Yes! Criminally underrated film. Can personally attest it was formative to baby queers at the turn of the millennium. Lyonne and DuVall's chemistry still haunts me decades later. I also loved Lloyd and Larry, firmly-masc-yet-obscurely-camp RuPaul, young Melanie Lynskey, and the wonderfully quirky soundtrack.
I am aghast to learn of the poor reviews. In today's culture, it feels inevitable for people to miss (or dismiss) the purpose of the humor/commentary, but it didn't in 1999, and I'm disappointed if professional critics didn't dig even an inch deeper. The style is an obvious filmmaking CHOICE and you couldn't hazard a guess as to why?? Such was the state of marginalized voices in the 90s I suppose.
~~(SPOILERS starting here I guess)~~
The awkward ending is supposed to pull you out of passive viewer mode and make you consider why the weird cheerleader stuff came back. To realize that Megan is fundamentally unchanged at the end of the story, the same dopey, soft-centered goofball except she's accepted who she loves. A then-publicly-revolutionary message that "gay cheerleader" isn't a contradiction in terms. That queer means whatever you want it to mean -- you are yourself first, and queer adds to that rather than redefining it. A potent and empowering message for those of us realizing our queerness at that time, and I hope it holds up to do so for other generations as well.
Excellent analysis by the way. Tying the film to the current moment and making it broadly relevant for anyone who cares about gender roles (which should be everyone). The New Directions classroom scenes do put a *visceral* perspective onto modern 'conservative' values. An excellent vehicle for awakening folks who haven't had that realization yet.
I fully support you applying a broader lens about gender rather than orientation (also anything that gets more folks to watch this movie!). My comment was overly focused on the queer perspective; I just had THOUGHTS to process upon learning the critic ratings are still that abysmal.
Have they banned Hairspray yet? I mean the lead is played by one of the most famous trans people the world has ever known. Her past credits are for films like Pink Flamingo, also extremely campy. Maybe they should just ban everything that John Waters or Divine had anything to do with.
This is excellent (small note, though - it's True Directions). The timing is so funny, too, bc I *just* rewatched this yesterday for the first time in at least 15 years.
Yes! Criminally underrated film. Can personally attest it was formative to baby queers at the turn of the millennium. Lyonne and DuVall's chemistry still haunts me decades later. I also loved Lloyd and Larry, firmly-masc-yet-obscurely-camp RuPaul, young Melanie Lynskey, and the wonderfully quirky soundtrack.
I am aghast to learn of the poor reviews. In today's culture, it feels inevitable for people to miss (or dismiss) the purpose of the humor/commentary, but it didn't in 1999, and I'm disappointed if professional critics didn't dig even an inch deeper. The style is an obvious filmmaking CHOICE and you couldn't hazard a guess as to why?? Such was the state of marginalized voices in the 90s I suppose.
~~(SPOILERS starting here I guess)~~
The awkward ending is supposed to pull you out of passive viewer mode and make you consider why the weird cheerleader stuff came back. To realize that Megan is fundamentally unchanged at the end of the story, the same dopey, soft-centered goofball except she's accepted who she loves. A then-publicly-revolutionary message that "gay cheerleader" isn't a contradiction in terms. That queer means whatever you want it to mean -- you are yourself first, and queer adds to that rather than redefining it. A potent and empowering message for those of us realizing our queerness at that time, and I hope it holds up to do so for other generations as well.
Excellent analysis by the way. Tying the film to the current moment and making it broadly relevant for anyone who cares about gender roles (which should be everyone). The New Directions classroom scenes do put a *visceral* perspective onto modern 'conservative' values. An excellent vehicle for awakening folks who haven't had that realization yet.
I fully support you applying a broader lens about gender rather than orientation (also anything that gets more folks to watch this movie!). My comment was overly focused on the queer perspective; I just had THOUGHTS to process upon learning the critic ratings are still that abysmal.
Have they banned Hairspray yet? I mean the lead is played by one of the most famous trans people the world has ever known. Her past credits are for films like Pink Flamingo, also extremely campy. Maybe they should just ban everything that John Waters or Divine had anything to do with.
This is excellent (small note, though - it's True Directions). The timing is so funny, too, bc I *just* rewatched this yesterday for the first time in at least 15 years.
Gah! Names are my nemesis
I’m adding this to my list! Thank you for a review that digs deep and connects.