero and Anglophile Mike Myers scored a massive comedy hit with this spot-on spoof of James Bond and his many imitators. Before the yucks, Andrea Superstein treats us to a set of timeless Burt Bacharach tunes.
Before Sunrise
An American backpacker (Ethan Hawke) meets a French girl (Julie Delpy) on the train to Vienna. They decide to spend the next 14 hours together until it's time for his flight. They walk and talk. This brief encounter will mark the rest of their lives.
Ghost in the Shell
This seminal anime which inspired James Cameron and the Wachowskis, anticipates how AI technology encroaches on the human domain in ways we can scarcely comprehend. "A work of profound and melancholic beauty." Daily Telegraph
La Haine
This angry French thriller about alienated kids (a skinhead, an Arab, and an African) in the working class outskirts of Paris plays like a cross between Do the Right Thing and Mean Streets. French cops turned their backs on the red carpet at Cannes.