Death Of A Cheerleader
(1994)
|
When Stacey Lockwood, the cheerleader and beauty from Santa Mira High is murdered, the chief suspect is another pupil. At the trial however, the whole community is under scrutiny for the pressure it places on the young. Based on a true story. |
Cheerleading does seem to bring out the worst in some Americans and has provided fertile ground for true-story film-makers. This isn't in the same league as the witty The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom, but still provides a gripping portrait of high-school politics, US-style. Beverly Hills 90210's Tori Spelling plays the extremely popular, extremely catty, high-school queen, who delights in tormenting the school's geeks, including bright-but-plain Kellie Martin. When Spelling is murdered, it quickly becomes apparent a worm has turned. There are good performances from both the teens and the adults (Terry O'Quinn, Valerie Harper), and director William A Graham sympathetically chronicles the complex, and often unbearable, pressures of adolescent life.