Saved!

Release Date: June 11, 2004
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for strong thematic issues involving teens - sexual content, pregnancy, smoking and language
Written and Directed by: Brian Dannelly
Starring: Jena Malone, Mandy Moore, Macaulay Culkin, Patrick Fugit, Heather Matarazzo, Eva Amurri, Martin Donovan, Mary Louise Parker

Plot:
"Good girl" Mary (Jena Malone) and her popular, influential best friend, Hilary Faye (Mandy Moore), are starting their senior year at the top of the social structure at American Christian High School. But when Mary finds out she’s pregnant, Hilary Faye and her devoted "disciples" turn against Mary and the school labels her an outcast. It's as an outsider, however, that Mary finds true friends – other students the school doesn't quite know what to do with. In this sweetly subversive comedy, a group of strangers band together to navigate the treacherous halls of high school and make it to graduation, ultimately learning more about themselves and finding out what it truly means to be Saved!.

Review:
Saved! makes the mistake in being a comedy to show its religious messages and the biggest problem is the comedy doesn't work. The film misses with a lot of what it wanted the public to laugh out loud too. This did affect the film, but the honesty that this film says is something that is not easily forgettable. For that, this is an important movie and one that I end up applauding for.

This is a film that relies well on its teen cast and it stars Jena Malone who is also in this years "The United States Of Leland. She plays Mary in the film and while shes attending Baptist high school, she becomes pregnant. The main interest of the film is with the natural things in life and how it can affect religion. The teenagers in this film show the public why everyone needs to stand up for what they think, placing the bible aside.

Along with Jena Malone, Macaulay Culkin returns to the big screen and his acting is not impressive. Although his character is physically handicapped, his performance is a rather stale one. The real star in Saved is Mandy Moore without a doubt. The singer and slowly becoming a respectable actress gives her best performance in this film, hands down.

Her past projects have included romantic comedies, but with this film its good to see that she can do much more than simply one genre. Mandy's facial expressions and anger is filled with a great realistic touch and the words that come out of her mouth have been written solidly by a script that features good dialogue. It was an opportunity for the young singer/actress and she doesn't disappoint.

Cutting straight to the script of Saved, its a tightly written one with a handful of memorable quotes. This is mainly what makes Saved a good film that everyone will remember for quite sometime. The only thing with the dialogue is that while we understand it, its not as powerful as it could have been. This is solely because of the direction that Brian Dannelly took.

Its awkward that Director Brian Dannelly tried to inject more comedy into it, but I can also understand why he would want the comedy in the film. While the comedy doesn't work, it will of course work for some teenagers. However, one thing that I can agree with is that the film never falls under immaturity and that is a blessing for a teen comedy.

Even with that being said, Brian Dannelly manages to combine the rights and wrongs and has an ending to be questionable for a span of time. Dannelly chooses locations that are simply and they are repetitive locations on the screen which is actually good. It keeps its content tight and wants to focus on just the main subject.

Sure, Saved could have been a better film, but it doesn't fail in an major way for what it wanted to point out to the public. The film is well paced and doesn't waste its time with drifting away of the natural causes in the world. Saved is a nice little film that will probably not gather many audiences because of its limited release, but for those who do see it should respect it, whether they agree with it or not.

The Christianity religion is one that is strong and follows a strict path. Sexuality is a question that is asked upon if its acceptable by God or if its the choice of the particular person. Saved concludes with answers to many questions that it has towards the beginning of the film. This film touches a strong subject and leaves with a message and a lasting appeal.

Saved for the most part is a good film and whether you agree or disagree with what its saying, there is still very important statements here. Mandy Moore in Saved proves that she has far greater acting abilities than the average viewer might think. Saved understands what it wants to deliver and it does solidly. This is a different approach at a teen comedy and it works more than enough of the time.