Barbie Dream House, Conversion Nightmare
Unspooled celebrates 25th Anniversary of "But I'm a Cheerleader"
Conversion therapy, Natasha Lyonne, Cheerleading and vegetarianism as a gateway drug to lesbianism.
Jamie Babbit’s But I’m a Cheerleader (1999) turned the horror of “straight camp” into bubblegum-colored satire. It was slammed by critics at the time. It even was rated NC-17 for a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it hand movement that was re-edited to receive an R . And now? It’s a beloved comedy.
This week on Unspooled, we’re unpacking how But I’m a Cheerleader used the aesthetics of 1950s conformity to build a satirical, subversive space for queer joy in the late ’90s. I’m joined by guest co-host Jeff Hiller (Somebody Somewhere) and star of Cheerleader, Clea Duvall to break it all down.
“Some people say that I’m trying to be John Waters, but the film doesn’t have that bite,” Babbit explained. “But I don’t want it to have that bite… John Waters hates romantic comedies, he thinks they’re cheesy. But there’s a certain part of me that is cheesy. I’m a small town girl when it comes to relationships, and I wanted to tell a conventionally romantic story.”
Natasha and Ru Weigh in the 25th Anniversary
We heard from a lot of people in our episode but here are two missing voices who chime in to wish the film, “Happy 25th Anniversary.”
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WELCOME TO CAMP
Babbit has said “I wanted the production design to reflect the themes, like the artificiality of gender construction, like you're more of a man if you can chop wood. It's so stupid. the production designer and costume designer and I worked out a progression from the beginning where the look is more organic, to something more plastic. So, in the first scene in her house, there's wood furniture and it's brown, like earth. As soon as she drives to the conversion camp, True Directions, the world becomes more technicolor-fake, and she goes from wearing cotton to wearing polyester. In the end everyone's wearing plastic and everything is more and more absurd, like the fake sky behind the door. And we tried to give it a very homoerotic aspect, so that on all the boys' sets, there are lots of phallic objects, as jokes, but also showing how if you repress something, it comes out in other ways.”
But I’m a Cheerleader’s visual aesthetic made queerness feel seen — and joyful — in an era when LGBTQ+ stories were either tragic or invisible.
True Directions, True Emotions: The Soundtrack
There was never an official soundtrack for But I’m a Cheerleader. But fans have compiled unofficial playlists. Save it to your Library.
Check out this Spotify Playlist
BUT I’M A CHEERLEADER: THE MUSICAL
We spoke about the WEST END production of But I’m a Cheerleader but check out a montage
TRUE FANS GET TATTOOS
WHO BOUGHT THE JUMPSUITS?
Both outfits were sold at Auction.
JAMIE AND CLEA’S 1st FILM
Sleeping Beauties is short film where a mom tells her daughter of how her mommies met through the retelling of the Sleeping Beauty fairytale with 2 women and no Prince Charming. Watch part 1 below.
UNSPOOLED RECOMMENDS
If you’re into But I’m a Cheerleader, here’s what to queue up next:
Saved! – Christian school satire with a similar sugar-coated bite
Heathers – High school cruelty meets pastel homicide
Happiest Season – Clea’s modern queer rom-com (Kristen Stewart + holiday dysfunction)
Edward Scissorhands – A stylistic guiding light for Babbit.
What did we miss?
Have some Fun Facts, Hot Takes? Any photos? Fan Art? Is this your first time seeing this movie. Tell us how it made you feel. Drop em in the comments and we are going to release a reader “talk back” post soon to cover the last few films.
PAUL’S BOOK & LIVE SHOWS
LA 6/26 - DINOSAUR
VANCOVER 7/12 - HDTGM LIVE - GET TICKETS
Paul’s Book Joyful Reccollections of Trauma is avail in Paperback & Hardcover and you can get it signed and personalized here (which also helps support indie shops)