A sharply-observed satire on America's fundamentalist Christian subculture, Saved! bullseyes its target of religious hypocrisy without demonising its confused characters. Jena Malone is the happy-clappy teen who believes Jesus wants her to save her gay boyfriend by boffing him. Soon she's up the duff, pissed off at God and mortified by the behaviour of Mandy Moore's moral fascist.
Malone's transformation from God-botherer to cynic is pretty swift. But the film is far from anti-Jesus, suggesting Mr Christ would have more time for `sinners' than some of his self-righteous followers may think. The third act's fuzzy moral lecturing is tiresome, but this is still a teen comedy of surprising, biting wit.
DVD Extras:
The producer/writers commentary mostly gee-whizzes that they got the film made at all, with the odd comment suggesting real fear over possible Bible Belt reaction. A featurette, bloopers and deleted scenes make for a competent but uninspiring package.
