To Save a Life
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Metascore
19 out of 100

Overwhelming dislike - based on 8 Critics What's this?

User Score
6.9 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 38 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
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  • Starring: Deja Kreutzberg, Joshua Weigel, Randy Wayne
  • Summary: To Save a Life is the story of an all-American teen Jake Taylor, who seemingly has it all. Ever since Jake Taylor was a kid, he was the type of guy you couldn't help but like. He is popular, a basketball star, dates the best looking girl in school and his college plans are on track. Enter Roger Dawson, Jake's childhood best friend with whom Jake has grown apart since starting high school. Roger's life couldn't be more different from Jake's. After years of suffering silently. Roger walks onto campus and makes his final, tragic move. Roger's decision of his own that will forever change the people and the life he has always known. (Samuel Goldwyn Films)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 8
  3. Negative: 7 out of 8
  1. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Gary Goldstein
    70
    Manages to be appealing, poignant and inspiring in ways that are gentle and quite real. This smartly calibrated film also pulls off something rare by presenting religious commitment as something that's not only potentially healing and elevating, but also kind of cool.
  2. Orlando Sentinel
    Reviewed by: Roger Moore
    38
    Overlong and entirely too ambitious in the number of “issues” it tries to cover, To Save a Life wanders all over the place before reaching its very predictable conclusions.
  3. Variety
    Reviewed by: Andrew Barker
    30
    Just as representations of human sexuality on film are often unpleasantly twisted by the grotesqueries of the porn industry, so, too, are filmic representations of religious conversion homogenized by the faith-based entertainment industry. Case in point: Debutante director Brian Baugh's To Save a Life.
  4. NPR
    Reviewed by: Ian Buckwalter
    25
    Miles ahead in terms of production values and a conscious avoidance of overt proselytizing. It will likely be an enormous success with the evangelical communities at which it's targeted. That doesn't save it from being an utter failure outside that narrow context.

See all 8 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 18
  3. Negative: 2 out of 18
  1. AllisonS
    10
    This movie really changed my life. After looking at the critic reviews it is clear that they completely missed the whole message of the movie. It challenged me to include everyone around me. So many times people are overlooked around us. This was a reminder to me that just a simple "hello" can mean a lot to someone and may even save a life. This is not all about Christianity like the critics make it out to be.… Expand
  2. Critic2012
    8
    To Save A Life is a little confused and a little too zealous, attempting to deal with several subjects at once and not doing that very effectively. But the film succeeds when it comes to the simple message of how priceless life is, and you don't need religious sentiment to appreciate that.… Expand
  3. LarryS
    7
    Good movie, good messages. Yes, it's not awesome by Hollywood standards (too many subjects tackled, maybe a little too much dialogue), but it still made me think about how I interacted (or didn't interact) with people in high school, and sometimes today. I hope people will give it a chance, we all need some of the messages here (not just teenagers).… Expand
  4. TomI
    0
    An instant cult classic. Think "Left Below" with the cast of "Saved by the Bell". I caught this after it showed up on Metacritic because I knew the users section would be flooded with irate apologists. A form of backlash I saw popping up almost immediately on the NYTimes review. Here it is in a nutshell: Everything is broken down into the simplest, after-school special, watered down, Hallmark card terms. Don't be fooled, anyone giving this above a 3 or so without being ironic is suffering from the delusion that these reviews weren't entirely objective and free of bias. All that said, and I say this without any anti-Christian agenda; if you don't mind throwing the money down for Rocky Horror level unintentional laughter then you'll have a good time.… Expand

See all 18 User Reviews

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