Weil ich ein Mädchen bin

Young Natasha Lyonne's parents, Bud Cort and Mink Stole, have noticed a disturbing tendency in their daughter. She has not been developing an interest in the opposite sex as a 'normal' teenage girl should even if she is a cheerleader, the most heterosexual of activities you would think.

Anyway being the good Christians they are, Natasha's sent off to one of those reorientation centers so popular now among fundamentalist Christians, those who refuse to recognize such evil people as Freud and Kinsey and their work, and want to raise normal heterosexual kids.

The place is called True Directions and it's run by this huckster of a woman played by Cathy Moriarty. She's the nurse Ratched of the Christian psychological group, she plays the part beautifully. She's assisted by RuPaul Charles out of drag who's a graduate of her center and son Eddie Cibrian, a really hunky sort who's a role model for the boys and a sex object for the girls.

But I'm a Cheerleader doesn't quite have the production values of a studio film, but no regular studio would make something like this. It's a topic that needs to be addressed, the fraud of these ex-gay ministries.

When I was a working person at New York State Crime Victims Board, I had a case from a rural part of upstate New York. It concerned a young teenage girl who came from a fundamentalist background like our protagonist here. She and the young wife of the youth pastor of the church she came from, discovered their true nature and fell in love and consummated their first sex at a Bible Conference.

Of course when mom discovered what was going on by snooping through her daughter's computer, the young wife was arrested and given a slap on the wrist by the judge because he thought it was too much the case. Nevertheless the woman is now a registered sex offender.

The young girl was put right into therapy and as long as I live, I will never forget the remark the therapist made on his report to us that the girl is refusing to cooperate in the therapy because she did not consider herself a victim. It's also why her lover got off as lightly as she did.

That case is the reason I enjoyed this film so much and recommend it highly to audiences, especially young gay audiences.

I was fortunate enough to catch "But I'm a Cheerleader" last night, and I must say the only thing that bothered me was the fact that I hadn't stumbled upon it sooner.

Megan Bloomfield is a beautiful blonde, who seems to have the life that every girl has once dreampt of. She is a popular cheerleader, dating the captain of the football team. All seems well until she arrives home from school one day. Megan's family and friends confront her, and in classic Intervention fashion proceed to tell her what they KNOW to be the truth: That she is a repressed lesbian. She is sent into a "Rehab" program ran by "Reformed" gays and lesbians. What could possibly go wrong?

I believe it is worth mentioning that this film has an early John Waters feel to it. Mink Stole, who has been in every John Waters movie beginning in 1966, plays the role of Megan's Mother Nancy.

If campy humor and love catch your eye, check it out. It might make you think a little, and it's sure to give you a few laughs.

Incredible social commentary. Yes, It's a little campy, but it's all supposed to be that way. It's an amusing look at attempting to 'rehab" homosexuals with therapy and "finding their roots". Great acting all around, excellent writing.

Personally, it was the subtle things that did it for me. Mary's son was funny, and the cut-outs (just pay attention to the boys' lessons) were Hilarious. I thought it was a great tongue-in-cheek way of saying "okay, this is stupid, we need to let them be" for the gay community.

If you're in the mood for a lot of laughing, and RuPaul out-of-drag to boot, rent this one.

So you run like, the underground homo railroad?

Endlessly quotable comedy with an all star 90s cast like Natasha Lyonne, Clea DuVall, Michelle Williams, Melanie Lynskey, Cathy Moriarty, even a funny turn from RuPaul.

Underrated 90s comedy.

An acquaintance of mine saw this movie and told me, with a negative connotation, "that movie was about a bunch of lesbians!" This was a while ago and I had forgotten about the movie but I picked up the box at the rental store the other day and decided to make my own judgments. This story was a stroke of genius! A cheerleader who thinks she is straight, talked into being a lesbian by a bunch of people trying to make her straight, well, they talked her into the realization that she was, in fact,homosexual, although, I don't think I'd enjoy kissing Megan's boyfriend either, I thought he'd drown her in his salava.

This movie was in the spirit of some John Waters' films I hold close to my heart. Mink Stole (Cry-Baby) must smell a great movie from a mile away. The casting was great. Cathy Moriarty was so funny as the spokesperson for the kind of "normalcy" preached in the 1950's. RuPaul was hilarious as the reformed closet homosexual, Julie Delpy (Before Sunrise) proves again to be the mysterious and beautiful European type character. Lastly, but most importantly, Natasha Lyonne and Clea DuVall. These two women, who are spectacular actors in themselves, had strong and intense chemistry. Their portrayals of Megan and Graham were up to perfection and I truly believed in their characters, in short, they just really got me.

This movie is perfect for anyone who wants to see two people, who were meant for each other, overcoming obstacles to be together. And their obstacles were hilarious. I almost died during the "sexual simulation"

"You know who you are and you know who you want. Aint nothin' gonna change that, s***!" Everyone should have a friend like Andre.