Saved! is a 2004 teen comedy film involving elements of religious satire. It was directed by Brian Dannelly and written by Dannelly and Michael Urban. It stars Jena Malone, Mandy Moore, Macaulay Culkin, Patrick Fugit, Eva Amurri, Martin Donovan, and Mary-Louise Parker. This film touches the issues of religion, ostracism, homophobia, teen pregnancy, divorce, and disabilities.

Plot

Teenage Mary (Jena Malone), who has "been Born Again [her] whole life," is about to enter her senior year at American Eagle Christian High School with her Fundamentalist Christian friends Hilary Faye (Mandy Moore) and Veronica (Elizabeth Thai), the three of whom have formed a girl group called the Christian Jewels. Everything seems perfect—until Mary’s "perfect Christian boyfriend" Dean (Chad Faust) tells her, as they’re swimming underwater, that he thinks he's gay.

In her shock, Mary hits her head in the pool and has a vision in which Jesus tells her that she must do everything she can to help Dean. Hoping for a sign, Mary goes to a shooting range with Hilary Faye, who has a "spiritual solution for everything" and tells Mary (not knowing about the situation with Dean) that if all else fails, Jesus could still restore their "spiritual and emotional virginity." Believing that Jesus will restore her purity, Mary sacrifices her virginity to have sex with Dean in an attempt to restore his heterosexuality.

Despite Mary's efforts, when she comes by Dean's house on the morning of the first day of school, Dean's parents tell her that they found gay pornography under his bed and that they're sending him to Mercy House, a Christian treatment center. Mary tells her friends, as well as Hilary Faye's wheelchair-bound brother Roland (Macaulay Culkin), about Dean's homosexuality, and makes them promise to keep it a secret. When they arrive at school, they see Cassandra (Eva Amurri), the school's only Jewish student and a rebel who despises Hilary Faye. In homeroom, Mary meets new student Patrick (Patrick Fugit), the son of the school's principal Pastor Skip (Martin Donovan), a skateboarder who has been doing missionary work (through skateboarding) in South America.

Mary soon realizes that she is pregnant from her encounter with Dean. When she goes to Planned Parenthood to confirm the pregnancy, she is seen by Roland and Cassandra, who have bonded over their shared cynicism. Mary finds out that she's not due to give birth until after her high school graduation and decides to hide her condition from her friends and family, but she feels forsaken by Jesus and loses her religious faith, causing her to be ostracized by Hilary Faye and replaced in the Christian Jewels with an unpopular girl, Tia (Heather Matarazzo).

At Christmas time, Mary is still hiding her pregnancy. Cassandra mocks her about it when they are alone in the bathroom, but when she realizes Mary's anguish, Cassandra changes tune and offers her support. They cut school with Roland, and the three of them become good friends. When they run into Patrick and Hilary Faye at the mall, Cassandra distracts Hilary Faye (pretending she wants to be converted) while Patrick and Mary sneak away and Patrick confesses his feelings for Mary. Pastor Skip warns his son when they're at home together against dating Mary, even as Pastor Skip (still married to his wife, although they live separate lives) begins secretly dating Mary's mother Lillian (Mary-Louise Parker).

A few months later, after multiple fights at school between Hilary Faye and Cassandra, Pastor Skip puts Roland, Cassandra and Mary on the school prom committee (chaired by Hilary Faye) to punish them. While working together, Patrick asks Mary to go with him to the prom as "friends", which Mary accepts. Later that day, a picture of a younger, much heavier, and much more awkward picture of Hilary Faye is loaded onto the desktop of every computer in the school. As revenge, Hilary Faye vandalizes the school with graffiti and leaves the spray cans in Mary's and Cassandra's lockers. While searching the lockers with the Jewels looking on, Pastor Skip finds the sonogram of Mary's baby.

Pastor Skip tells Lillian that he will break off their relationship if she doesn't send Mary to Mercy House. Lillian decides that she's going to send Mary away, saying that it's the best thing for Mary and the baby, but secretly because she doesn't want Skip to break up with her.

Although Mary is banned from the prom, Cassandra and Roland scheme to bring her with them, providing her with a dress and inviting Patrick to meet them. When the four of them arrive, Hilary Faye attempts to have them thrown out; when they accuse her of committing the vandalism herself, she reluctantly swears before God that she is innocent. Fed up with Hilary Faye's hypocrisy, Tia reveals a signed receipt for the spray paint that she found in Hilary Faye's van.

As Hilary Faye flees with the others in pursuit, Dean suddenly arrives with other teenagers from Mercy House. Dean is surprised, but not upset, by Mary's pregnancy; he meets Patrick warmly and Mary is similarly accepting towards Dean's roommate/boyfriend Mitch. Pastor Skip tries to send the new arrivals back to Mercy House, but they refuse, and Mary and her friends support them. Suddenly, Hilary Faye crashes her van into the school's huge effigy of Jesus. Realizing what she has done, she breaks down in tears of regret. As paramedics arrive to the accident scene, Mary abruptly goes into labor and is taken to the hospital.

In her hospital room, Mary's and Dean's friends and family crowd around the baby girl, while Pastor Skip waits outside debating whether to come in. In voice-over, Mary tells the audience how she has returned to believing in a God who loves and helps the ones that love and help others in need.

Production

Saved! was filmed at Clayton Heights Secondary School in Surrey, British Columbia but set in suburban Baltimore County, Maryland. The film is based on Dannelly's experience attending Arlington Baptist High School, a Christian school located in Baltimore, Maryland.

Reception

Saved! was reasonably well-received by critics. At the critics aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, the film currently holds a 60% rating of 82 positive reviews against 54 negative ones.

Positive reviews praised the film's blending of teen comedy with serious issues not normally associated with the genre. Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert gave the film three and a half out of four stars, calling it "a pointed satire in the form of a teen comedy". He and his partner Richard Roeper awarded the film "Two Thumbs Up!" on their show Ebert & Roeper and the Movies.

Claudia Puig of USA Today wrote: "Not only is Saved! subversively funny, it is unexpectedly sweet." David Sterritt of the Christian Science Monitor called it, "One of the season's brightest attractions." Randy Shulman of the Washington D.C. Metro Weekly said, "Saved! hits precisely the right balance between commercial appeal and independent fortification, between bold satire and abiding respect for its subject." Film Threat's Don. R Lewis praised it: "Equal parts satire, spoof and teen comedy, Saved! is just a sweet and funny movie that starts off with bite but settles into an honest feeling of happiness and acceptance for all types of people and their choices." Clint Morris of Movie Hole wrote that "As witty as it’s well performed and as novel as it is daring...God Bless Mandy Moore and her fantastic set of acting chops"! Apollo Guide's J. Allen Speer wrote: "Ends up genuinely thought-provoking while putting the “fun” back in 'fundamentalist'." Brian McKay of eFilm Critic wrote: "while it offers some hilariously scathing commentary on the inherent dangers of hypocrisy . . . above all the film preaches a message of tolerance to both sides of the fence."

Other critics however criticized the film for alleged anti-Christian views. Slant Magazine was overwhelmingly negative on this issue, giving the film only half a star out of five and calling it the worst movie of the year.

Saved! grossed $10,156,933 worldwide at the box office.

DVD

A DVD version of the film is available with a director's audio commentary, as well as commentary by Jena Malone and Mandy Moore; theatrical trailer, access to deleted scenes, and some bloopers.

Musical

Playwrights Horizons developed a musical version of the film, with music and lyrics by Michael Friedman, as well book and lyrics by two-time Olivier Award nominee John Dempsey and Rinne Groff. The musical began previews on May 10, 2008 at the Mainstage at Playwrights Horizons and opened on June 3, 2008. The show closed on June 22, 2008. The cast included Aaron Tveit, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Julia Murney, Curtis Holbrook and Mary Faber.

References

External links