Avaliações de usuários

This film exceeded my already high expectations. The director and screenwriter have delivered an amazingly acute study of high school dialogue and interaction, while simultaneously exploring the polarizing landscape of evangelical Christianity in America and still delivering consistent laughs from start to finish.

The acting is superb. Martin Donovan (who routinely shines in Hal Hartley's films) here nimbly deconstruct his familiar grim sociopath persona to depict one of the most nuanced anti-heroes ever seen in a teen film. Jena Malone continues and deepens her fine work from Donnie Darko, creating one of the most moving teen heroines in memory. Eva Amurri is an inspired bit of casting as the multi-faceted school rebel who's full of surprises. And... it's true, Macaulay Culkin can act-- and even carries more than one scene with his understated comic timing

The storyline itself often leans on contrivance, but the situations presented ring true with an emotional depth rarely granted to pre-adult characters, and none of the events will seem off the wall to anyone familiar with modern adolescence or this particular religious subculture.

The film is blisteringly funny, unusually sharp in its look at different types of people and their individual frailties, and sweet-- possibly even, despite what else you may have read elsewhere, too sweet. The ending is the softest spot in the movie, but draws effectively on the hard-won empathy for each character to float to a graceful (ahem, pun intended) stop.

To be perfectly honest, as a reviewer who grew up in a very similar environment, I have to say that if the filmmakers could be accused of any distortion of the truth, it is in making their 'villains' *too* sympathetic, too keenly aware of their own flaws, and, in the end, too readily aware of a larger world around them to accurately reflect the worst elements of this belief system. All of the less-sympathetic characters in this film could be drawn from a documentary (yes, even Hilary Faye!)... if, that is, the documentary chose to edit out their least savory moments.

Of course, there are many good-hearted, well-meaning evangelicals in the world, and they are ably represented by characters such as Mary's mother, who makes mistakes, but who thinks more with her heart than her dogma. But the indignant critics who are so intent on finding a mote in the director's eye, because he dares to show how twisted some of their fellow believers might be, might stop for a minute to wave a hand in front of their own face, or their neighbor's, where they may just find a log they've been trying to ignore.

Despite losing its punch in the latter stages, "Saved!" remains an enjoyable and viciously funny satire. Poking fun of judgmental fundamentalists really isn't that tough a task or groundbreaking. They tend to spoof themselves. But what writers Brian Dannelly (who also directed) and Michael Urban do is not ridicule the fundamentalists' beliefs but their awful behavior. And that definitely deserves to be satirized.

The first 50 minutes are sensational, brimming with pointed dialogue, terrific humor and sharp observations about the preposterous idea of "degayification," the real reason people are sent to deprogramming centers and these teens obviously missing the true meaning of Christ's message.

But the film falters in the third act when it veers from clever satire to preaching about intolerance. It's a noble idea, but the punchy writing gets forsaken for the message. And the film concludes with a tired denouement. Surely, there are more original ways to conclude a high school film than one seen many times before.

Some of the characters, I suppose, could be seen as stereotypes. Then again, speaking from personal experience, the Hillary Fayes of this world exist and they're every bit as judgmental and nasty as she is. Unfortunately, Mandy Moore goes over-the-top a bit, often turning Hillary Faye into a broad caricature. That's a shame. Reining Moore in would have done wonders, because the other performances are uniformly good.

Macaulay Culkin turns in a fine performance as Roland. He finally might have shed his "Home Alone" image, proving he's capable of perfectly delivering sharp, well-written dialogue. The other revelation is young Eva Amurri, who has all the attitude, spunk (and I hope much of the talent) of her mother. She gives Cassandra a delightfully anarchic spirit; the film soars whenever she's on screen.

One peeve: Why does the radiant and sexy Mary-Louise Parker dress down so much in this film?

People who are judgmental about gays, teen pregnancy, other religions, and see life's myriad issues in purely black and white terms likely will be offended by this film - they might see themselves manifested as Hillary Faye. But if you appreciate life's gray areas and take delight in biting satire, you're bound to enjoy this film.

"Saved!" is by no means an attack on Christianity. Quite the contrary. It shows the importance of stressing in our lives the true side of Christianity - one that's about compassion, love and tolerance, and not the biased, judgmental approach that seeks to take control and bastardize religion, whatever it may be.

Although "Saved!" deals primarily with Christianity, it proves we'd all be better off adopting Mahatma Gandhi's ideals – that each and every one of us is a Hindu, Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist and Jew.

I saw the trailers for this movie a looooong time ago and was very interested to see it, though I never got around to it. Now I've finally watched it and I'm happy that I did. In my view, this is essentially a movie about some of the issues with fundamentalism - it's not a complete panning of the Christian faith at all, let's get that straight!

I think everyone in the movie filled their roles particularly well, especially Mandy Moore as the obsessive Hilary Faye. Jena Malone grows on me more and more every time I see her, and this time was no exception. She was good in her small role in Contact, which I have to say I liked a bit more. Macaulay Culkin was also surprisingly good in his role - I didn't see "The Guy that was Kevin", but rather I saw is character. Some of the stuff he did and said was very funny too, like much of this movie.

My issue would be that the film pansies out a little at the end. To get me, you'd really have to watch it yourself. Just when you think the film might be going a certain direction, it turns back on itself to cover it's own behind.

Overall, entertaining and funny with good performances overall. More Jena Malone please.

A little background on myself for some perspective: I'm a middle-aged Roman Catholic single father of three, who attends church regularly (a few times per month) and generally leans a bit toward the right. I'm certainly not fanatical, but am somewhat spiritual. And just to clear up any misconception, Catholicism is, in fact, a Christian religion.

My teenaged son and I watched this movie together, and I don't know his impression specifically, but he did watch the entire movie, which is generally an indication he likes it. I enjoyed the movie as well, and did not find it to be in the least bit mean-spirited or anti-Christian. The main character never denounces God, but merely changes her perspective to one that's a bit less fanatical. The fact is, some people do go to extremes in their religious zeal (anyone familiar with 9/11), and simply depicting such a character in a movie hardly makes it anti-Christian. I think this movie represented a very accurate cross-section of religious attitudes in our society. If you are a religious zealot, or anti-religion zealot, you probably won't enjoy it because it doesn't lean in favor of either extreme. All others may find it worth the price of the rental.

And just to address some of the other reviewer comments - not wanting to regulate morality does not make one immoral, and if you think your sexual preference is a choice, think back to the time you CHOSE to be heterosexual.

Come now, you surely must remember a significant decision like that (and no, I'm not gay).

As a non-Christian with left-leaning views, I was looking forward to watching Saved! due to favorable reviews from friends. Although I enjoyed the movie, I was disappointed by the heavy-handed, one-sided nature of the film. The acting was good, but the roles weren't so much characters as caricatures: The over-zealous, conniving hypocritical angel with a gorgeous face but a heart of coal. The non-Christian outcast reeking of immorality and sin but concealing a heart of gold. The brainwashed, disconnected, naive Christian mother. I'm sure these stereotypes do exist out there in the extreme-right, fundamental wing of American Christianity, but surely the majority are not the cardboard cutouts portrayed in Saved (I hope not!).

Ironically, the characters say it best when they point out that the world is not black and white. All in all, the film could have used a touch of subtlety. Furthermore, at times, due to the script and the background music, the film carried a made-for-TV, Nickolodeon tone. But I did laugh quite a bit and I understand the good intentions of the movie so I give it a 7 / 10 .

I am pleased to see a handful comments from Christians who were able to enjoy the movie and take it for what it is. There may be hope after all.

Not a bad movie for family consumption. Humorous and pushes its point home (that Christians should act like Christians and not bigots) without being too nasty. I watched with my wife and two high school daughters ... we all enjoyed it. Of course, if you're "sophisticated" you might sneer at this film -- but take it for what it is, a simple story with a talented young cast (the star, Jena Malone, is refreshing!), and you'll find it's worth the time spent to watch it and the money spent to rent it. If there's anything to criticize, it's the film's short length. They could have done much more with it in a longer format. However, that's a minor criticism. Overall the film is solid and enjoyable.

SAVED! (3 outta 5 stars) Better than average teen comedy about a modern-day Christian high school. Mary, a young student (Jena Malone) has a vision of Jesus after a near death experience which tells her that she must give herself to her boyfriend to "cure" him of his homosexuality. Well, he gets shipped off to a re-programming camp anyway... but while he's gone Mary finds out that she is pregnant. She can't really tell her best friend (the overly-devout Hillary Faye, nicely played by pop star Mandy Malone)... but does begin to develop a friendship with "bad girl" Cassandra (Eva Amurri) and her wheelchair-bound boyfriend (Macauley Culkin, who would have ever thought that *he* would appear in a *good* movie?) Mary tries to hide the pregnancy as long as she can... at least until the school year ends. In the meantime, her mom (Mary Louise Parker) is having "meetings" with the "hip" Pastor Skip (Martin Donovan) who runs the school, talking to the kids in a whitebread rap style ("Are you down with G-O-D? Jesus is in the house!") There are some really funny lines in this movie... but the movie never really gets silly. The characters are developed as real people and are not just stereotypes put in there for the sake of a gag. The ending kind of wraps up everything into too neat of a bundle... but the movie as a whole winds up being both funny and thought-provoking... for Christians and non-Christians alike. Best line: "There's only one reason Christian girls come down to Planned Parenthood..." "She's planting a PIPE BOMB???"

Saved! is a movie that will get to the hearts of people everywhere. It so poignantly captures the hardships and comedies of being a teenage girl.

Jena Malone is Mary, a typical teen attending a Christian school. After finding out her boyfriend is gay, a vision of Jesus provokes her to "cure" him by sleeping with him. But when Christian Mary finds out that she is pregnant, all hell breaks loose! She tries to hide the pregnancy, but it becomes difficult. Mary is shunned by her outgoing and devoutly Christian friend Hilary Faye (Mandy Moore), and finds solace with the uniquely rebellious Cassandra (Eva Amurri), who also happens to be the only Jew in the school. Mary also finds a friend in Patrick (Patrick Fugit), the pastor's son. Mary puts up with a lot from Hilary Faye and her friends trying to save her- even the pastor gets involved: "I want you to help" ... "You mean shoot her?" "No... I was thinking something a little less 'gangsta'". But when Hilary Faye goes too far, Cassandra, Mary, Patrick, and Hilary Faye's cool but wheelchair-bound brother Roland (Macaulay Culkin) team up to let Hilary Faye know that she can be "down with G-O-D", but has to be understanding of others as well.

The movie is full of hilarious lines and activities, but it remains believable. Malone portrays a typical teenager who is just trying to fit in and have fun despite her differences. Parts of the movie had me cracking up and quoting it for days on end, other parts were tear-provokingly sweet. As a whole, Saved! is one movie that you can't afford to miss. It just may save us all.

Watching over-the-top US comedy Saved! is like stumbling into an alternate universe as perturbing, in its own way, as Richard Kelly's cult hit Donnie Darko.

At American Eagle Christian High School, where Christian is all there is, it's the zealots who top the teen totem pole. Among them is Mary (Jena Malone) who's headed for a fabulous senior year with her best friend and leader of the Christian Jewels, Hilary-Faye (Mandy Moore), a mulleted gun-toting Barbie drowning in blue eye shadow. But when Mary falls pregnant to her gay boyfriend Dean (Chad Faust) after surrendering her virginity to save him in the belief it will be miraculously restored, she's an outcast. While Chad's sent off to Mercy House, Mary befriends the 'freaks': Hilary-Faye's wheelchair-bound brother (Macaulay Culkin) and his troublemaker girlfriend Cassandra (Eva Amurri), the only Jewish girl in school. Meanwhile, Mary's Christian Interior Decorator of the Year mum (Mary-Louise Parker) begins a tentative romance with charismatic school principal Pastor Skip (Martin Donovan).

Director Brian Dannelly, who co-wrote the script with Michael Urban, wanted to satirise the intensity of teen Christian worship, where fainting at prayer meetings is not uncommon. Performances are good across the board, but Mandy Moore almost steals the film with her outrageous Hilary-Faye.

Saved! is an enjoyable teen comedy that has some important subtexts: it argues for tolerance of diversity, and the importance of looking beneath the superficial when choosing friends. It embraces families that differ from the traditional nuclear model and demonstrates why sex education is needed. But what's best about Saved! is that the characters don't abandon their faith, simply incorporate it into a more tolerant world view. Whether you're a Christian, atheist or something different, Saved! will gently amuse without overwhelming you with political correctness.

This movie was fantastic. For those who have ever attended a Christian school, this hits all of the daily ironies that made those four years interesting. If you never have been in a Christian school, it adds a unique portrayal of the rigid nature of religion while confronting current controversial issues. I saw for the first time in the theater and could not stop laughing, so much so I had to buy it the minute it came out. One of my absolute favorite things about this movie was seeing the actors and actresses play roles contrary to their usual choices. Mandy Moore is superb and truly understands the role of Hillary Faye. I love this movie and recommend to anyone that can handle new forms of humor.

Jena Malone is perfect as Mary, the girl who attends American Eagle Christian School with the perfect posse and perfect boyfriend Dean. Except her whole life begins to unravel when Dean confesses that he's gay. After she has a vision of Jesus underwater (when she hits her head on the ladder in her pool), she believes that her mission is to save Dean and in doing so she loses her virginity to him. After Dean's parents discover he is gay, they send him to "Mercy House" and Mary is left alone.

When she thinks that her best friend Hilary Faye (Mandy Moore) and her clique of "Christian Jewels" will support her through this hard time, Hilary Faye begins to make insane accusations and turns the school against Mary. Hilary Faye is an extreme Christian who finds any reason to make herself and her values look better than those who don't follow God, or more outright, her. Mandy Moore is hysterical and she really personifies the character, once again proving that she's got more promise in the acting field than music. (Although she's pretty much set for both). She's got great range and when it's called for to be a bitch, she's got the sharpest claws you could hope for, and she can pull off her hypocritical character with a sense of false sugary sweetness at the same time.

I already knew that Jena Malone had skills and she's definitely proved here that she can take more serious roles. Not to mention her recent performance in "The Ruins", Jena is a great actor who plays well alongside the supporting actors including the weird Macaulay Culkin and the refreshing but over the top Eva Ammuri. They play the rejects, the outcasts who take Mary in when Hilary Faye begins her whole vendetta against her. As Mary's baby grows and the story progresses, no Christian stereotype or character can dodge the teeth of this sharp satire, and Saved! is dead on hilarious. Most kudos go to Mandy Moore for her hilarious turn as Hilary Faye, and may she find more serious roles in the film industry.

Jena Malone has a sweet plainness and a natural, unforced charm playing bright senior at "a really good Christian school" who's part of an elite clique until a series of confounding personal events causes her to question her faith--and reexamine her circle of friends. Director/co-screenwriter Brian Dannelly doesn't have the ear for transcribing teenagers' speech or behavior, though he does a little bit better by the adults, and Mary Louise Parker (as Malone's mother) ends up with the film's best lines and strongest scenes. In sending up the religious teen scene, Dannelly falls back too easily on familiarity or corny obviousness, yet he also wants to be sympathetic towards his characters, a symptom which usually brings out the worst in any screenwriter. The finale, at the senior prom, is full of platitudes and the inevitable pleading for tolerance, all of which do not play. This is in context, and that's fine, but what happened to the humor? ** from ****

I recall the controversy surrounding Saved when it came out earlier this year, especially from the evangelical church, conservatives and fundamentalists. I wanted to judge for myself its merits, or lack there of, since I've been an evangelical for 30+ years. I felt the movie did exactly what it intended to do; bring to light the hypocrisy of the church. I don't see how anybody, Christian or non-Christian could miss the message. I thought the selection of actors and actresses for the cast was right on, with each doing a very good job of portraying the personality of their characters well. I'm sure the movie was particularly biting to many evangelicals, as it should be--it even 'stung' me in a few places. I could see how evangelicals and conservatives would be outraged. However, the one thing I was especially struck by was the fact that this movie was written by non-Christians. As I watched all the 'digs' on Christians and the points of the evident hypocrisy within the church and Christianity, I came to a conclusion; if this movie was written by a non-Christian, then obviously there is a significant segment of our culture who believe the 'church' really is like this. If anything should move we evangelicals to start living lives of authenticity that reflect the love and grace of Jesus, this movie was it!

Mary (Jena Malone) has been a good Christian since she was born again at the age of 3. When her boyfriend Dean tells her that he is gay, she is shocked and tries to save him by going all the way. Dean is sent away anyways. Her friend Hilary Faye (Mandy Moore) is a fundamentalist Christian with handicap brother Roland (Macaulay Culkin). Cassandra (Eva Amurri Martino) is the only Jew in the Christian school. When Mary becomes pregnant, she starts to question God and is shunned by everybody except for the few outcasts.

This satire takes a lot of jabs at the religious fundamentalists. The sharp jabs can be very wild and flailing. Some of it nudges the funny bone a little, but none of comes off as big laughs. The young actors are very compelling and interesting. Everybody is great although Mandy Moore is overly ridiculous. This movie has too many axes to grind and not enough funny jokes. At least, I like all the great young actors.

This phenomena is quite unknown of in Europe, this American Christian fundamentalism, which to us seems like a totally crazy thing. Maybe the most crazy thing of all in the US.

A fundamentalist girl gets pregnant in an attempt to save (sic!) her boyfriend from homosexuality. It's a scandal to say the least and most of all to her prude friends. But the pregnant girl starts to put questions about the religion, about intolerance and about freedom of mind.

All this is of course very good, but the script makes it too easy. The young actors are clever however and make this script better than it deserves

Saved is very funny satire/comedy-drama on whacked-out Christian fundamentalists.

Basically at a Christian High-School (which is about as narrow-minded, hypocritical and contradicting as my own was) there is this clique of girls called the 'Christian Jewels', which are not to dissimilar from 'The Plastics' in Mean Girls. Every girl wants to be a part of the Jewels, including geeky, desperate Tia (Heather Matarazazazazazo rehashing her role from Welcome to the Dollhouse). I would find her attractive if she hadn't dyed her hair an unconvincing blonde. Too bad she's er...married.

After earning her way into this clique Mary (Jena Malone) is devastated when her boyfriend confesses his massive gayness. Eager to 'cure' him of this ungodly condition Mary offers up her virginity to him, only to get pregnant. Obviously this bun in the oven secret threatens to tear everyone's flimsy little world apart.

Hilary Faye, the leader of the Christian Jewels is appalled at Mary's sudden lack of faith and makes it her mission to save her, whatever the method or cost. Obviously Mary doesn't appreciate this and it only drives her to further isolation.

Saved is superior to Mean Girls in terms of relevance and wit. Though I'm afraid the target audience will no doubt pass this over in favor for Miss Lohan as discussion of God and the lack of pink will fail to attract as young an audience.

The acting is great. Jena Malone is more of an actress than Lohan/Duff, Macaulay Culkin was effective as the wheelchair-bound Roland, Mandy Moore is so innocently evil as Hilary Faye she makes Regina George look timid and Eva Amurri is like so totally gorgeous! Seriously! Wow! Too bad she smokes. NEXT!

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Saved to anyone. It's funny and clever and outdoes all 'teen-comedies' by transcending the genre. A rarity indeed.

As satires go, this is a pretty fluffy one. The script feels like it was written by someone who believes in God and wants to gently chastise and mock self-righteous born agains in hopes that they will see the error of their ways and acknowledge the hypocrisy of damning everyone to hell who deviates from their narrow world view.

Vat chance for that, but it is a likable, funny movie. There's not much in the way of story, but the characters are likable and there are some good performances, most surprisingly by Macauley Culkin, who apparently has taken some acting classes somewhere along the way. Mandy Moore is also quite entertaining as the most self-righteous Christian of the bunch (and I like her singing of the song over the opening credits - I think sh'es a professional singer, isn't she?) While a bit more bite and a bit more story would have made a better movie, this one is quite pleasant and worth watching.

Saved! is one of this year's best movies. It is a movie showing some hypocrisy of some Christians. It's not pointing out the flaws of Christianity, but the hypocrisy of some Christians.

In the beginning, we are introduced to Mary (Jena Malone) who is a good Christian. Her boyfriend confesses to her underwater that he is gay. Upon hearing this, Mary tries to get back to the top, but hits her head on the ladder (Ouch!). While she is unconscious, she has a vision where Jesus tells her to help Dean. Mary takes this message the wrong way and winds up getting pregnant. She turns her back on her clique and is utterly friendless, although Patrick (Patrick Fugit) tries to ask her out on dates and stuff. She finds friends in the most unlikely of persons - outcasts. It turns out the only "sane" people are the outcasts.

I enjoyed this movie very much. I loved Jena Malone, she is beautiful and her acting was awesome! I find it funny that the roles of Cassandra and Hilary Faye were switched. Cassandra was cruel and evil and Hilary was the perfect Christian. As the movie plays out, the roles switch where Cassandra has a heart of gold and is compassionate, while Hilary has a heart of hatred, evil, and greed. The jokes in this movie were subtle, but I laugh at those parts. I think the most hilarious part is when she goes up to the cross and says "Shit" which was quite random, but it did make sense after she said "Goddamn" because she was expecting an intervention of some sort.

10/10. Beautiful movie. I've seen it 8 times in a week already. The music for this movie is incredible.

Saved is a very funny movie with a great young cast. Jena Malone plays Mary, an innocent teen at a Christian high school who finds herself pregnant, in the subversive religious comedy Saved! Dealing with her condition and feelings of guilt is hard enough, but contending with the catty snipes of the popular goody-two-shoes Hilary Faye (Mandy Moore) turns Mary's life into a nightmare. The film's plot sounds very funny but this film is not for everyone since it may offend some people. The acting is pretty good with the best being Jena Malone and she may not be very pretty but she's very talented. Mandy Moore plays Hilary Faye and she is very funny also this is her best film. The rest of the cast is pretty good and the film boasts a lot of young actors. They include Eva Amurri who is Susan Sarandon's daughter and she does a good job at playing a rebel. Patrick Fugit does a good job as well but wasn't memorable. Heather Matarazzo may not be the prettiest actress but is actually a pretty good actress. Chad Faust and Macaulay Culkin round out the young part of the cast but they don't do anything special. Mary-Louise Parker plays Jena Malone's mom, she's very pretty and plays her role well. The jokes are either hit or miss and most are hit but they also featured most of the jokes in the trailer, which is kind of unavoidable these days. Brian Dannelly does a good job of directing Saved and this is his first main film. Many people complaining that this film is very offensive and while some jokes are offensive its just a movie that shouldn't be taken seriously. Rating 7/10 a must see comedy that's very funny.

This movie is an incredibly clever piece of propaganda....very well thought out.

The message is "it's okay to be a Christian as long as you don't really believe in it, if you do you're nuts and should be hated with a passion." Nothing but a Hitleresque hate-bombing from start to finish....with the technology and techniques available to today's propagandists it's frightening to think what will happen in the future...

I wish the people who "love" this movie would investigate Bible prophesy...because I'm beginning to think that films like this are inevitable to prepare the younger generation to follow the "antichrist"....I wish that wasn't the case but if more stuff like this gets mainstream approval It's going to make a believer out of me....

no one learns from history....

I just watched this movie with the family. We thought it was awful...one of the worst we've seen in a long time. The trailer and previews made it seem like it was going to be a teen comedy that spoofed evangelicals and private school. Instead it wasn't funny. It wasn't serious. It was just a bunch of people running around preaching how they loved Jesus. I felt very misled, yet we left it playing hoping it might develop into something better. The best part about Saved is that it is short in duration, so we only had to endure 90 minutes or so.

This movie is like when you go to what you think is a party and when you arrive you realize it's an Amway event. You don't want to stay but you feel like you can't leave. In the end, it just leaves a bad taste in your mouth.