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The film itself was embraced by audiences at the Sundance Film Festival. There is no word yet on when it will be distributed to a larger audience.

Mainstream film critics are already giving the film some applause. David Rooney (Variety) says the film "appears bound to ruffle the feathers of religious conservatives—and may have exhausted its Utah audience at Sundance. However, the spirited comedy ultimately kneels before an all-embracing deity, which could appease the God squad provided they get through all the wickedly funny zealot-bashing that comes first."

Duane Byrge (Hollywood Reporter) calls it "an irreverent, punchy jab at the more hideous transgressions of fundamentalist Christianity. Its larkish style, combined with its anti-authoritarian bent should win some enthusiastic teen followers, as well as the Babble-onians of the Upper West Side and Hollywoodland. [But] this comedic jape delivers some sharp jabs at obvious targets, namely the boosterish excesses of American religiosity. Like the best of teen-set comedies, it lashes out at the ruling authority figures conspiring against the kids in this case, the most dominant influence at the Christian high school are the religious leaders. In Saved! … the adults are all idiots."

Don R. Lewis (Film Threat) shows an appetite for religion-bashing satire in his review. He describes Saved as "a sweet and funny movie that starts off with bite but settles into an honest feeling of happiness and acceptance for all types of people and their choices."

He explains that the film offers "a gentle exploration of why the judgments of the Catholic Church are so screwed up. Mary's journey and decisions … make great food for thought … especially for those who feel the need to adhere to many antiquated Christian philosophies. I mean, wasn't Jesus all about loving one another and not judging?"

But Mr. Lewis, haven't you just gone and judged the Catholic Church? If you're going to preach the embrace of everything and everybody, you'd better start practicing it.

He concludes, "[The movie] could change the attitudes of families who feel the need to be good Christians in this world that has drastically changed from when the guidebook was written." (Perhaps Lewis believes that Scripture's instruction— "Speak the truth in love."—has become outdated. Perhaps he would prefer it be revised to say, "Conceal the truth so as not to offend anyone or to imply that some paths might be wiser than others.")

Surely Christian communities have earned some of the jokes made at their expense. Clearly, the church is not entirely innocent on charges of judgmentalism and hypocrisy. But is the world really ready for the consequences of telling the church to surrender God's wisdom—which Christ affirmed—about right and wrong?

Religious press critics have yet to see and review Saved! You can expect a volatile and heated discussion when the film eventually finds a larger audience either on the big screen or on DVD.

The Perfect Score flunks the "ethics" test

The Perfect Score, starring Erika Christensen, Chris Evans, Bryan Greenberg, and Scarlett Johansson, was produced by MTV Films and Paramount. This collaboration results in a mix of action, comedy, drama … and poor reviews.

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February (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48