YES!
Painting nail polish crosses on your toes and chanting “Jesus rules!” doesn’t seem like the cool thing to do, but in “Saved!” being openly religious is the only thing to do. This satire of a Christian high school pokes fun at intense religious faith but does not offend.
The film follows several teenagers. Some are on a one-way trip to salvation and others need to make a few pit stops along the way. “Saved!” works because it isn’t just a spiritual statement; it’s a satire of the average teen movie, complete with the geek, the bad girl, the popular girl, the shunned girl, the hunk, and so on.
Jena Malone plays Mary, who begins to question her faith after naively attempting to rid her boyfriend of his newly confessed homosexuality by stirring his interest. Mary’s family and friends believe that her outed beau can be cured of his”spiritually toxic affliction,” so he is sent to a Christian clinic that will rid him of his gayness.
Malone plays Mary with a certain level headedness that is refreshing compared to the usual hysterics portrayed by many teen actresses.
She is a competent teen who sees through the human faáade to see the good in all people, not just fellow Christians.
In “Saved!,” Mandy Moore surprisingly leaves behind former sickeningly sweet and generic roles to play egocentric, control freak Hilary Faye, the “It” girl of American Eagle Christian High School. Hilary Faye, a showy Christian filled with Jesus’ love, takes herself too seriously and the Bible too literally. Her mission in life is to save all sinners. At one point, Moore hurls a Bible at Mary as she screams, “I am filled with Christ’s love!”
She is also eternally disgusted by her paralyzed brother’s lack of independence and constant need to make others feel awkward about his “situation.”
Roland (Macaulay Culkin) feels stifled by his sister’s will to do Christ’s work by reluctantly caring for him. He settles for making sarcastic remarks and rolling his eyes until he meets the only Jewish girl at the high school, Cassandra (Eva Amurri). She is not only of a heathen faith, but also a smoker and rumored stripper.
Cassandra’s cynical and caustic comments about her blessed surroundings are a match for Roland’s. The pair’s attraction is one of two outcasts, but also similar to any other sugary teenage romance, except filled with great one-liners. The humorous duo create the perfect offset to the Christian Jewels, Hilary Faye’s trio of Bible-toting, finger-shaking Christians.
“Saved!” is an enjoyable story, but also presents more serious issues by questioning if religion can go too far. When is religion true faith and when is it brainwashing?
However, for the most part, “Saved!” is simply a witty, humorous account of the times and its mellow, satirical style is never overwhelming or distasteful.
In fact, the movie sends the message that God does exist and spirituality is important. The “Jesuscentric” movie may even expose the more fun side of religion with chants of “Who’s down with G-O-D?!?” and “Lord Jesus is in the house!”
— Maria Krauter, East Bakersfield High School
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NO!
With the potential to be either a really good movie or a sacrilegiously horrible one, “Saved!” with Mandy Moore, Jena Malone, Macaulay Culkin and Patrick Fugit, merely presents problems and ignores solutions.
While presenting controversial issues such as homosexuality and pre-marital sex, the entire movie played in the “grayish” area instead of taking either a liberal or conservative stance either way.
“Saved!” is supposed to be a comedy about a group of strong Christian friends who, after a series of sinful events become enemies and begin plotting revenge for one another in the name of God.
In one occurrence, Malone’s boyfriend confesses to her that he thinks he’s gay. In efforts to'”de-gay” him Malone convinces herself that it is God’s will that she give him her virginity to save him.
The end of the movie is just as frustrating as the beginning. With every string left hanging, nothing is resolved whether the actions presented were right or wrong. I would not recommend this movie to the confused non-Christian because it will only confuse more. This movie stereotypes Christians. It fails to provide a character that is actually a good non-hypocritical Christian. You can’t make a movie about religion and not offend someone, yet it is apparent that the director tried; it resulted in a poor movie that is so entirely neutral that the title should be called “Safe” instead of “Saved!”
“Saved!” also seems to mock God-loving people, and portrays the “cool people” as those who are wild and non-Christian by stating strong Christian beliefs but not acting upon them. This movie strikes a hypocritical note and plays on it the entire movie.
“Saved!” is rated PG-13 for language, sexual references and religious blasphemies.
— Maria Johnson, Valley Oaks Charter School