| Reviewer Roundup |
| 1. |
 | Dustin Putman |
| review follows |
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| 2. |
| Steve Rhodes |
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Review by Dustin Putman
3 stars out of 4
"Saved!," a John Hughes-inspired teen comedy with a twist—it is set
at a Catholic high school—successfully manages the tricky balancing
act of being sharply satirical without making fun of its characters.
Wh at one's personal religious beliefs are may, indeed, weigh upon
what he or she takes away from the experience, but at its core it
is a witty and sensitive motion picture that simply questions whether
hypocrisy plays a part in a black-and-white-taught religion when human
nature clearly calls for a gray area. Life, after all, is not as simple
as that, and who, really, is to say what is right and natural and
what is wrong and immoral?
On the verge of her senior year at American Eagle Christian High,
by-the-book Mary (Jena Malone) becomes wildly conflicted when her
boyfriend, Dean (Chad Faust), announces to her that he is gay. In
a desperate effort to change his ways, Mary goes against what she
has been taught to believe and sleeps with Dean. Soon, Dean has been
shipped off to a sort of rehab center after his parents discover gay
porn under his bed and Mary is forced to fend for herself when she
turns up pregnant. Once a self-proclaimed "groupie for Jesus," Mary's
newfound individu alism and questioning of Christianity's teachings
leads her to be shunned by popular, misguided best friend Hilary Faye
(Mandy Moore). Seeking solace in two fellow radicals—the rebellious
(and sole Jew in the school) Cassandra (Eva Amurri) and Hilary Faye's
wheelchair-bound, atheist brother, Roland (Macaulay Culkin)—Mary and
her new pals set out over the course of the school year to try and
open up the minds of their tight-vested classmates and pastor principal (Martin Donovan).
"Why would God make everyone different if He wanted us all to be the
same?" Mary asks at one point. This is the central notion explored
in "Saved!," a perceptive slice-of-life, directed by Brian Dannelly,
that nonetheless has a devilish sense of humor. While Mary comes to
terms with Dean's revelation and her own pregnancy, which will make
her a pariah in her community if most anyone finds out, the self-absorbed
Hilary Faye speaks endlessly of being "filled with Christ's love"
even though she h as so obviously missed the point. Meanwhile, Cassandra
subtly ridicules those around her as a way of signifying how easily
she can see through their shiny, lost veneers; Roland looks from the
outside in, rolling his eyes at the two-facedness he sees from the
other students, none more so than fraudulently caring sister Hilary
Faye; Pastor Skip worries about the sin of starting a relationship
with Mary's mother, Lillian (Mary-Louise Parker); and Patrick (Patrick
Fugit), just back from a Christian skateboarding tour, is mostly indifferent
about his beliefs as he develops a crush on Mary.
Having never gone to a Christian high school, it can only be assumed,
based on the research director Dannelly has noted he did, that this
portrayal of such is mostly accurate, if occasionally exaggerated
for cinematic purposes. At an assembly at the start of the school
year, Pastor Skip uses skewed terms like "get our Christ on," asks
his student in rap fashion if they are "down with G-O-D," an d invites
anyone to come forward and recommit to God after a summer where they
may have slid just a little. Students, such as Tia (Heather Matarazzo),
speak enthusiastically about having visions of Jesus as a desperate
effort to join Hilary Faye's in-crowd. And Hilary Faye, despite claiming
to be giving and understanding, drops Mary the second she disagrees
with what she says and looks down negatively on her handicapped brother,
to boot. The fixedly observed characters who populate "Saved!" are
never made fun of by Dannelly for their beliefs and ideas, although
those viewers who do not share such strict religious beliefs may naturally
find things to giggle and sneer at. Instead, Dannelly zeroes in on
the tricky idea that even those people who are faithful worshippers,
like Pastor Skip and Hilary Faye, are flawed and confused, still struggling
to oblige their religion even as they haven't yet gotten a grip on
who they are as human beings. After all, there is a tricky double-standard
to be explored when everyone grows up being taught to be strong, free-thinking
citizens while never wavering from their said religion's guidelines,
especially when such guidelines can be read any number of ways.
Screenwriters Brian Dannelly and Michael Urban do an exceptional job
of dealing with their wide ensemble of characters wiithout one-dimensionalizing
them. Hilary Faye, for example, the closest thing to an outright villain,
is not demonized, and it is impossible not to feel sympathy for her
in the conclusion when a key unsavory action of her's is discovered
and she must somehow move forward with other people's perception of
her changed forever. What she learns in the process, though—that nobody
is perfect and life is more complicated than what she had been allowing
herself to see—is an invaluable stepping stone that makes you actually
kind of admire her. As Hilary Faye, this is the very type of part
that Mandy Moore (2004's "Chasing Liberty") needed to prove that she
isn't just a singer-turned-wannabe-actress, but a genuinely talented
and eclectic thespian who can play a varying degree of roles. Moore
is as close to perfection in her alternately funny and poignant turn
as she has ever been before; she steals the movie, and her cover version
of The Beach Boys' "God Only Knows" over the opening credits is incendiary.
Coming in a close second, Eva Amurri (2002's "The Banger Sisters"),
whose acidic line deliveries are a way of calling fault to others'
beliefs without actually coming off as a mean person, is an utter
delight as rebel Cassandra, who falls for soul mate Roland because
they understand each other like no one else does. Macaulay Culkin
(2003's "Party Monster"), as Roland, is drolly funny in his second
accomplished attempt to parlay into an adult actor, and the reliable
Jena Malone (2004's "The United States of Leland") narrowly avoids
the typecasting she has become known for by being the" troubled lead
actor," rather than the "troubled love interest."
"Saved!," which bases most of its action around holidays and special
occurrences during the school year (i.e. the first day of school,
Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's Day, the prom), is exceedingly clever—one
scene featuring a botched exorcism is scored to the "Tubular Bells"
theme from "The Exorcist"—but not too silly that its thought-provoking
ideas and character relationships get lost in the shuffle. Some subplots
are more undernourished than others, such as Patrick and Mary's romance
because it is never made clear why he likes her so much, but the heart
and passion that were used to make the film and deal with the themes
on display is always there, an unfaltering constant. One does not
have to be a Chris tian or even a teenager or twentysomething to understand,
appreciate, and be wildly entertained by what "Saved!" has to offer.
Copyright © 2004 Dustin Putman
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