Saved!


3/4

Starring: Jena Malone, Mandy Moore, Macaulay Culkin, Martin Donovan, Patrick Fugit, Mary Louise Parker

Rated PG-13 for Strong Thematic Issues Involving Teens-Sexual Content, Pregnancy, Smoking and Language

“Saved!” is a much needed satire of the Christian Right, and while some of the barbs are sharp, it’s mostly a character piece, and it has a heart.  Sure, it’s kind of schmaltzy, and many of the laughs aren’t as successful as the filmmakers would have liked, but is enjoyable nonetheless.

Mary (Malone) is a good Christian.  She’s one of the Christian Jewels, the sort-of club of popular girls at American Eagle High School.  Her best friend is the uber-Christian Hilary Faye (Moore), and together they rule the school as the best Christians.  But one day her boyfriend Dean (Chad Faust) confesses that he’s gay, and when she knocks her head on the pool ladder, she thinks she sees Jesus (it’s really the pool guy).  Jesus tells her that she has to do whatever she can to save Dean.  So she sleeps with him, hoping to cure him of his gay-ness, but it backfires; Dean is still gay and she winds up pregnant.  How long can the school's pride and joy keep her secret?

The film isn’t as funny as it thinks it is, but this isn’t a no-holds barred satire.  It’s really a character-based comedy where everyone rethinks their religion (so to speak).  Sometimes it is funny (there’s nothing better than when Hilary Faye crashes her van into a huge statue of Jesus), but it’s also likable because we like the characters.

Jena Malone is a good choice for the pensive Mary.  When she becomes pregnant, she starts questioning God because she thought he would restore her virginity.  She finds sanctuary in the school outcasts, which include Roland (Culkin), Hilary Faye’s crippled brother, and Cassandra (a delightfully nasty Eva Amurri), the Jewish rebel.  In some ways, these two characters are the most interesting in the film.  Roland has a cracking wit and Culkin has nice chemistry with Amurri.  Speaking of Culkin, he makes a nice return in his second movie in a ten year absence from the screen. 

The real star is Mandy Moore.  Originally a pop star, Moore has shown herself to be a better actress than a teen singer/marketing icon.  Hilary Faye is so blinded by her faith that she doesn’t realize what a hypocrite she is for alienating everyone who isn’t, in her eyes, a perfect Christian.  Moore is a real surprise; she goes so far over the top that it’s hilarious.

The film has its problems.  The film could have used a little more bite and a little less schmaltz, and some of the lines at the end make you want to roll your eyes.  But ultimately, it’s a fun way to spend 90 minutes.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Desert Flower

2/4 Starring: Liya Kebede, Sally Hawkins, Timothy Spall, Juliet Stevenson Rated R for Some Violent Content, A Scene of Sexuality and Language The problem with "Desert Flower" is not that Waris Dirie's story isn't suited for the cinematic treatment or that the actress playing her isn't acceptable.  The problem is that director Sherry Hormann doesn't do a good job of telling it.  This is a poorly focused film that can't decide what it wants to be about or what it wants to say. As is the case with many a true story, the life of Waris Dirie is too amazing to be made up by a Hollywood screenwriter.  This woman fled an arranged marriage as a child, spent years as a servant to a Somali diplomat in England, survived on the streets, and was discovered by a fashion photographer while working as a janitor.  Then she became a supermodel and UN Ambassador in the fight against female genital mutilation. Waris experienced a lot in her life.  Telling it all in a...
Read more

The Road

3.5/4 Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Charlize Theron Rated R for Some Violence, Disturbing Images and Language "The Road" has to be the most downbeat, depressing and cynical movie I've ever seen.  That's not meant as a criticism, but a fact.  This is a tough movie to get through, but not a chore.  Those who venture in will find their time well spent, albeit not in a necessarily pleasant way.  Then again, if a movie is based off a novel by Cormac McCarthy, "pleasant" isn't a word one would hope to be used to describe it. The film takes place after the world has ended.  How it happened is not explained because it doesn't matter.  But any hope of the Earth recovering from what happened has long since gone.  A man (Mortensen) and his son (Smit-McPhee) are travelling together, trying to "get to the coast."  There are few people left, although considering what many are doing with the goal of survival, that's a good thing...
Read more

My Left Foot

 2/4 Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Brenda Fricker, Ray McAnally, Fiona Shaw, Alison Whelan Rated R (probably for Language and Brief Violence) "My Left Foot" feels like one of those movies designed to win Oscars and nothing else.  In fact, it did win two Oscars for the immortal Daniel Day-Lewis and Brenda Fricker, but apart from their strong work, there's not much else to remember about this movie.  It's well-acted, but all in all it's pretty dull. Christy Brown (Day-Lewis) is getting recognized for his work in order to raise money for the disabled.  Despite being a talented artist and writer, Christy is not the ideal candidate for the job.  He's an alcoholic jerk who makes no secret of his lust for women nor is he above using his disability to manipulate people into doing what he wants.  Interspersed with his attempts to seduce a woman tasked with looking after him while he awaits his entrance are vignettes from his childhood.  Most notably how his mothe...
Read more