"Бір Қыздың Өзін Тану Сапары"

1999 film by Jamie Babbit

But I'm a Cheerleader is a 1999 American satirical teen romantic comedy film directed by Jamie Babbit in her feature directorial debut and written by Brian Wayne Peterson. Natasha Lyonne stars as Megan Bloomfield, a high school cheerleader whose parents send her to a residential in patient conversion therapy camp to "cure" her lesbianism. At camp, Megan realizes that she is indeed a lesbian and, despite the "therapy", comes to embrace her sexuality. The supporting cast includes Clea DuVall, RuPaul, and Cathy Moriarty. Inspired by an article about conversion therapy and her childhood familiarity with rehabilitation programs, Babbitt used the story of a young woman finding her sexual identity to explore the social construction of gender roles and heteronormativity. The costume and set design of the film highlighted these themes by using artificial textures in intense blues and pinks. When it was initially rated as NC 17 by the MPAA, Babbit made cuts to allow it to be re rated as R. When interviewed in the documentary film This Film Is Not Yet Rated, she criticized the MPAA for discriminating against films with homosexual content. While the film has developed a cult following since its release, it was not well received by contemporary critics of the time, who compared it unfavorably to the films of John Waters and criticized the colorful production design. The lead actors were praised for their performances but some of the characters were described as stereotypical.

Seventeen year old high school senior Megan Bloomfield loves cheerleading and is dating Jared, a football player, but does not enjoy kissing him, instead preferring to look at her fellow cheerleaders. This, combined with her interests in vegetarianism and Melissa Etheridge, leads her parents, Peter and Nancy, and friends to suspect that she is a lesbian. Aided by ex gay Mike, they surprise her with an intervention. She is then sent to True Directions, a two month long conversion therapy camp intended to convert attendees to heterosexuality via a five step program in which they admit their homosexuality, rediscover their gender identity by performing stereotypically gender associated tasks, find the root of their homosexuality, demystify the opposite sex, and simulate heterosexual intercourse. Upon arrival, she meets strict disciplinarian Mary J. Brown, the program's director. Mary's son Rock is seen throughout the film making multiple sexual overtures towards Mike and the other male campers. During the program, Megan befriends college student Graham Eaton. Although Graham is more comfortable in her sexuality, she was forced to attend the camp or risk being disowned by her family after her stepmother caught her having sex. Megan meets several other adolescents and young adults trying to cure themselves of their homosexuality. The group's prompting forces her to reluctantly admit her lesbianism, which contradicts her traditional religious upbringing and distresses her, so she puts every effort into becoming heterosexual. Early on in her stay, she shockingly discovers retail worker Clayton Dunn making out with a fellow male camper and varsity wrestler named Dolph. After Mike catches them in the act, Dolph is dismissed from the premises and Clayton is punished with isolation and is sent to a doghouse for a week. Two of Mary's former students, ex ex gays Larry and Lloyd Morgan Gordon, encourage the campers to rebel against her by taking them to a local gay bar called Cocksucker, where Graham and Megan's relationship becomes romantic. Upon discovering what they did, Mary forces all of them to picket the couple's house, carrying placards and shouting homophobic abuse. Megan and Graham sneak away one night to have sex and begin to fall in love. When Mary discovers their escapade, Megan, now unapologetically comfortable with her sexuality, is dismissed from the premises. Graham, afraid that her continued defiance will result in her father potentially disinheriting her permanently, stays behind. Disowned by her parents and homeless, Megan goes to stay with Larry and Lloyd, discovering that Dolph now also lives with them. The pair plan to rescue Graham and Clayton by infiltrating the graduation ceremony. While Dolph successfully coaxes Clayton away, Graham initially declines Megan's invitation to join them. Megan then performs a cheer she composed for Graham declaring her love for her, finally winning her over, and they drive off with Dolph and Clayton. The final scene shows Peter and Nancy uncomfortably attending a PFLAG meeting to come to terms with their daughter's homosexuality.

But I'm a Cheerleader was Babbit's first feature film, following 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. Their one sentence pitch was "Two high school girls fall in love at a reparative therapy camp." Burns gave an initial budget of US$500,000 which was increased to US$1 million when the film went into production. They wanted the main character to be a cheerleader because it is  "the pinnacle of the American dream, and the American dream of femininity." 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). Lyonne 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 beliefs and not wanting her family to see her on the poster.

Babbit says that her influences for the look and feel of the film included John Waters, David LaChapelle, Edward Scissorhands and Barbie. Ted Gideonse in Out magazine wrote "the costumes and colors of the film show how false the goals of True Directions are".

When originally submitted to the Motion Picture Association of America rating board, But I'm a Cheerleader received an NC 17 rating. In order to get a commercially viable R rating, Babbit removed a two second shot of Graham's hand sweeping Megan's clothed body, a camera pan of Megan's body when she is masturbating, and a comment that Megan "ate Graham out". Babbit was interviewed by Kirby Dick for his 2006 documentary film This Film Is Not Yet Rated. The film suggests that films with homosexual content are treated more stringently than those with only heterosexual content, and that scenes of female sexuality draw harsher criticism from the board than those of male sexuality. Babbit stated that she felt discriminated against for making a gay film. The film was rated as M (for mature audiences 15 and older) in Australia and in New Zealand, 14A in Canada, 12 in Germany and 15 in the United Kingdom. The film premiered on September 12, 1999, at the Toronto International Film Festival and was screened in January 2000 at the Sundance Film Festival. It was shown at other international film festivals including the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras festival and the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. The film was first released to home video by Universal Studios on October 3, 2000, and by Lions Gate on July 22, 2002. In honor of the film's 20th anniversary, the director's cut of But I'm a Cheerleader was released via video on demand on December 8, 2020, and on Blu ray on June 1, 2021.

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. It has been described as a favorite with gay audiences and on the art house circuit.

At the time of its initial release But I'm a Cheerleader polarized critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 42% from 90 reviews, with the site's critical consensus stating, "Too broad to make any real statements, But I'm a Cheerleader isn't as sharp as it should be, but a charming cast and surprisingly emotional center may bring enough pep for viewers looking for a light social satire." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 39 out of 100 based on 30 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Elvis Mitchell of The New York Times praised Lyonne and DuVall for their performances. Kevin Thomas of 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]". Emanuel Levy of Variety described it as a "shallow, only mildly entertaining satire". Roger Ebert said "It feels like an amateur night version of itself, awkward, heartfelt and sweet". Reviews from gay media were positive, and the film has undergone a critical reassessment over time. AfterEllen. com named it "one of the five best lesbian movies ever made"; the site had considered the movie's story "predictable" and characters "stereotypical" in its initial 2006 review. Curve called the film an "incredible comedy" that "redefined lesbian film."

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

The music video for the 2021 song "Silk Chiffon" by musical group Muna with Phoebe Bridgers pays homage to But I'm a Cheerleader and features much of the film's iconography. Guitarist Naomi McPherson said they wanted "a song for kids to have their first gay kiss to."

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 February 18 to 20, 2019 at The Other Palace in 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 played at the Turbine Theatre in London, beginning previews February 18, 2022. It opened on February 23 and ran until April 16. It was directed by Tania Azevedo, choreographed by Alexzandra Sarmiento, and produced by Paul Taylor Mills and Bill Kenwright in association with Adam Bialow, with lighting by Martha Godfrey. The musical returned to the Turbine Theatre later that year, running from October 7 to November 27.