As had been planned, Prairie and I went out to see Saved! on Saturday afternoon, and both really enjoyed it. Aside from a few moments towards the end where I felt it got a little overtly obvious with its message (falling into the “spell it out for the idiots” trap, essentially, the film did a good job of (fondly, believe it or not) satirizing the teen fundamentalist Christian scene to point out that tolerance and acceptance is really the bottom line.
Of course, my favorite character was easily Cassandra — the sole Jewish student at a Christian school, there because she’s been expelled from every other school she’s been to, and constantly out to wreak havoc. Oh, and she’s really cute too, which didn’t hurt in the least. ;)
Lots of cute lines throughout the film. While many people have been picking up at the obvious irony of Mandy Moore screeching out, “I am filled with Christ’s love!” while hurling a bible at Jenna Malone’s back, I’m actually a lot more partial to the next line. Jenna turns around, picks up the bible, and gives it back to Mandy while pointing out that, “This is not a weapon, you idiot!”
Many people aren’t going to enjoy the film as much as I did, unfortunately, especially if they lean more towards the closed-minded forms of “Christianity” that the film satirizes. However, as Roger Ebert points out in his review, the film is “…arguing not against fundamentalism but against intolerance; it argues that Jesus would have embraced the cast-outs and the misfits, and might have leaned toward situational ethics instead of rigid morality.”
iTunes: “Strawberry Fields Forever (Raspberry Ripple)” by Candyflip from the album Madstock…the Continuing Adventures of Bubblecar Fish (1990, 5:54).