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Saved!
Review By: Lena Aburdene
LenaAburdene@TheCinemaSource.com
Saved, a social commentary on the Christian world, isn't
edgy enough to be good. At times it appears to be quite judgmental,
while it's whole premise focuses on the negativity of judgments.
Mary (Jena Malone) is a sweet, innocent girl who is seemingly
brainwashed by the Jesus lovin' school she attends. She is a proud member
of the Christian Jewels (an elitest clique) and she has the "perfect"
boyfriend, Dean (Chad Faust). One day, Dean announces that he
thinks he might be gay and Mary decides the only way to "save" him is to
have sex with him. Unfortunately, she gets pregnant, Dean is sent away
to be "fixed" and in the process she becomes ostracized by her "holier
than thou" best friends, Hillary Faye (Mandy Moore and Veronica
(Elizabeth Thai. Feeling alone and questioning everything she
was taught, Mary befriends Roland (Macaulay Culkin the
handicapped brother of Hillary Faye, and Jewish rebel, Cassandra (Eva
Amurri). It is then she learns lessons on life and does a 180 in terms of
her personal beliefs.
This movie was too exaggerated to be effective. Taking obvious blow
after blow to the "born again" Christian type faith was almost too
Michael Moore-ish to take seriously. Not to mention, a script that tries to
be edgy and different, should not take the route of a "She's All That"
teenybopper romance plot line between Mary and Patrick (Patrick
Fugit) By the way, what was the point of his character? Now, I'm not a
religious person, but I found it hard to believe there could be a
school out there that is so devoted to loving Jesus. I do understand that
unfortunately there are many people with these judgmental personalities
but the film wasn't witty enough for me to buy into it. I'm also not a
fan of films that tie everything up so neatly and precisely! Yay,
everything is good again!
Michael Stipe of REM was a co-producer on this film and
it's obvious that the message he is trying to send is that we shouldn't
judge people who step outside the "lines" of the rules of the Bible.
While I whole heartedly agree with this message, I just didn't find the
film interesting or edgy enough. (Try Happiness if you really
want an interesting social commentary type film with punch).
As for features, you won't be disappointed. It comes with standard DVD
stuff like deleted scenes, bloopers and featurettes.
Movie Grade: C
DVD Grade: A-
Overall Grade: C+
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