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Saved!
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MPAA Rating: PG-13
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Entertainment: +1
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Content: -3 1/2
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Purportedly a comedy, Saved! pokes satirical fun at Christianity in a private school setting. Mary (Jena Malone) is told by her boyfriend Dean (Chad Faust) that he might be gay. She gets a word from the Lord telling her to turn him around and decides that having sex will straighten him out. Instead, Deans parents send him to a treatment facility, and Mary learns that she is pregnant. Marys best friend Hilary Faye (Mandy Moore) and their Christian girl clique seek to convert a Jewish girl, Cassandra (Eva Amurri), who has enrolled in their Christian school. Cassandra makes a mockery of their evangelistic efforts but takes a liking to Hilary Fayes wheelchair-bound brother Roland (Macaulay Culkin). Mary gets dumped from the clique because she isnt acting like a proper Christian. Rowland and Cassandra befriend Mary, and they plot to expose the Christian hypocrisy that exists at their school.
For a stereotypical bashing of Christianity, see Saved! Youll witness zealots, hypocrites and the self-righteous as the film brutally mocks Christian beliefs and, in one scene, even scandalizes Christs crucifixion. Moral dilemmas such as homosexuality, premarital sex, teenage pregnancy, lust, adultery and immorality in the clergy are portrayed in a dark and mean-spirited manner. Saved! has its funny moments, but I overheard a fellow reviewer say, I feel like Im going to go to hell for laughing at that. Cassandra, who admits to being a stripper, takes great joy in tormenting Christians by pretending to be interested in knowing more about Jesus and converting. She then does something shocking to crush their enthusiasm. Her car has a bumper sticker that says, Jesus loves you Everyone else thinks you are an a--hole! The vulgar language, sexual themes, homosexual elements and, above all, the attack on Christian beliefs make this film repulsive.
Preview Reviewer: Brian Hughes
Distributor: United Artists]
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Summary
The following categories contain objective listings of film content which contribute to the subjective numeric Content ratings posted to the left and on the Home page.
Crude Language: Many times (11) strong (-ss 5, -sshole 3, b-tch 3)
Obscene Language: Several times (9) moderate (crap 2, suck 1); strong (f-word 3, s-word 3)
Profanity: Many times (11) moderate (MG 1, OMG 2, G 1); strong (GD 2, J 1, C 2, JC 2)
Violence: Many times mild (minimal pushing, shoving and scuffling; many occurrences of mean spiritedness including gossip, verbal backstabbing, underhanded trickery and manipulation); moderate (boy in wheelchair is pushed out into the street but is not injured, vandalism, car crashes in billboard)
Sex: Few times mild (man and woman have an implied relationship at a conference as well as at counseling sessions, bed rhythmically shakes intimating sexual activity between a teenage boy and girl); moderate (teenage boy is on top of a teenage girl under bedcovers); strong (teenage boy fondles a teenage girls breasts)
Nudity: Several times mild (girl wears prep-school skirt without underwear nothing shown; while girls in PE shorts are bending over doing exercises, a feminine product is noticed briefly on one girl); moderate (girl rips open her shirt and shows her bra/chest in a school assembly); strong (gay web site is shown, gay magazine is shown)
Sexual Dialogue/Gesture: Many times mild (graffiti on building refers to sexual issues, gratuitous sexual references); moderate (girl makes intercourse motions with her hand and a piece of paper during a class lecture); strong (a girl makes graphic comments for shock value in a school setting)
Drugs: Few times mild (teenagers smoke cigarettes); moderate (one occurrence of a girl in a drunken state)
Other: Satire in this movie insults Christians predominantly but also is demeaning to those who are handicapped and those who are overweight; homosexuality, premarital sex, abortion and unwed mothers are treated in an understanding and accepted fashion
Running Time: 92 minutes
Intended Audience: Older teens and Adults
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