Saved! (2004)

Dannelly and co-writer Michael Urban have produced a script that is a breezy, hilarious ride through the tricky waters of adolescence, and their all-star cast jumps into their roles with glee (most notably Moore and the scene-stealing Amurri). Rather than merely making jabs at the Christian right movement, however, the film preaches a universal message of tolerance and acceptance, giving audiences something deeper to chew on. The result is a surprisingly poignant film that positions Dannelly as a director to watch in the years to

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External Reviews

Saved! wants us to care about its protagonists, but that's an all-but-impossible task considering the lack of effort the script invests in character development. 

Judgment bad! Acceptance good! This movie about religious hypocrisy not only thumps us over the head with its kumbaya message, but also gives us Macaulay Culkin as a sex symbol. And that's just wrong.

--Stephanie Zacharek (Salon)

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'Saved!" is a satire aimed at narrow-minded Christians, using as its weapon the values of a more tolerant brand of Christianity. It is also a high school comedy, starring names from the top shelf of teenage movie 

--Roger Ebert (Chicago Sun-Times)

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Saved! is just the cutest little Christian comedy, simply the sweetest wee satire you’ll ever see – but this is a sugar cookie leaking arsenic. 

--Chris Barsanti (FilmCritic.com)

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‘Saved’ is funny, rebellious, and intelligent. Those on the Christian Right may take umbrage, but the film preaches love and tolerance in a slightly warped way. 

--Harrison Cheung (Movie-Gurus.com)

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This Brian Dannelly movie takes potshots at one of the easiest targets in the world—and instead of being offensive, moronic or clueless, it turns out to be surprisingly entertaining. 8/10

--William Sternman (Movie-Vault.com)

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Love thy neighbor as thyself is a simple enough message. Trust human beings to make it complicated. SAVED! takes no prisoners when using comedy to make that point, going for the belly laughs, but never for the jugular. 

--Andrea Chase (Killer Movie Reviews)

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I'm more than overjoyed to watch a movie that isn't just another remake or rehash of an idea that's been done a zillion times to death. To that end, I really appreciated the utter originality squeezed into this one, for which alone, I would recommend that you check it out. 7/10

--'JoBlo' (JoBlo.com)

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Slackly paced if well acted, it starts out as a fairly promising, if relentlessly stereotypical, satire of the religious right before turning into a lecture on tolerance. 

--Lou Lumenick (New York Post)

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I’m a big fan of any film that attempts to satirize the often crazy, contradictory world of religious fanaticism. But here’s the catch: it has to be funny. “Saved!” goes after the teenage Christian movement, but does so with disgraceful overacting, lame material, and even weaker direction. D

--Brian Orndorf (FilmJerk.com)

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Saved! certainly doesn't rank as a great film but it's hardly as controversial or offensive as some claim. 

--John Nesbit (CultureDose.net)

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Cast

Jena Malone Donnie Darko, Contact, Cold Mountain Mandy Moore A Walk to Remember, The Princess Diaries, Chasing Liberty Macaulay Culkin Home Alone, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, Uncle Buck Patrick Fugit Almost Famous, White Oleander, Spun Heather Matarazzo The Devil's Advocate, Scream 3, The Princess Diaries Mary-Louise Parker Red Dragon, Fried Green Tomatoes, The Client Eva Amurri Bob Roberts, Anywhere But Here, The Banger Sisters [more]

Saved! isn't really a bad film, but I'm giving it a borderline negative review for being an unfocused and somewhat unrefined satire that might have gelled had Dannelly not chosen to water it down to the point of farce.  --Vince Leo (Qwipster.net) ...a witty and amusing one, realistically poking fun of organized religion, targeting Christianity, in a mostly inoffensive way. Saved! makes for an insightful, but entirely forgettable, sit, with some great performances and writing on its side.  --Danny Baldwin (BucketReviews.com) The film has its share of funny lines and snarky situations -- it's like "Mean Girls" for the Christian set -- and its cynical attitude toward religion is consistent. Much of its humor is laugh-out-loud outrageous. C --Eric D. Snider (EricDSnider.com) Ends up genuinely thought-provoking while putting the “fun” back in “fundamentalist.” 71/100 --J. Alan Speer (Apollo Guide) As an answer to the spreading cultural virus of evangelical conformity, Brian Dannelly's teen farce "Saved!" is about three teeth short of a full bite. But it leaves an indelible impression.  --Jack Mathews (New York Daily News)