Year:
2004
Studio:
United Artists
Feature:
3/5
DVD:
3/5
Saved! is a funny
independent film about one girl growing up in a deeply religious
Christian environment. Mary (Jena Malone) is going to American Eagles
Christian High School and one day her boyfriend Dean (Chad Faust) tells
her he's gay. She's devastated for him and wants to help him and is
convinced that Jesus asked her to give up her virginity to Dean.
It doesn't quite work because Dean's parents find his gay porn
magazines and ship him off to a Christian center to be de-gay-ified.
Meanwhile Jena finds out she's pregnant and doesn't know what to do.
She can't go to her best friend Hilary Faye (Mandy Moore) who is the
leader of their ultra-religious Christian Jewels club.
Instead the school Jewish girl, Cassandra (Eva Amurri) finds out about
Jena's condition and helps her. Cassandra is the rebel and while the
Christian Jewels in turns ostracized and tried to save her, she is
willing to help Jena. Also helping is Roland (Macaulay Culkin), Hilary
Faye's paraplegic brother who turns out to be quite the rebel himself.
This is a coming of age teen film. I guess any movie with a heavy
religious theme will draw criticisms. And a satire or comedy will draw
even more. This is one of those films that pokes more fun at organized
religion than religion itself. It has clever humor and good scenes and
it is all around a movie that I quite enjoyed.
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Extras
1. Audio Commentary: Director and co-writer Brian Bannelly, producer
Sandy Stern, co-writer Michael Urban. A little better than average.
2. Audio Commentary: Actors Jena Malon and Mandy Moore. A very
girly-girl commentary. About average content.
3. "Heaven Help Us". 4 minute behind the scenes.
4. Deleted/Extended Scenes. 11 mostly expanded scenes. Nothing really
substantial.
5. Bloopers. 4 scenes each are about 30 seconds long. More amusing than
the usual quick blooper mistakes.
6. Saved Revelations. 6 little bits that were cut out of the film.
7. Theatrical Trailer.
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