This selfie of Natasha Lyonne and Clea Duvall is giving us an emotional “But I’m a Cheerleader” flashback
A normal picture says a thousand words. However, a selfie of Natasha Lyonne and Clea Duvall not only says a thousand words, it launches a thousand glorious emotional flashbacks to the cult-classic But I’m A Cheerleader and the steamy and angst-ridden romance between the two women in the film.
While many Instagram users might merely see the selfie as a nice picture of two successful actresses who’ve remained friends nearly 20 years since their breakout roles as campy and lovable LGBTQ heroines, I can’t help but see them as grown versions of Megan and Graham — slightly happier but still clinging to each other as refuge from the world’s barrage of religiously motivated bigots and parents who just don’t understand.
While they might not be IRL teen lovers, the two actresses have kept a spirit of friendship and collaborating over the years, and this past winter went to Sundance for the premiere of Intervention, where the friends publicly kissed and reunited their love.
Considering how well the women are doing in their respective careers, with Natasha Lyonne killing the game as the quick-witted Nicky in Orange is the New Black, and Clea Duvall being able to frame her own narrative as a gay woman in her role in Intervention, it’s even more fun to imagine the alternate reality where Megan and Graham formed a power couple that turned Hollywood on its head.
In this “What if?” fantasy, they would have inevitably transformed multiple houses into lavish smoking dens where they would lounge and write songs and screenplays while co-conspiring to stylishly dismantle homophobia and patriarchy.
While we sadly don’t live in that alternate world of But I’m a Cheerleader fan fiction, we at least live in a reality where the actresses are still killing the acting game and taking selfies to document their friendship and induce emotionally intense flashbacks. We are *SO* here for that.
