Saved! (2004)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Brian Dannelly

Writers (WGA):

Brian Dannelly (written by) &
Michael Urban (written by)

Release Date:

16 September 2004 (Germany)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Heaven Help Us.

Plot:

When a girl attending a Christian high school becomes pregnant, she finds herself ostracized and demonized, as all of her former friends turn on her.

Plot Keywords:

High School | Pastor | Sex | Friendship | Satire

Awards:

1 win & 6 nominations

Cast

Jena Malone	...	Mary
Mandy Moore	...	Hilary Faye
Macaulay Culkin	...	Roland
Patrick Fugit	...	Patrick
Heather Matarazzo	...	Tia
Eva Amurri	...	Cassandra
Chad Faust	...	Dean
Elizabeth Thai	...	Veronica
Martin Donovan	...	Pastor Skip
Mary-Louise Parker	...	Lillian
Kett Turton	...	Mitch
Julia Arkos	...	PE Coach
Donna White	...	Trudy Mason
James Caldwell	...	Hairdresser
Nicki Clyne	...	Guitar Player

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for strong thematic issues involving teens - sexual content, pregnancy, smoking and language.

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Sweden:7 | Malaysia:U | Ireland:15PG | USA:PG-13 (certificate #39323) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:14A (British Columbia/Ontario) | Chile:TE | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Iceland:L | Norway:A | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:M18 | Singapore:NC-16 (cut) | UK:12A | Peru:PT

Filming Locations:

Clayton Heights Secondary, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

United Artists

Trivia:

As Pastor Skip enters the school library to talk to Hilary Faye and the Christian Jewels about Mary, there is a READ poster featuring R.E.M. visible over his shoulder. Michael Stipe is the lead singer of R.E.M. and also co-produced the film.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Shots of trees with leaves that have changed colors appear throughout the early part of the film, yet it takes place at the beginning of the school year, presumably September. Fall foliage would not start that early in Maryland, where the film takes place.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Mary: [voice over] I've been born again my whole life... accepting Jesus.

Movie Connections:

References West Side Story (1961)

Soundtrack:

Everyday

Beautiful Movie

Saved! is one of this year's best movies. It is a movie showing some hypocrisy of some Christians. It's not pointing out the flaws of Christianity, but the hypocrisy of some Christians.

In the beginning, we are introduced to Mary (Jena Malone) who is a good Christian. Her boyfriend confesses to her underwater that he is gay. Upon hearing this, Mary tries to get back to the top, but hits her head on the ladder (Ouch!). While she is unconscious, she has a vision where Jesus tells her to help Dean. Mary takes this message the wrong way and winds up getting pregnant. She turns her back on her clique and is utterly friendless, although Patrick (Patrick Fugit) tries to ask her out on dates and stuff. She finds friends in the most unlikely of persons - outcasts. It turns out the only "sane" people are the outcasts.

I enjoyed this movie very much. I loved Jena Malone, she is beautiful and her acting was awesome! I find it funny that the roles of Cassandra and Hilary Faye were switched. Cassandra was cruel and evil and Hilary was the perfect Christian. As the movie plays out, the roles switch where Cassandra has a heart of gold and is compassionate, while Hilary has a heart of hatred, evil, and greed. The jokes in this movie were subtle, but I laugh at those parts. I think the most hilarious part is when she goes up to the cross and says "Shit" which was quite random, but it did make sense after she said "Goddamn" because she was expecting an intervention of some sort.

10/10. Beautiful movie. I've seen it 8 times in a week already. The music for this movie is incredible.