Saved! (2004)
Directed by Brian Dannelly
Mary is a good Christian girl who goes to a good Christian high school where she has good Christian friends and a perfect Christian boyfriend. Her life seems perfect, until the day that she finds out that her boyfriend may be gay — and that she’s pregnant.
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5 films that influenced Saved!
What critics say influenced Saved!
During its snappy first hour, Brian Dannelly's black comedy "Saved!" is reminiscent of Alexander Payne's marvelous 1999 satire "Election" in its sharp, take-no-prisoners characterizations, smart dialogue and recognizably grungy high-school milieu.
I watched Dogma right before I watched Saved!, and I found Dogma to be a much better movie in every aspect.
This may be because Saved! doesn't pay attention to religious detail like Kevin Smith's more satiric (and more spiritual) Dogma (1999).
Even if that's too much to ask of a high school comedy, Saved! also disappoints in failure to treat evangelicals with the mix of satire and affection granted to cheerleaders in Bring It On (2000).
Meanwhile, Mary's barely-there flirtation with Patrick (Patrick Fugit from "Almost Famous") is given so little screen time that it's a wonder it didn't get excised entirely.
Patrick Fugit, from ''Almost Famous,'' turns up as the pastor's son, and Fugit acts with a cherubic benevolence that makes you realize the kid he's playing is a true believer -- and all the sexier for it.
Fugit displays the same unsickly sweetness that made him such a pleasure in "Almost Famous."
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From her roles in the outstanding "Donnie Darko" to the painful "Life as a House," Malone has perfected the mildly concerned look, marked by a far away glance and crooked half-smile--and it's worked for her.
Jena Malone (previously best known as Donnie Darko’s girlfriend) makes a sweet, appealing lead and there’s strong comic support from the rest of the cast, particularly Heather Matarazzo and Mandy Moore, who seizes the chance to poke fun at her own goody-two-shoes image.