15 LGBTQIA+ movies to watch if you liked Love, Simon

But I’m A Cheerleader

Who said a gay teen movie had to be about a teenage boy? But I’m A Cheerleader is about Megan (Natasha Lyonne), a high school cheerleader who’s dating Jared, a football player. She doesn’t actually enjoy kissing Jared but likes to steal glances at her cheerleading buddies instead.

Megan’s family and friends think she’s a lesbian due to her interest in Melissa Etheridge, plus the fact that she’s a vegetarian. One day when she gets home from school, she’s confronted with an intervention by her parents and ex-gay counselor Mike (RuPaul). Her parents decide to send her to True Directions, a therapy camp that aims to convert its campers to heterosexuality.

While at this gay conversion camp with other gay and lesbian teens, Megan finally realizes that she is, in fact, a lesbian, and has to undergo a series of steps in order to be “cured.” When the campers start to rebel, Megan develops a relationship with fellow lesbian camper Graham.

This film is pure camp goodness, comparable to the films of John Waters (director of Hairspray and Cry-Baby), which helped solidify it as a gay cult classic.

At times, the acting is laughable, and the film does indulge in gay stereotypes. But at the core, it’s bringing a serious topic to light, and that’s the practice of conversion therapy. It’s still something that runs rampant in the United States, and sometimes seriously harms the people undergoing the therapy, or even leads to death.

But I’m A Cheerleader puts a colorful, funny face on a serious issue, which makes it more palatable and easier to digest. Although it wasn’t accepted by the mainstream media, despite a fairly well-stacked cast, anybody looking to expand their repertoire of gay films needs to check this one out.