"Saved!"

[SBTB Geek]

Is anyone else looking forward to this movie?!... It looks like it's going to stir up some trouble especially since everyone is still kind of infatuated with "The Passion of The Christ."

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SYNOPSIS:

Comedy
1 hr. 33 min. "Good girl" Mary (Jena Malone) and her popular, influential best friend, Hilary Faye (Mandy Moore), are starting their senior year at the top of the social structure at American Christian High School. But when Mary finds out she’s pregnant, Hilary Faye and her devoted "disciples" turn against Mary and the school labels her an outcast. It's as an outsider, however, that Mary finds true friends – other students the school doesn't quite know what to do with. In this sweetly subversive comedy, a group of strangers band together to navigate the treacherous halls of high school and make it to graduation, ultimately learning more about themselves and finding out what it truly means to be Saved!.
Release Date: May 28th, 2004 (limited release).
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for strong thematic issues involving teens - sexual content, pregnancy, smoking and language.
Distributor: United Artists

[SBTB Geek]

REVIEWS:



The Hollywood Reporter
By Duane Byrge
Bottom line: A teen-y, in all senses, satire of evangelical Christianity.
Sundance Film Festival

PARK CITY -- Macaulay Culkin brings his cherubic grace to "Saved!" a teen-world comedy without, unfortunately, John Hughes. An irreverent, punchy jab at the more hideous transgressions of fundamentalist Christianity, "Saved!" stars Mandy Moore as a filled-with-Jesus beauty who uses her faith to further the cause of, well, the No. 1 person in her life, herself.

Its larkish style, combined with its anti-authoritarian bent should win some enthusiastic teen followers, as well as the Babble-onians of the Upper West Side and Hollywoodland.

Receiving a generous reception here at Sundance -- not exactly the heart of the Bible Belt or even Middle America -- this comedic jape delivers some sharp jabs at obvious targets, namely the boosterish excesses of American religiosity. Like the best of teen-set comedies, it lashes out at the ruling authority figures conspiring against the kids
in this case, the most dominant influence at the Christian high school are the religious leaders.

It's always fun to knock those in power, especially when they use their positions for self-serving goals. In this romp, the most odious character is the school's manipulative golden girl, Hilary Faye (Moore), who uses the structures and figures in the school's religious hierarchy to achieve her own dominance. Beautiful and treacherous, Faye is a readily identifiable busy-body. She's the leader of the pack -- in this case, the Christian Jewels, the girl's club of "the Lord." In "Saved!" as in the Hughes kid-comedy metaphysic, the adults are all idiots.

Under director Brian Dannelly's satiric hand, "Saved!" serves up the treachery of modern-day high school crowded with stereotypical characters and generic conventions. Unfortunately, the film pontificates with a smug brashness, glorifying in its own slight subversions.

Throughout, there are deliciously on-target moments of messianic lunacy, from the Christian skateboard team to the wishy-washy homilies of the school's head honcho, Pastor Skip (Martin Donovan), courtesy of screenwriters Dannelly and Michael Urban.

"Saved!" saves its most generous appraisals for the school's outsiders: a Jewish girl (Eva Amurri) and a paraplegic (Culkin). Of the tribe of followers, they're the most perceptive in seeing through the hypocrisy and inherent fascism of the school's social/religious system.

The well-selected cast -- principally Moore as the manipulative leader of the pack and Amurri as the story's iconoclastic heroine -- wage a catfight of holy war proportions. As the cynical, wheelchair-bound brethren, Culkin is aptly droll, while Jena Malone is nicely credible as the touchstone character, Mary, a "good girl" whose senior year becomes a nightmare after she gets pregnant and is turned into an outcast by Faye and her followers.

FilmThreat.com
by Don R. Lewis
(2004-03-12)

There's really nothing funnier than a movie that takes aim at religious institutions....except fart jokes and guys getting kicked in the nuts. But "Saved!" manages to avoid the latter and indulge heavily in the former with pretty damned good results. Equal parts satire, spoof and teen comedy, "Saved!" is just a sweet and funny movie that starts off with bite but settles into an honest feeling of happiness and acceptance for all types of people and their choices.


Mary (Malone) attends an ultra-hip Catholic school along with her pal Hillary Faye (Moore) and Hillary Faye's wheelchair bound brother, Roland (Culkin). Hillary Faye and Mary are quintessential Jesus groupies who want nothing more from life than to answer that bumper sticker that reads, "what would Jesus do?" It's this thought pattern that enters Mary's mind when her hunky boyfriend Dean (Faust) tells her he thinks he's gay.


Hopefully Jesus wouldn't do what Mary does as she sleeps with Dean to try and shake him of his homo-erotic tendencies. Shortly thereafter Dean is shipped off to a bible camp to rid him of his "gayness" leaving Mary alone with an unexpected bun in the oven.

Strangely hilarity doesn't really ensue as this film actually manages to shift into a gentle exploration of why the judgments of the Catholic church are so screwed up. "Saved!" is still funny due to Hillary Faye's over-zealousness and Roland's slide into a wheelchair bound bad boy. But it's Mary's journey and decisions that make great food for thought...especially for those who feel the need to adhere to many antiquated Christian philosophies. I mean, wasn't Jesus all about loving one another and not judging?


Mary soon finds friendship in Cassandra (Amurri), a substance abusing semi-slut who was hoarding all the finger-pointing to herself before Mary lost her purity. Eva Amurri (who I just discovered is Susan Sarandon's daughter) is great as Cassandra, sexy bad girl whose rough edges (of course) hide a huge heart. This role could launch her as a new screen hottie.


Sadly, I'm not involved enough in the Catholic religion to really feel all the jokes in "Saved!." But it's still a funny movie. Teen queen Mandy Moore also is quite funny and I (like many) wasn't expecting her to be much more than product placement.


"Saved!" isn't going to change the face of comedy. But it could change the attitudes of families who feel the need to be good Christians in this world that has drastically changed from when the guidebook was written. Afterall, it's easier to catch flies with honey than it is to catch them with vinegar.

FileThirteen.com

The new Christian Youth get their comeuppance in "Saved," a black comedy that builds up wonderfully for 80 minutes before it starts resting on some well- worn arguments and just sort of lays there. In the end, it feels like an opportunity for something really bitter and black has been missed.

Jena Malone is awesome (as expected) as Mary, perhaps the most normal girl in all of her Christian academy. Mary hangs out with the cool Christian girls and has an awesome cute Christian boyfriend named Dean. Her single mom (Mary Louise Parker) is even dating their hip pastor and the dean of Mary's school (Martin Donovan). Before the movie is over, however, Mary will totally become a new person.

"Saved" takes on the modern Christian church's stance on just about everything. Dating, divorce, homosexuality, premarital sex, abortion, unwed mothers and more. But its true genius is how it subtly points out the flaws inherent in the modern church. Mary makes a mistake and is left with huge problems and needs help urgently. Yet as a respected young member of her church, she is left with no one to turn to when she needs help. Why? Because her friends are loving Christians. They're the new judgemental Christians. In the new Christian church, to need help is to admit that you have done wrong and this seems to be considered the most unforgivable error of all. It's a paradox of the new Christian movement and one that will ultimately bring about their extinction. Christianity, in its purest and most divine form, is about love and forgiveness. It's not a clique or a situation to used in order to put one person in a position of authority over another. This theme is explored wonderfully and subtly in "Saved." It is one of the things that makes the film worth seeing.

To be honest, the other reasons to see it, for me at least, is that Macaulay Culkin, Patrick Fugit (who has a wonderful scene here where he wears next to nothing), Kett Turton and Chad Faust are also in the film. These are some really attractive guys and they are in the film nearly as much as Malone and co-star Mandy Moore. Mac looks simply stunning. Could anyone in the world, even Angelina Jolie, have lips sexier than Mac's? I don't think so. As far as acting, everyone here does quite a wonderful job. Malone is brilliant. Culkin is the best we have ever seen him (almost making "Party Monster" forgivable) and Moore is a revelation. She plays a very difficult role here, one that is not what we expect from her. It's an edgy, biting, bitchy character and Moore is definitely playing against type. She does an awesome job and deserves much kudos for expanding into a career move that I'm sure many of her handlers advised against.

In the end, unfortunately, "Saved" begins to reflect the ridiculous optimism and ideals of a 17 year old. The climax, is quite perfunctory and expected. The confrontation here is sappy and while the film has a chance to say something about love and forgiveness, it opt instead to simply question New Christianity and challenge its authority. It's the kind of thing you would expect a college sophomore to have written. Up until this point, the film has been edgy and fun, almost a black comedy, so this lame clash of who's wrong and who's right is really a letdown.

Still, I think this is a good film for young people to see and I think, in many ways, it might be in the same league of one of my favorite films of all time, "The Breakfast Club." As an adult, the answers here seem easy and the problems all sort of melt away. If I were 18 and saw this movie though, I would think it was the best ****ing thing I ever saw.

[consentida]

It looks like a pretty good movie. Maybe I'll check it out...

[AKA]

I'm going.

Oh, guess who the producer of Saved is? None other than Mr. Michael Stipe!

[webuster]

I heard about this a while ago- it sounds like it'll be really funny- so I'll go see it. I thought Macauley Culkin had given up after Party Monster though- why'd he suddenly quit films after richie rich?

[HuntingtonM15]

Originally posted by webuster
I thought Macauley Culkin had given up after Party Monster though

I'm not sure if he gave up after Party Monster or not, but Saved was filmed months before it even came out.

[Brian]

Originally posted by webuster
I heard about this a while ago- it sounds like it'll be really funny- so I'll go see it. I thought Macauley Culkin had given up after Party Monster though- why'd he suddenly quit films after richie rich?

He didn't quit films. In 1995 his parents had a major custody battle and wouldn't do films until it was settled. He didn't do any until Party Monster, even though the dispute was settled in 1997.

[Rhiannon]

I'll probably go. It looks funny.

[SBTB Geek]

Originally posted by AKA
Oh, guess who the producer of Saved is? None other than Mr. Michael Stipe!

He's also one of the reasons why I want to see Saved!. I'm just curious to see if he is as talented in movies as he is musically.

[SBTB Geek]

We are about a week away from the release date... who's going to go see it?... I'm very surprised at the "buzz" this movie is generating, I read a news story today saying that several organizations are boycotting the film because of the way it is portraying Christians.

The critics are also kind of divided about "Saved!" Many of them LOVE the film and are calling it the best teen movie ever, yet there are some that are calling it "very insulting." I guess little Mandy Moore just lost her innocent image.

[Dean Winchester]

(I said this on another thread to someone blasting the concept)

I've spoken to several people, Christian and non, who think this movie will be hilarious.

The movie isn't mocking Christianity... it's mocking "fundamentalist conservative Christians", people like Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, etc... Like it or not, the way they go on attacking everything, a movie like this was inevitable because most people, even many Christians, DO NOT AGREE with the way "Christian fundies" act. As long as they spew their bile and keep pissing people off, don't complain that someone decides to make a movie putting them in their rightful place. Saved will definately do well because a lot of people hate fundies.

Just because someone is a Christian doesn't automatically make them a fundie. Fundies are a small percentage of Christians, it's like saying that all Muslims are extremists (when the truth is, that is less than 5% of the total Muslims). I know many many Christians who hate the actions and attitudes of fundamentalists. I am glad someone is putting them in their rightful place. Fundies suck! I hope this movie is a smash

[Dean Winchester]

I think people who are offended by this movie have obviously never seen a John Waters style movie, or have never seen "But I'm A Cheerleader". I cannot wait to see it

[SBTB Geek]

Originally posted by BuffySlayer79
I've spoken to several people, Christian and non, who think this movie will be hilarious.

I was thinking about that yesterday as well. I was reading through IMdB, and several christians loved the film and found it hilarious. And like you said... the "fundies" are the ones that found it offensive. But I don't think the boycotting will go far, I read a review by a priest who actually enjoyed "Saved!" as well. If the main leaders of a religion won't support a boycott, I doubt others will.

I also want hope "Saved!" is a success... "Passion of The Christ" has brainwashed many, and we have to reverse the effect. Plus... Macaulay Culkin and Mandy Moore need a strong film to make a comeback. "Party Monster" did terribly, and "A Walk To Remember," and "The Princess Diaries" were Mandy's only successful films.

[ABlairican Pie]

Why am I not finding that movie in my local papers?? Is it not out yet?

[SBTB Geek]

Originally posted by Captain ABlairica
Why am I not finding that movie in my local papers?? Is it not out yet?

If you live in a small (or fairly small) town, "Saved!" probably won't be playing there since it's a limited release. They are testing it out in bigger cities first.

I would of expected United Artists to give a wide release after all buzz and hype. Despite being limited, I'm sure it will do well.