:
Jena Malone,
Jena Malone,
Mandy Moore,
more...
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Brian Dannelly,
Brian Dannelly
see all cast/crew...
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: MGM
: Comedies, Teen Comedy
: 92 min.
: English
: English, Spanish, French
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Mary (Jena Malone) is entering her senior year at American Eagle Christian High School. She seems to be in an ideal social position as one of the "Christian Jewels," the most devout and popular clique of girls in the school, led by the aggressively cheerful Hilary Faye (Mandy Moore). But things take an unexpected turn when Mary's boyfriend, Dean (Chad Faust), tells her he may be gay. Mary hits her head and has a vision, in which Jesus tells her how to help "cure" Dean of his unnatural urges. Mary does everything in her power to sway Dean, but when his parents find out about his "problem," they send him away just before the school year starts, leaving Mary alone, confused, and, she soon finds out, pregnant. Mary's new situation causes her to question everything, including her friendship with the judgmental Hilary Faye and her faith. Her mother (Mary-Louise Parker) is too preoccupied with her flirtatious relationship with the school's married principal, Pastor Skip (Martin Donovan), to notice Mary's problem. Pastor Skip's dreamboat skateboarder son, Patrick (Patrick Fugit), has returned from missionary work and is attracted to Mary, but she already has too much to deal with. Just when she thinks her situation is hopeless, she finds a pair of unlikely allies in Hilary Faye's cynical wheelchair-bound brother, Roland (Macaulay Culkin), and wild, muscle car-driving provocateur Cassandra Edelstein (Eva Amurri), the school's only Jewish student. Saved! marks the feature debut of director Brian Dannelly, who co-wrote the script with Michael Urban. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
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| Funny, sharp and genuinely sweet
by figtree
April 6, 2005 - 5:03 PM PDT
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3 out of 3 members found this review helpful
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This film exceeded my already high expectations. The director and screenwriter have delivered an amazingly acute study of high school dialogue and interaction, while simultaneously exploring the polarizing landscape of evangelical Christianity in America and still delivering consistent laughs from start to finish.
The acting is superb. Martin Donovan (who routinely shines in Hal Hartley's films) here nimbly deconstructs his familiar grim sociopath persona to depict one of the most nuanced anti-heroes ever seen in a teen film. Jena Malone continues and deepens her fine work from Donnie Darko, creating a moving teen heroine. Eva Amurri is an inspired bit of casting as the multi-faceted school rebel who's full of surprises. And... it's true, Macaulay Culkin can act-- and even carries more than one scene with his understated comic timing
The storyline itself often leans on contrivance, but the situations presented ring true with an emotional depth rarely granted to pre-adult characters, and none of the events will seem off the wall to anyone familiar with modern adolescence or this particular religious subculture.
The film is blisteringly funny, unusually sharp in its look at different types of people and their individual frailties, and sweet-- possibly even, despite what else you may have read elsewhere, too sweet. The ending is the softest spot in the movie, but draws effectively on the hard-won empathy for each character to float to a graceful (ahem, pun intended) stop. |
| Channeling Jesus
by talltale
October 4, 2004 - 4:54 AM PDT
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5 out of 7 members found this review helpful
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| "What would Jesus have done?" I can't tell you how often I've heard this question bandied about in high-minded fashion to answer some difficult problem. Too often the answers merely reflect the petitioners' hard-nosed and angry need to restrict rather than include. Maybe that is why I found SAVED such a surprising treat. Critics (and evidently some audiences) must have been expecting cynicism with a nasty bite when they went to see this movie. Instead they were served up a sweet and funny story of fundamental Christian high-schoolers trying to deal with the real world in their own mixed-up--and very human--manner. The talented young cast is great fun to watch, and the writing and direction is usually bright and amusing. And what struck some as a cop-out ending seemed to me to be EXACTLY what Jesus would have done--though I doubt Mel Gibson and Jerry Falwell would agree. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 6.71)
277 Votes
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