Little did I ever expect to find myself writing a positive review of a film that counts Macauley Culkin as one of its stars. Yet, here I am preparing to share with you a little-heard of film that really deserves to be seen. To complicate matters, the film also happens to star Mandy Moore. The fact that I would write a positive review about a film that starred any of the cookie cutter ‘pop’ singing sensations of this decade absolutely makes my head spin. Put the two together and my noggin just might explode. I had heard of “Saved!” when it first opened in theatres, but it didn’t stay on long enough for me to slip out of my self-imposed homebody status to see it. I was intrigued at first by the plot which involved a young Christian girl, Mary, (Jenna Malone) whose boyfriend happens to be gay. She ends up ‘doing the deed’ with him in the hopes that it might cure him of his affliction, but it doesn’t work and she ends up getting pregnant.

She opts to hide this fact from her friend Hilary Faye (Moore), who is somewhat of a Christian extremist. As the plot thickens, Mary finds herself drawn further from her faith and she opts to spend more time with Faye’s adopted brother Roland (Culkin) and Cassandra (Eva Amurri), who just happens to be Jewish. The story of “Saved!” actually becomes much more complex than that, but it’s hard to fill you in on the plot without giving away too much.

As a Christian, I imagine I’m not supposed to like “Saved!”, but just the opposite is true. I may be a Christian, but I’m a Christian who opts to think for myself, which is probably the most dangerous kind. I don’t accept everything I hear and learn on blind faith alone, instead I question. And that’s what I like so much about this movie. On the surface it appears to question the very ideal of being a Christian extremist, and that’s why many of my Christian friends don’t like the film. (Of course, most of them haven’t even seen the film; they just believe what they are told.) I found “Saved!” to have a much larger message than that. I felt it was questioning the concept of being an extremist if any kind. No matter where your beliefs lie and what you’re particular faith may be, traveling along a road of blind faith is precarious one.

Not to give you the impression that “Saved!” is some heavy-handed drama, you should know that it is a comedy. And a very funny one at that. It chooses to cast an ugly light on the inherent problems of fundamentalism, occasionally working itself into a tone of outright mockery. But for the most part it keeps a steady course. We don’t always agree with what the characters do or say, but we can see the roads they must have traveled that brought them to those decisions.

MGM is delivering us from this religious fundamentalism with the DVD of “Saved!” this month. What’s odd is that they are releasing it the same day as Sony / Columbia Tristar’s “Fahrenheit 9/11”, which is yet another expose (albeit a non-fiction one) about the perils of blind faith. Only that one points out the mistake of following a poorly headed extremist government.

The new DVD offers up two commentaries, the first by director / co-writer Brian Dannelly, producer Sandy Stern and co-writer Michael Urban. The second one features Moore and Jenna Malone. I wish I could say the either commentary offered up as much insight as the film itself, but they don’t. There is also a featurette as well as some deleted scenes, but again they don’t really offer much.

“Saved!” is a film that will enrage some while seeming to enlighten others. Neither is really the direction I would want to see audiences go. Why? Because those are extremist views. What I would rather see is some intelligent ‘after the show’ conversation brought on by the wit and pseudo-wisdom offered up in this very funny little film.

Directed by: Brian Dannelly
Starring: Jena Malone, Mandy Moore, Macauley Culkin, Patrick Fugit, Heather Matarazzo, Eva Amurri, Martin Donovan, Marie-Louise Parker
Extras: Deleted Scenes, Bloopers, Audio Commentary by Director/Co-Writer Brian Dannelly, Producer Sandy Stern, and Co-Writer Michael Urban, Audio Commentary by Jena Malone and Mandy Moore, “Heaven Help Us” Behind the Scenes Featurette, Saved! Revelations, Theatrical Trailer
Specifications: Widescreen (1.85:1) Enhanced for 16x9 Televisions, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: MGM
Release Date: 10/5/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Strong Thematic Issues Involving Teens-Sexual Content, Pregancy, Smoking and Language)
Website

We'll give Saved! a B-.