6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 5.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Confident and opinionated, 17-year-old Megan is a high school student who has it all. She's popular, pretty, a model student, dates the captain of the football team and is a cheerleader. But she's also a vegetarian, likes Georgia O'Keefe and hates kissing her boyfriend, leading her horrified parents to conclude that she's... a lesbian! Their solution is to send Megan to True Directions, a "rehabilitation camp" run by homophobic counselor Mary Brown. At first, Megan resists "rehabilitation." Then she meets Graham, a sexy tomboy who shows her exactly what her "true direction" is.
Starring: Natasha Lyonne, Clea DuVall, RuPaul, Cathy Moriarty, Michelle WilliamsComedy | 100% |
Teen | 73% |
Coming of age | 59% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (224 kbps)
English, English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Two pretty deadly serious films about so-called "conversion therapy" (i.e., "pray the gay away") have crossed my review queue over the years. Both Boy Erased and The Miseducation of Cameron Post had some really effective moments, and both shared some obvious commonalities, including stories centered on religiously conservative families who felt one of their own needed "help" to cure "sinful" behaviors. Both The Miseducation of Cameron Post and Boy Erased shared one other aspect, namely that they were both released theatrically in 2018, capturing a certain cultural zeitgeist that had become more and more apparent over the course of time, but perhaps surprisingly (maybe even shockingly), almost twenty years before another film had broached this potentially perilous subject, and as a comedy, no less. But I'm a Cheerleader seems to want its cake and eat it, too, in a way, in that it's intentionally broad, arguably even downright campy, but it also is striving to make some sober points about sexual preference and gender roles. The result is something of an odd mishmash with an enjoyably cartoonish production design and some fun performances, but perhaps neither enough laughs nor enough real insight, other than the expected emphasis that "being yourself" is always the best choice, no matter what the outside world in general or your family in particular may think about it.
But I'm a Cheerleader is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. This is billed as the
Director's Cut, and having never seen the Theatrical Cut, I can't opine about the differences, but I'm wondering if some of the slight but noticeable
variances in quality may be due to an alternate element utilized to reincorporate footage. That said, by far the vast bulk of this presentation offers a
really gorgeous accounting of the film's almost astounding looking palette, one which any quick look the screenshots accompanying this review will
reveal is almost drowning in pinks, greens, blues and occasionally oranges. Detail levels are generally commendable, especially in some of the sun
drenched outdoor material. There are a few moments where grain doesn't resolve as tightly as in the majority of the presentation, and occasionally it
can attain a slightly silverish tint, especially in some of the darker material.
Note: Interestingly, posts in our Forum thread devoted to this release
indicate
people are receiving either a BD-R or a pressed disc from Amazon. I'm not sure I've ever encountered this particular situation before, but the one I
received from Amazon was in fact a pressed disc.
Unfortunately Lionsgate has chosen not to afford the audio side of things the same care that seems to have been lavished on the video, as this disc offers only a lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 track. That's perhaps especially unfortunate since the underscore and copious source cues are often so energetic. Within a lossy context, everything sounds fine, with dialogue rendered cleanly and clearly. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.
But I'm a Cheerleader is one of those films that obviously has its heart in the right place, and which delivers an important enough (if not exactly revelatory) message, but which may be undercut by the choice to offer so many cartoonish characters within a more ostensibly serious conversation (or at least subtext). The film has a riotous production design and some striking cinematography, which are rendered with a good deal of vividness on this Blu-ray. Unfortunately there's only lossy audio, but perhaps some enjoyable supplements will help make this appealing for anyone considering a purchase.
2018
2009
2004
2015
30th Anniversary Edition
1985
1987
2009
2011
1999
1982
2009
2012
Choice Collection
2001
2012
1998
Unrated and Cream-Filled
2008
1986
20th Anniversary Limited Edition Packaging
2004
2008
2000