Saved!
|
List Price: Our Price: $4.28 You Save: $10.70 (71%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $1.09 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of Saved!
Movie Review: Great caricature of all that's wrong with Christianity, fortunately not all Christians are like this.
Summary: 5 Stars
I laughed a lot at this movie and its biting critique of Christianity, although it was a chuckle mixed with bitterness. The film really exaggerates a lot of the faith's -usually- more subtle cultural idiosyncrasies, especially Christians' attempt at mimicking popular culture but with a spiritual angle... and failing miserably. Of particular amusement was when some of the main character's friends try to exorcise her because she is asking legitimate, but serious questions about God. The movie's Christian community perceives and labels these honest questions as the work of the devil etc. Yet the "leaders" of the community themselves embody almost everything wrong with Christianity: hypocrisy, superficial relationships, refusal to ask real questions, insensitive, judgmental and just plain ignorant.
If you are a Christian and find the movie too offensive, then maybe it should serve as a wake-up call. Like it or not, this movie reflects how much of our culture views Christians. Fortunately, most people have a high degree of respect for Jesus; it's his followers that mess it up more often than not. We should take note of that. But kudos to the Christian viewers of this movie who find themselves thinking, "that's NOT what being a Christian is about." And even more kudos to those believers motivated to change the underlying causes for this caricature of their faith.
Christians could (and should) be known for their authenticity, love and forgiveness, and not for all of the hate, judgmental attitudes and hypocrisy they are usually identified with. This film capitalizes on the distance between the ideal and the all too often reality of the modern faithful. Whatever you believe (or don't believe) this movie is very entertaining and worth taking the time for at least once. Just don't judge God by the behavior of his people (whether in the movie or in real life).
Movie Review: Funny Satire
Summary: 5 Stars
This flick has so much going for it that it is hard to know where to start. But first, I want to disagree with the reviewer who believes that satire is meant to be funny and not taken seriously. Just the opposite. Satire uses humor to address deadly serious subjects. It is difficult to do well, as it needs to achieve a precarious balance between being too biting and being too gentle. This movie achieves that balance, and is the main reason why it is so delicious!
We have been fortunate that two excellent satires have been made recently, "Thank You for Smoking" and "Little Miss Sunshine". The former satirizes the death merchants who sell cigarettes (the main character is likable, although his job is detestable), and the latter takes pot shots at the self-motivational industry and child beauty pageants. There is also a satire of an "American Idol"-like TV show, which also stars Mandy Moore, which is pretty good (I forget the name).
I will not summarize the movie here. Suffice it to say that "Saved" has an excellent script--funny, warm, and wise. The characters are well-developed and believable. The acting is superb, from everyone, nothing over the top (inappropriate in a satire). Moore's Hillary Fay is played as a devout Born Again Christian whose religious zeal has made her lose some of her basic humanity. Jena Malone's Mary is a sweet religious girl who gets woken up by a jolt of reality and ends up confused about what to believe. Mary's mother is delightful, and has some of the film's best lines.
Some reviewers have said that this is an anti-Christian film. It is not. It is a plea for tolerance and understanding from certain religious fundamentalists who see the world in terms of black and white, good or bad. As the preacher's son notes, "No Dad, the world is gray." We all can learn from this film.
Movie Review: Surprisingly brilliant
Summary: 5 Stars
Popping the DVD into my player, I half-expected "Saved!" to be another of those Hollywood teen-comic tragedies, the ones that try so hard to be among legends like "Clueless" but end up more closely to "Never Been Kissed." Yes, for the first five minutes or so, we hear Jena Malone's character Mary narrate about her fabulous Christian life and it's almost enough to make one wince. But soon, that all changes.
The storyline has been repeated before: When Mary realizes her boyfriend is gay, she tries to save his soul by sleeping with him, supposedly because she saw a vision from Jesus. Her wanton behavior makes her end up pregnant and the rest is basically trying to hide such a "shameful" fact from her friends (including Mandy Moore as Hilary Faye), all while making new friends with the school's only Jew and [...] chick, Cassandra. Along the way Mary also catches the eye of the principal's son, Patrick.
"Saved!" is unapologetic in its writing; it pops you with edgy satire and out-of-nowhere hilarity. Jena Malone also happens to be one of my favorite actresses, also shining in other great films like "Donnie Darko" and "The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys." Everyone was good, including Macualay Culkin (sp?) who portrays an easygoing wheelchair-bound guy (and Hilary Faye's brother.) It's also a message for Christianity, how it has to change with the times and how some Christians go to blind-faith-head-in-the-sand absurdity.
Don't be offended, either. Nothing is all good; sometimes you got to focus on what needs to be said or divulged (hint hint, Catholic church!) and accept it with a sense of humor because if you don't, well, then there's really no point in living, is there?
Movie Review: Save This One In Your DVD Collection!
Summary: 5 Stars
*Note* Possible plot points are marked with ### so you can skip them if youd like.
This movie takes place in a Christian high school where dysfunction abounds. You have the main character, a pregnant teenager (her reasoning behind getting pregnant is hillarious!). Her boyfriend who is desperate need of saving in most of the characters eyes. Her mother whos constantly changing her hair color or something else to regain her youth. A Jew. A cripple who doesnt really consider himself a Christian. The new kid in school who just happens to be the principals son. An uber Christian whos a bit crazy really, and her two hang ons. Gee i think i got everybody...
The point is, youd think this many characters would make it hard to develop most of them well. But somehow they do. Each character is unique and has their own story to tell, which does get told. The basic story is personal faith versus public faith. What each person thinks is right and how the Christian public says theyre right or wrong. Everyone ends up going through thier own personal revelations as their beliefs get pushed and shoved.
A very thought provoking movie. Devout Christians, if they can get past the farce this movie makes of people who just blindly believe what is hand fed to them, probably will have trouble with the last part. ###Basically one of the stands the film makes is that Jesus loves gay people too, so that would be hard for many people to swallow.###
Even those who ARE devout in their faith should check this movie out. Might have you rethinking a thing or two.
Movie Review: extremely clever
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie is not anti-Christian, as many people say. It just mocks them. And I'm not totally supporting this. But all those tight-knit conservatives who've been persecuting this movie mercilessly should actually open their eyes to this movie. The main message is tolerance. That is often needed in our society, especially on the religious front.
Jena Malone ia Mary Cummings, who's just recently found out that her boyfriend (Chad Faust) is gay. In order to "save" him from eternal damnation, she seduces him, and ends up pregnant instead while he's sent off to a Christian cleansing camp, Mercy House. This unexpected problem begans to drive Mary apart from her opinionated, devoutly religious influential best friend Hilary Faye (Mandy Moore), who manages to turn the school -- along with her devoted "disciples" -- against Mary. It's only then that she finds true friends, other students that her school doesn't quite know what to do with. Ultimately, they nagivate the treacherous waterways to graduation, where they discover the true meaning of being saved.
Jena Malone is a dynamic actress. All of her emotion is raw and powerful, and she brings much depth to her confused character. Mandy Moore is absolutely hilarious as Hilary Faye, who's so sure of herself when she's obviously so wrong. And Heather Matarazzo as Tia is absolutely genius. She may not have many speaking lines, but she manages to convey the motive of her character so clearly through everything that she does. A must see movie.