CATRIONA PAUL at the Movies.

SAVED! is the classic American high school comedy, save for one defining twist. The school is not so much all-American, as all-Christian. American Eagle Christian High is a Baptist Church for born again teenagers, where the in-girls judge you as much on your religious values as they do on your dress sense. For anyone not adverse to a little gentle mockery of the Almighty, this film is sure to please.
  
Mary (Jena Malone) takes her religious beliefs pretty seriously. When she finds out that her boyfriend might be gay, she decides the only way to save him, is to seduce him. Wrong – Mary gets pregnant and the boyfriend is banished, ignorant of the baby, to a Christian reform school for odd-balls and homos.

Mary decides to ignore her pregnancy and continues to tag along with the cool clique, led by the extreme Hilary Faye (Mandy Moore). But when Hilary sabotages Mary’s chances of romances with new boy Patrick, and two of Christian High’s outcasts (Macaulay Culkin and Eva Amurri) get wise and sympathetic to Mary’s pregnancy, it’s time for a re-alignment of friendships which causes ripples across the year group.
  
For the most part, the humour of this film is gentle, not biting. Pastor Skip (Martin Donovan) is cringe-inducing as the hip but hypocritical head teacher. Mary-Louise Parker, Christian Interior Designer of the Year, plays Mary’s mother with a light detachment. Mandy Moore has the best role – a vigilante Christian, and lead singer of the Christian Jewels – losing it in memorable fashion when she falls from the top spot at the ubiquitous prom.
 
For a film with such wayward promise, the end may prove a little sugary but in the main, writer-director Brian Dannelly has succeeded in serving up a witty, alternative take on the high school experience.
  
SAVED!
General release

Director: Brian Dannelly
Writers: Brian Dannelly, Michael Urban
Cast: Jena Malone, Mandy Moore, Macaulay Culkin, Eva Amurri, Patrick Fugit, Martin Donovan, Mary-Louise Parker, Heather Matarazzo
Certificate: 12A
Running Time: 92 mins
Country: USA
 

© Catriona Paul, 2004