In my review of "The Passion of the Christ," I wrote a whole lot about my views on religion, so I won't bore you with all that here. I'll only preface this review by saying that I'm not in any way a religious person, but I have nothing but respect for religious people, as long as they're not religious to the point of fanaticism (those people can be scary), and they don't preach to me. I'm all for freedom of religion, but I prefer freedom FROM religion.
"Saved!" seems to have been made by people who are a lot like me in that regard. They have complete respect for good, religious people, but nothing but contempt for those who force their religion on you, and look down on those who aren't like them. Those kinds of people tend to be hypocrites anyway, and this movie does not avoid that point. I applaud what the filmmakers were trying to say, the concept is a good one. Unfortunately, the execution isn't as good as it coulda been. Aside from potentially pissing off a lot of religious people, this movie does little for those who may agree with the message, because even though we may agree with the point it's trying to make, the movie is only so-so.
The story is weak, with a paper thin plot, and turns that are very predictable. There are no surprises here, as it follows the usual formula, and manages to be daring, but not TOO daring. Despite the weaknesses in the story, however, I like the characters a lot. The characters are actually kinda typical, but they each have enough quirks and personality to seem like real people rather than the obvious archetypes. We've seen similar characters in plenty of other movies, but they're rarely this interesting.
I like the acting in the movie, the cast does a fantastic job. Jena Malone ("Contact," "Life as a House," "The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys," and the great "Donnie Darko") is a really good young actress, and in this film, she's as good as she usually is. She plays the main character, and she seems comfortable doing so. Mandy Moore is also in the film, and even though I'll probably hear a lotta shit for admitting this, I like her as an actress. I hate chick flicks, but I gotta tellya, I like "A Walk to Remember." I thought she was really good in it. While all the other teen pop singers were doing the predictable thing, Mandy Moore appeared in a film doing the opposite of what anyone could have expected. She earned my respect... until she followed "A Walk to Remember" with crap like "How to Deal" and "Chasing Liberty." Still, this film makes up for the last two, because once again, she plays a role she was probably never expected to play. In fact, the role may piss off quite a few of her fans. We'll have to wait and see. Someone else who impressed me in "Saved!" is an actress I've never seen before, Eva Amurri. As it turns out, acting is in her genes, her mom happens to be the very talented Susan Sarandon. I've never seen Eva Amurri before, but I know she was in "The Banger Sisters" with her mom. Anyway, yeah, Eva Amurri kicked ass.
Anyone remember that kid from "Home Alone"? That's right, Macaulay Culkin is also in this movie. For those of you who don't remember, Macaulay Culkin was literally the most famous and richest child star in film history after the success of "Home Alone" in 1990 and "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" in 1992. But after his starring role in "Richie Rich" in 1994, he disappeared. It would be almost 10 years before he was in another movie, the 2003 film, "Party Monster," which I never saw. "Saved!" is only his second film since his extended hiatus. As for his acting ability, well, I think he did a good job. It was a low-key performance, but his character was a low-key kinda guy. I don't know if he'll ever be as famous as he once was, but I doubt he'll end up being found dead filled with crack and heroin in a sleazy motel. I think he'll be okay.
In case any of you care, Macaulay Culkin's brother, Kieran Culkin, starred in "The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys," which also featured Jena Malone. Cool, huh?
Anyone remember the kid from "Almost Famous"? Well, he's in this movie, too. His name is Patrick Fugit, and even though I think "Almost Famous" is a great movie, I didn't think much of Fugit's acting. To me, he was the only really weak link in that whole film. A couple of years later, he was in "Spun," a movie I didn't like at all, but at least I can't say that Fugit was the weakest link there. In this movie, he's not so bad. At least he isn't a distraction, ya know?
"Saved!" was directed by Brian Dannelly and written by Brian Dannelly & Michael Urban. They're both making their feature film debut with this film, and even though I was disappointed, I think these two guys have a bright future. This is their first film, and not everyone can have an explosive debut like Quentin Tarantino did with "Reservoir Dogs." I think Brian Dannelly & Michael Urban have a great movie in them waiting to come out.
Even though I have to admit that "Saved!" was a disappointment, it has a lotta bright spots, and I can't say that it bored me. The movie promised more than it delivered, and it was predictable and formulaic, but the characters were interesting, the acting was good, and the relationships were touching. "Saved!" isn't a bad movie, but it coulda been so much better.
Scale of 1-10: 6