''Cheerleader Queens'' ( th, ว้ายบึ้ม! เชียร์กระหึ่มโลก; aka ''I'm Lady'') is a 2003
Thai film
The cinema of Thailand dates back to the early days of filmmaking, when King Chulalongkorn's 1897 visit to Bern, Switzerland was recorded by François-Henri Lavancy-Clarke. The film was then brought to Bangkok, where it was exhibited. This sparke ...
directed by
Poj Arnon
Poj Arnon ( th, พชร์ อานนท์; formerly spelled: พจน์ อานนท์) is a Thai film director. He is best known for his 2007 film '' Bangkok Love Story'', that won him the Grand Prize (International Competition) at ...
.
Plot
Four
kathoey
''Kathoey'' or ''katoey'' ( th, กะเทย; ) is an identity used by some people in Thailand, whose identities in English may be best described as transgender women in some cases, or effeminate gay men in other cases. Transgender w ...
—Mod, Som, Kam-pang and Wa-wa—move from a rural town to attend St. Mary's High School in
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populatio ...
. Once there they try to join the school's
cheerleading
Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ent ...
team, only to be rejected because of their sexuality. Instead they join the school's struggling
rugby team, making friends with the other team members after they score a number of
tries in an important game.
Toey, another kathoey from the boys hometown, comes to Bangkok with the idea of forming a new cheerleading team, which they name "The Queen". From the start the boys have to face a number of problems, but with the help of their friends on the rugby team they manage to get to the finals of the national cheerleading competition.
Reception
Ronnie Scheib of ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' reviewed ''Cheerleader Queens'' at the 2004
New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Film Festival NewFest: The New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Film Festival put on by The New Festival, Inc., is one of the most comprehensive forums of national and international LGBT film/video in the world.
Founded in 1988, The New Festival, Inc ...
. He described the film as, "A fun date flick for all persuasions, with sexual content limited to a few chaste kisses and endless eye-batting innuendo, kitschy curio should perform cheerily on the gay fest circuit."
[Scheib, Ronnie.]
Cheerleader Queens
. ''Variety'', 29 June 2004. Retrieved on 2 February 2009.
References
External links
*
*
2003 films
2003 LGBT-related films
Cheerleading films
Kathoey
Thai-language films
Thai LGBT-related films
Transgender-related films
Rugby union films
Films directed by Poj Arnon
LGBT-related sports comedy films
{{LGBT-film-stub