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Reviewer: Craig Newman
It's unfair to interpret things in the Christian faith in solely black and white terminology, but the makers of Saved! give it their best shot. Neglecting any sort of grey area, the filmmakers see Christianity as comprised of two groups of people: those who adhere to the strict rules and regulations of dogma and those who are more considerate of human emotion and focus more on a personal relationship with God. I think it's incorrect to assume the two sides are mutually exclusive and unrelated. Too often, this concept is misunderstood by individuals who see choosing one of the two positions, or just rejecting Christianity all together, as the easiest solution. Saved! doesn't outright reject Christianity but its theological solution of complete tolerance is shallow at best. Directed by Brian Dannelly, Saved!, addresses the complications that arise when the righteous teenagers at a Christian high school don't necessarily practice what they preach and start to question what it is that they believe in. Putting the film's loose theological solutions to real problems aside, the movie would have left a more lasting impression if it didn't merely regress into the bland teen romance/comedy route we're so accustomed to seeing from Hollywood. We're introduced to Mary (Jena Malone), a devoted teenager who wants nothing more than to continue coasting through her ultra-conservative Christian high school amongst her extremely pious friends, referred to as the Christian Jewels, free from any hint of conflict or feelings of rejection. Mary's confidence in both her friends and God (if asked, I'm not sure which of the two she would consider more important) comes to a screeching halt when she learns her boyfriend is gay. Under the assumption that if she and her boyfriend were more intimate, and if she just tried a little harder, Mary could "fix" her boyfriend of his sinful thoughts. Instead, Mary learns she is pregnant from the encounter, and her little bubble of Christian fanaticism is burst. It's obvious early on that the modern subculture of teenage Christians and their misguided thoughts on righteousness would be the butt of nearly every joke, but the humor seemed more mean-spirited and became obligatory as the film went along. The more contemptuous jabs are at the expense of Hillary Faye (Mandy Moore), the one-time friend and leader of the holy rolling Christian Jewels. Hillary Faye is portrayed as the obnoxiously attractive and talented girl in school who's more concerned with the number of heathens she converts and racks up rather than any real understanding of grace and mercy. Hillary Faye's brother, Roland (Macaulay Culkin), is a wheelchair bound student who suggests that his only real handicap is being confined by the despotism of his overbearing, bible-thumping sister. As Roland drifts away from his sister and her beliefs, he falls for the one girl in school who completely rejects Christianity, a Jewish girl who taunts her conservative peers by pretending to convert, only to admit to worshipping Satan the day after. When Mary's peers learn of her secret, Roland and his girlfriend are the only individuals who lend a hand and comfort Mary in her time of need. I guess it was unrealistic of me to think that Hollywood would make a movie where the ending was anything more than a pluralist view of extreme tolerance and an acceptance of all lifestyles, no matter how paradoxical they may be. Saved! deserves some credit for tackling a topic rarely ever touched in mainstream movies. However, the humor deteriorates from a clever satire into a movie that just points its finger at the liturgically-obsessed characters and laughs at how weird or wacky those believers can be. I wasn't particularly offended by anything in the film, mostly because I knew going in that the film was a satirical and humorous look at modern Christian students. Although, I can't help but wonder what a non-believer who's watching the movie just because it's the latest Mandy Moore flick or to see Macaulay Culkin back in action might walk away thinking. I'm afraid that much of the nuance would be lost, and the movie would come across as nothing more than a peek into how irrational, hypocritical, and uncompassionate some in the Christian community can be. In particular, the characters who had the biggest problems with the faith and disagreed with any ideas of being held to a certain standard, came across as the most thoughtful and sympathetic people in the whole movie. They're the ones who displayed a true love for humanity and really got "it," whatever "it" was. The filmmakers illustrate that there is a distinct separation between believers who focus just on the dos and don'ts of Christianity and those who understand the fallenness of individuals and the need for acceptance and compassion. However, is rejecting all dogma and completely accepting a relativistic form of faith really the best solution? Saved! wasn't a very good film, but it was interesting and would promote ample discussion amongst a group of believers. Its potential to develop certain scenes and characters was very high, but it just fell flat on too many levels. The characters were one-dimensional, and the jokes were monotonous. My only hope is that Saved! will provide another movie with the opportunity of being made or directed. The stigma that surrounds Christian characters and issues in Hollywood seems to be fading, due in part to the financial success of The Passion. I'm optimistic that more movies like Saved! will be made, but I can only hope that they will be more thoughtful and made by individuals who don't have nearly the amount of contemptuous feelings towards the Christian community as the makers of Saved! did.
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