Review: Saved! (*** 1/2)

SAVED!
A film review by Steve Rhodes

Copyright 2004 Steve Rhodes

RATING (0 TO ****): *** 1/2


Not since ELECTION has high school life been so deliciously skewered as it
is in SAVED! And this time it's not just any school but a hyper-religious
institution called the American Eagle Christian High School.



Mandy Moore, in her best performance yet, plays against type as Hilary Faye,
the school's reigning goodie-two-shoes queen and number one bitch. She'd
happily run over her own grandmother for Jesus. The film's script, by Brian
Dannelly and Michael Urban, is filled with lines that are little gems of
biting satire. Although some Christians will undoubtedly take offense, most
will be laughing perhaps the loudest of all in the audience. The lines are
so good that they frequently seem to be better even than the actors
delivering them.



When we first meet Mary (Jena Malone, last seen wonderfully in THE UNITED
STATES OF LELAND), she tells us, "I've been born again my whole life." Her
earliest memories of being born again occur at age three. She lives with
her sexually charged mother, Lillian (Mary-Louise Parker), who has the hots
for the school's married Pastor Skip (Martin Donovan). He's an over-the-top
figure who likes to lead pep rally-like school services for Jesus. "Who's
down with G-O-D?" he screams to the students, as he is bathed in the
spotlight. Mary's most recent happy event was her acceptance into the band
called the Christian Jewels. Any guesses on who the lead singer could be?



Cast in the film's most throwaway role, Patrick Fugit is against wasted,
this time he plays Pastor Skip's relatively lethargic son. After his
brilliant piece of work as the lead in ALMOST FAMOUS, Fugit still hasn't
found another part worthy of his talents. Much better is HOME ALONE's
Macaulay Culkin who delivers a wicked reading of Roland, Hilary Faye's
"differently abled," wheel-chair bound brother. He lusts after the school's
only Jewish student, Cassandra (Eva Amurri), who likes nothing better than
shocking her fellow students. At one assembly she starts talking in
tongues and then begins to flash her boobs, causing the atheist Roland to
actually thank God for the first time in his life and really mean it.



Even the student's cars tell stories. Hilary Faye's new van has the license
of "JCGIRL," while the bumper sticker on Cassandra's junker reads, "Jesus
Loves You. Everyone Else Thinks You're An Asshole."



One of the film's many subplots involves Dean (Chad Faust), the school's
only gay student. Before Dean is sent away to a tough love school that
specializes in kids suffering from drug abuse, alcoholism and "deep
gayification," Mary -- whose name wasn't chosen lightly -- decides to cure
him. Unsafe sex, she learns, can cause more than disease.



Hilary Faye provides her own proof than homosexuality must be unnatural.
After all, she reasons with Mary, "You're not born a gay. You're born
again."



Although the school's orgasmic rendition of the musical "Jesus Christ
Superstar" and Hilary Faye's big "Come to Jesus" moment are hilarious, the
film's funniest bit happens outside an abortion clinic, where Cassandra and
Roland happen to see Mary as she is leaving. "There's only one reason a
good Christian girl goes to Planned Parenthood," Cassandra tells Roland.
"She's planting a pipe bomb?" he asks, shocked and confused.



SAVED! runs 1:32. It is rated PG-13 for "strong thematic issues involving
teens - sexual content, pregnancy, smoking and language" and would be
acceptable for kids around 12 and up.



The film is playing in nationwide release now in the United States. In the
Silicon Valley, it is showing at the AMC and the Century theaters.



Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com

Email:



************************************************** *********************



Want free reviews and weekly movie and video recommendations via Email?

Just send me a letter with the word "subscribe" in the subject line.

"Steve Rhodes" wrote in message link.net...
SAVED!
A film review by Steve Rhodes

Copyright 2004 Steve Rhodes

RATING (0 TO ****): *** 1/2

http://jamesbowman.net/reviewDetail.asp?pubID=1521

-TOE