Roswellgirl1001

Is anyone as psyched about this movie as I am?
I just saw the trailer on Yahoo, and it seems to be a religious satire about Christian kids. Mandy Moore, Jena Malone, and Macualay Culkin star.

When I saw the trailer, it seemed like the kind of movie that's going to spark overreaction. Do you think we can handle this kind of movie about questioning God or faith, now especially?

shrrshrr

It's a satire? I thought it was real...

capesidefan

Macualay Culkin was on Conan, it was pretty funny, they showed a clip from it, it was funny and looked good.... He said they researched their roles, and went to a few Christian concerts to see what it was like.... I like the cast members like Jena Malone great actress. I'm also interested to see how Patrick Fugit is in the movie, the only movie I have seen him in was Almost Famous, which he was great in, but interested to see him in some other roles.... Even interest to see how Macualay does in the movie....

mukooh

'saved' looks like it might be in a very limited release.....the only time i've ever seen the trailer for this film was in an "art house" theater........after checking with fandango.com the only place on friday 'saved' (in orange county, california-movie capital of the world) is opening is at edwards southcoast village.....(across the street from the south coast plaza).....other films opening at that theater on friday are 'the mother' and 'coffee and cigarettes'........

Telli

I heard about this movie way before I even saw the preview, but I' mad it is only playing in select theaters. I'm someone who lives in an unselected city. So I'll have to wait for it to come out in the theater.

Roswellgirl1001

That's just my interpretation. I could be wrong...

crazy4TheCalling

No, its not. I just saw Mandy on Letterman where she said that the movie isnt mean-spirited or mocking Christian students in any way. She said that most people hear 'religion' and 'comedy' and think that its making fun, but its not..acording to her its actually more 'pro-faith.'

***isy***

i wanna see this movie - but my feeling is that it won't be shown on AMC or edwards! which means i have to travel to an indie theater!

summerbug

I thought it was billed as a dark comedy...

I saw a scene on Sundance and it looked like a great movie. The scene involved a "pep rally" on the first day of school.

My understanding is that a couple of the folks at the school are not as religious as say, the Mandy Moore character, and so I think there is some drama on that front. More comedy/drama/etc in regards to some of the experiences Jena Malone is going thru. Mandy Moore is considered her "antagonist"...

Star5

I don't think this will get a release at the cinema near me, so I'll probably have to wait a while before seeing it. It sounds interesting though.

Goonieforever

I am psyched to see it, the trailers look good. I am also looking forward to seeing Patrick Fugit in something else because I love "Almost Famous"

mukooh

from today's (5-28-04) chicago sun-times



out of a possible review.....roger ebert gives 'saved'.......3 1/2 stars......review below.....


possible spoilers........you have been warned....




SAVED! / ***1/2 (PG-13)

May 28, 2004










Hilary Faye: Mandy Moore
Mary: Jena Malone
Roland: Macaulay Culkin
Patrick: Patrick Fugit
Pastor Skip: Martin Donovan
Lillian: Mary-Louise Parker
Cassandra: Eva Amurri
Dean: Chad Faust


United Artists presents a film directed by Brian Dannelly. Written by Brian Dannelly and Michael Urban. Running time: 92 minutes. Rated PG-13 (for strong thematic issues involving teens -- sexual content, pregnancy, smoking and language).









BY ROGER EBERT


'Saved!" is a satire aimed at narrow-minded Christians, using as its weapon the values of a more tolerant brand of Christianity. It is also a high school comedy, starring names from the top shelf of teenage movie



The film follows the traditional pattern of many other teenage comedies. There's a clique ruled by the snobbiest and most popular girl in school, and an opposition made up of outcasts, nonconformists and rebels. We saw this formula only a few weeks ago in "Mean Girls." What's different this time is that the teen queen, Hilary Faye, is the loudest Jesus praiser at American Eagle Christian High School, and is played by Moore, having a little fun with her own good-girl image.

Her opposition is a checklist of kids who do not meet with Hilary Faye's approval. That would include Dean (Chad Faust), who thinks he may be gay; Cassandra (Eva Amurri), the only Jew in school and an outspoken rebel, and Roland (Culkin), Hilary Faye's brother, who is in a wheelchair but rejects all forms of sympathy and horrifies his sister by becoming Cassandra's boyfriend. There's also Patrick (Fugit), member of a Christian skateboarding team and the son of Pastor Skip (Martin Donovan), the school's widowed principal. He's thoughtful and introspective and isn't sure he agrees with his father's complacent morality.

The heroine is Mary (Malone), whose mother Lillian (Parker) has recently been named the town's No. 1 Christian Interior Decorator. Mary's boyfriend is Dean (Faust, an interesting name in this context). One day they're playing a game that involves shouting out secrets to each other while underwater in the swimming pool, and Dean bubbles: "I think I'm gay!" Mary is shocked, bangs her head, thinks she sees Jesus (he's actually the pool maintenance guy) and realizes it is her mission to save Dean. That would involve having sex with him, she reasons, since only such a drastic act could bring him over to the hetero side. She believes that under the circumstances, Jesus will restore her virginity.

Jesus does not, alas, intervene, and Mary soon finds herself staring at the implacable blue line on her home pregnancy kit. Afraid to tell her mother, she visits Planned Parenthood, and is spotted by Cassandra and Roland.

Cassandra: "There's only one reason Christian girls come downtown to the Planned Parenthood!"

Roland: "She's planting a pipe bomb?"

You see what I mean. The first half of this movie is astonishing in the sharp-edged way it satirizes the knee-jerk values of Hilary Faye and her born-again friends. Another target is widower Pastor Skip, who is attracted to Mary's widowed mother; she likes him, too, but they flirt in such a cautious way we wonder if they even realize what they're doing.

At the time Mary sacrifices her virginity to conquer Dean's homosexuality, she's a member of Hilary Faye's singing trio, the Christian Jewels, and a high-ranking celebrity among the school's Jesus boosters. But the worldly Cassandra spots her pregnancy before anyone else does, and soon the unwed mother-to-be is hanging out with the gay, the Jew and the kid in the wheelchair. They're like a hall of fame of outsiders.

Dean's sexuality is discovered by his parents, and he's shipped off to Mercy House, which specializes in drug detox and "degayification." Once again the screenplay, by director Brian Dannelly and Michael Urban, is pointed: "Mercy House doesn't really exist for the people that go there, but for the people who send them," says Patrick, who is having his own rebellion against Pastor Skip, and casts his lot with the rebels.

Now if the film were all pitched on this one note, it would be tiresome and unfair. But having surprised us with its outspoken first act, it gets religion of its own sort in the second and third acts, arguing not against fundamentalism but against intolerance; it argues that Jesus would have embraced the cast-outs and the misfits, and might have leaned toward situational ethics instead of rigid morality. Doesn't Mary, after all, think she's doing the right thing when she sleeps with Dean? (What Dean thinks remains an enigma.)

"Saved!" is an important film as well as an entertaining one. At a time when the FCC is enforcing a censorious morality on a nation where 8.5 million listeners a day are manifestly not offended by Howard Stern, here is a movie with a political message: Jesus counseled more acceptance and tolerance than some of his followers think. By the end of the movie, mainstream Christian values have not been overthrown, but demonstrated and embraced. Those who think Christianity is just a matter of enforcing their rulebook have been, well, enlightened. And that all of this takes place in a sassy and smart teenage comedy is, well, a miracle. Oh, and mirabile dictu, some of the actors are allowed to have pimples.




Copyright © Chicago Sun-Times Inc.

summerbug

Thanks mukooh - that review is great and very thorough. I am definitely wanting to check this one out

22 Umbrellas

Thanks for that review! It sounds great and I've been wanting to see this movie for a long time b/c Jena Malone is my favorite actress and the supporting cast is not bad either. Unfortunately, I'm not sure it's showing anywhere near where I live, but hopefully I'll get to see it at some point.

mukooh

....."it argues that Jesus would have embraced the cast-outs and the misfits, and might have leaned toward situational ethics instead of rigid morality."......


i really wasnt' going to see 'saved'.......for a number of reasons....now i'm glad i read this thread and joined in with the discussion....now i know alot more about this film...and just based upon the above statement from roger ebert's review (it's follows my own particular view of what jesus is like) i plan on seeing a 1:15 p.m. showing of the film.......will be back later with my thoughts on being 'saved'......