Of course, I couldn't help myself longing to re-watch 'But, I'm a Cheerleader' while viewing 'Save Me.' Though two different genres – 'Save Me' is hard drama, while 'Cheerleader' is strictly comedy – they both present the same premise: unwilling homosexual participants admitted into a "Go Straight for God" isolated home. Sure, 'Save Me' tackles the straight-converted more realistically (RuPaul was just laugh-out-loud as the former gay male leading men to a heterosexual lifestyle) but unfortunately, 90% of the film sides with the Christians. If they were shooting for that, more power to them; they have a right to free speech. However, it was painfully obvious this was a movie about knowing oneself, accepting your sexuality, and tolerance. Equally as apparent was who was going to end up with whom (and this is coming from the very first shot this person was on screen.) Not to give any spoilers, and anyone watching 10 minutes of this will already figure this out, but the one character I would've liked Chad Allen's Mark end up with, was the heavy-set Lester. Too often, the most attractive (and usually, most straight acting/macho) men find love in these gay-themed films. One notable exception, a movie I absolutely loved, 'Big Eden,' and a big kudos goes out to that film for breaking the stereotypical, clichéd and predictable mold, as seen in 'Save Me.' We get some depth into Lester's character, even a Lifetime moment, and learn he's searching for love and the existence of love between men. This would've been a perfect opportunity for the 'Save Me' writers to steer off the beaten path and surprise me and "save" it as an original piece. Well, anyways, they went for the, ah hem, straight path and showed redemption with somewhat good acting. You could do worse than 'Save Me.'
