Saved!
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Movie Reviews of Saved!
Movie Review: An intelligent and truthful movie
Summary: 5 Stars
From all appearances, Mary is the epitome of the perfect Christian girl. She attends a Baptist high school; she sings in a Christian girl band (the Christian Jewels) with her friends, the snotty, holier-than-thou Hillary Faye and her ever-present sidekick Veronica; and she keeps a photo of her cute Christian boyfriend Dean in a "True Love Waits" picture frame. Mary's world comes crashing down one summer day in the backyard pool when Dean confesses that he thinks he might be gay. In her shock, Mary bangs her head and sinks to the bottom of the pool, prompting the nearby long-haired, bearded pool boy to dive to the rescue. While stunned, Mary "sees" a vision of Jesus swimming towards her. He tells her it is her responsibility save Dean. Confused and concerned for her boyfriend's soul, Mary decides that means having sex with him to turn him straight.
The next thing she knows, Dean's parents have shipped him off to a "degayification" center and Mary finds herself pregnant. She tries to keep her pregnancy a secret, but news of Dean's homosexuality spreads like wildfire through the school thanks to Hillary Faye's insidious prayer group meeting for Dean's soul. Between hiding her secret and her anger at Hillary Faye's hypocrisy, Mary finds herself ostracized by those she thought were her friends. She finds support from unexpected sources, however--the school misfits: Cassandra, the lone Jew who gleefully rebels against everything Christian, and Roland, Hillary Faye's wheelchair-bound brother. The three outcasts band together, but Hillary Faye isn't finished with them yet.
The movie is quality from start to finish. The script is sharp and deliciously witty, the direction is pitch-perfect, and the acting is top-notch. Jena Malone as Mary perfectly captures the naïveté, confusion, and anger of a young girl caught in the whirlwind of a crisis of faith. Mandy Moore proves once again that she is a force to be reckoned with, playing Hillary Faye with a ruthless intensity. Macaulay Culkin as Roland steals his scenes with some of the movies best lines and sight gags. In fact, every actor in this movie brings a resonance of sincerity and believability to their characters, from Mary-Louise Parker as Mary's single mother, to Eva Amurri (Susan Sarandon's daughter) as Cassandra, to Heather Matarazzo as Tia, Mary's replacement in Hillary Faye's clique.
Compared to the rest of the movie, I thought the ending was a little weak--sugary sweet and a little too pat--but the strong message comes through loud and clear anyway. It's a message of acceptance and finding your true family in unexpected places.
Some people have seen Saved! as mean-spirited towards the Christian community, but I think those people are missing the true intention of the film. Having come from the world depicted in the movie, I can attest that there is no exaggeration involved. The movie is honest--brutally so at times--but never sinks to the level of simply making fun of Christians. If anything, I think it shows the struggle we all have in reconciling what our religion and our heart tells us--something that is all too often two different messages--and illustrates the true spirit of Christianity. The real theme of this movie is celebrating diversity, something I think we could all use a little more of. I loved this movie and can't recommend it enough.
Movie Review: Fantastic! - with one reservation
Summary: 5 Stars
So there are two types of reviews on this movie: reviews from Christians and reviews from non-Christian. Typically, the non-Christians love it and many of the Christians hate it- although I'm seeing a few positive reviews here from Christians...
I'm a very conservative Christian. I take the entire Bible to be the inspired word of God. That said, I loved Saved!- the characters were lovable, the dialogue was witty, and nearly everything just worked. I do take one issue with the movie, which I'll get to later.
The movie parodies Christian society very well. I've never attended a Christian school per se, but I've seen many of the absurdities portrayed in the movie, and I've even been a lot of them, myself. It's very healthy to be able to laugh at yourself or something you're a part of, and Saved! gave me ample opportunity.
The parodies of Christian society are also useful because they show Christian viewers how utterly foolish we must look sometimes to non-Christians. That's not to say that we should compromise our beliefs (at all!), but we have PLENTY of room to lighten up.
Meanwhile, the acting is fantastic. I absolutely loved Jena Malone (she's awesome in everything), Culkin, and a couple others in their roles. If the message of the movie to Christians is that we need to stop loving just fellow Christians and turn our attentions outwards to others, then the characters alone accomplish this mission. I strongly cared for all of the non-Christian or doubting characters by the half-point of the movie.
OK, let me mention where I take issue with the movie. This is a long explanation here, but this isn't a simple matter. The movie ultimately gets into a theme of accepting everybody as they are and uses homosexuality as the prime example of society's inability to accept everybody. I say there is a great difference between 1) loving everybody regardless of orientation and 2) accepting homosexual behavior. (Certainly you've heard "love the sinner, hate the sin".) The NEW testament is actually very explicit that acts of homosexuality are sins. Saved! seems to want to ignore the Bible, itself- and that one thing I can't accept.
On a practical level of treating people better, though, it has a point. Homosexuality may be a sin, but so is robbery, lust, and the common lie. Even though these are all sins, society tends to treat homosexuals as lepers rather than as people that Christ would love just as much as any other person.
I must add, though, that loving those who are sinning (that's everybody) sometimes requires warning them that they are sinning and helping them through it- it may sound hard and mean, but love isn't always the fuzzy thing we've been taught about. The movie does make a point, though- certainly the characters in the movie don't take this loving path- they want to hide problems rather than deal with them.
But I digress...I didn't want to talk about that issue too little because it is a complex issue that Saved! gets half right.
If you're a Christian wondering whether this movie is too hostile to your faith, then I encourage you to give it a try. I found it thoughtful, touching, and thoroughly entertaining.
Movie Review: This Movie Saves All From Being Bored!
Summary: 5 Stars
I hadn't seen many ads for this movie going in, but I knew that Mandy Moore, Jena Malone, and Macauly Culkin were in it. I didn't set my hopes very high, thinking that the film was going to be a bit of a letdown. I was so wrong! This is one of the funniest and best movies that I've seen in a very long time. The story follows Mary (Malone), an oh-so-Christian girl who has never wavered in spirituallity. She has two best friends, the so-good-she's-bad Hilary Faye (Moore), and Veronica (Elizabeth Thai), a Vietnamese girl who was "saved" when she was adopted by an African-American family. The three of them are part of a group called the Christian Jewels, and they are a Christian Rock band. Mary also has a boyfriend named Dean (Chad Faust), who is also a perfect Christian... until one day, Mary and Dean are swimming, when Dean tells Mary that he thinks he might be gay. Mary is so shocked that she bangs her head and starts to drown. A kid by the pool, who has long brown hair and a beard, jumps in and saves her. In a delusional state, Mary believes the boy to be Jesus, and he tells her to save Dean. Mary does everything she can think of short of sex to save her boyfriend from homosexualality. One day, while talking with Hilary Faye, they get on the subject of intercourse. Hilary Faye says that, in certain circumstances, like rape, God can restore a person's virginity. Mary believes that, if she is able to save Dean through sex, her virginity will be restored. So they do it. And not only does Dean not become straight, Mary gets pregnant.
Soon, Mary begins to question her faith, and she is thrown out of the Jewels group, only to be replaced by a nerdy wannabe (Heather Matarazzo). Mary also begins hanging out with Cassandra (Eva Amurri), the only Jewish girl and the only bad girl at the school, and Roland (Culkin), Hilary Faye's handicapped and laid back brother. The two kids, who are fast developping a relationship, help get her through the pregnancy as best they can.
This movie is about religion gone nuts. The girls at the school, Hilary Faye in particular, are examples of people who use religion for the wrong reasons. Hilary Faye believes anyone who isn't Christian is going to Hell, and it is her mission to save them all. Also, the movie addresses ways of remedying situations. When Dean is sent to a place called Mercy House to get de-gayified, Mary soon discovers that it is not a place for those who are sent there, it is a place for those who do the sending.
This movie may be offensive to some people. For example, when we are first introduced to Cassandra, we see her pull into a handicap parking space, she is smoking, there are beer bottles in her car, and right away we learn she is Jewish. There are bad girls in every religion, and we needed to know why she did the things she did, but it's almost as if the writer assossiated Jews with evil. Probably not though, because of the film's theme. Anyway, if you can handle religion bashing, you will love this movie.
Movie Review: Saved! Saves...
Summary: 5 Stars
Smart, thought-provoking movies haven't exactly been rampant these days. There are few films that have made people raise an eyebrow or think about the point for more than two seconds. Over the summer, a film came along and resurrected the name of cinema as well as its distributor, MGM Films.
Opened first at Sundance and then into select theaters (in larger cities), a movie with a young but talented (which is hard to come by) cast and a hilarious and tight storyline proved itself as the best comedy of the year. The film is called Saved! and is hailed by Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times as "A sassy and smart teenage comedy."
Saved!, directed by Brian Dannelly and produced by Michael Stipe (yes, of REM fame), starts out as a simple story of kids at a super-fundamentalist Christian high school called American Eagles. The main character and narrator, good girl Mary (Jena Malone), is headed in the right direction in terms of faith with her best friend Hilary Faye (Mandy Moore) and boyfriend Dean (Chad Faust). In a harmless game of "secrets under water," Dean confesses to questioning his sexual orientation to Mary.
Stunned, Mary tries to "save" her boyfriend after a blow to the head and a "vision" of Jesus Christ... and ends up pregnant.
Through the serious twist the film takes, the jokes are plenty-many of the sidesplitting lines come from Hilary's "differently able" wheelchair-bound brother Roland (Macauly Culkin-yes, the Home Alone kid!) and Jewish rebel Cassandra (Eva Amurri), whom everyone wants to "save."
The story continues as Mary becomes ostracized by probably the only friends she's ever had-but finds that there is always someone who is willing to support her, even if they are a little off from everyone else.
More important is the fact that the film is a satire of fundamentalist religious beliefs and how interpretation is, and should be, open to anyone. All the way to the breathtaking ending, it also asks people to leave their minds open and to look for gray areas because black and white doesn't always necessarily hold true-especially in current times.
The cast is strong and well-picked. Malone, Moore and Amurri butt heads with the best of them and Culkin's Roland steals almost every scene he's in. The film also stars Heather Matarazzo (Welcome To The Dollhouse), Mary Louise Parker (Red Dragon, Angels In America), Patrick Fugit (Almost Famous) and includes a hilarious cameo by Valerie Bertinelli as a cheesy TV-movie actress (such a stretch!).
Although the film is a comedy (and will make you laugh... a lot), it tackles a severely serious issue that does apply to the youth of today's culture-finding oneself and questioning everything that's been taught. It should be watched by anyone and everyone willing to have an open mind.
Movie Review: A smart and wickedly funny satire.
Summary: 5 Stars
It's been a very long time since I have enjoyed a teen comedy. I was relieved to finally see a teen comedy that's smart, funny and wicked. Director Brian Dannelly does a very impressive job here delivering a new and fresh teen comedy with a perfect cast.
Finally, Mandy Moore has stepped up from playing innocent good-girl roles as seen in "A Walk To Remember" to playing the exact opposite here as a vicious over-the-top Christian girl.
This movie is different from other teen comedies and its clearly known by the setting of the movie, a Christian high school.
Many Christians protested this movie saying it mocks the Christian religion and that it is extremely blasphemous and irreverent. But I disagree. The strength of this movie is in its message; We shouldn't belittle others for being different and for doing things that we don't agree with. One of my favorite lines from the film is when one of the character holds a bible and says "this is not a weapon".
The story revolves around good-girl Mary, played wonderfully by Jena Malone, a Christian and one of the members of the Christian Jewels (a Jesus cheerleading group led by Mandy Moore's character Hilary Faye). Mary has the perfect Christian boyfriend, Dean (Chad Faust). Or so she things he's perfect.
Dean reveals to Mary that he thinks he's gay. At that moment, after Mary bumps her head, she thinks she sees a vision of Jesus who tells her to save Dean. Mary decides to give up her virginity to save Dean and in exchange, God will restore her spiritual virginity. But Mary becomes pregnant and Dean is sent to Mercy House, a place that deals with drug abuse, pregnant teens and de-gayification.
Believing that God has betrayed her, Mary losses faith. Her best friend Hilary Faye believes that Mary is "back-sliding into the flames of Hell" and tries to save her by praying for her. Hilary Faye even goes as far as trying to perform an exorcism on Mary in a hilarious and emotional scene.
Mary, now an outcast, befriends the other outsiders: The lone Jew (played by the perfect Eva Ammuri), who's also Hilary Faye's foe, and Roland (Macaulay Culkin), Hilary Faye's handicapped brother. Mary also begins to have feelings for Patrick (Patrick Fugit), the son of the Pastor Skip (the hilarious Martin Donovan).
If you have a sense of humor and could see this movie as a satirical comedy, then I recommend you see this movie. This film is not an attack on Christianity; it is an attack on intolerance. There hasn't been many good teen comedies that portray teens the way they should and that tackles real life issues. That is why I appreciate this movie for its strong messages and for being daring.