Saved!

Premiere Susannah Gora

Boasts both wicked satire and a big heart, and as a result, is nothing short of brilliant.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

Saved! is the audacious feel-good satire of 2004.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

An important film as well as an entertaining one.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Fanaticism is Dannelly's target, not faith. That's what makes his film a keeper: It sticks with you.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

It's a great accomplishment and, at a time when satire is in short supply, a terrific surprise.

New York Magazine Peter Rainer

It's the barbs, and not the inspirationalism, that work best in this movie.

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

Bears the unmistakable stamp of authenticity, even at its most outrageous.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

It's been a long time since I've seen a teen movie as lively, as unpredictable, as generous, and as tough-minded as this one.

USA Today Claudia Puig

Not only is Saved! subversively funny, it is unexpectedly sweet.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

As an answer to the spreading cultural virus of evangelical conformity, Brian Dannelly's teen farce Saved! is about three teeth short of a full bite. But it leaves an indelible impression.

San Francisco Chronicle Carla Meyer

The achievement of Saved!, a very funny teen comedy set in a Christian high school, lies in its careful avoidance of obvious traps.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

Neither outrageous nor subtle as a religious satire, but here's the good news for modern viewers: With it's unusual Christian backdrop, this is one of the most intriguing rite-of-passage teen comedies in a long time.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

The skewering of spiritualism, dogma and passive-aggressive prayer groups has an exaggerated absurdity that borders on cartoonish and Dannelly's satire is more clever than cutting.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

The kind of breezy teen-pic that youngsters flock to nowadays, and this particular specimen is imaginative enough to explore an environment off Hollywood's beaten path. It's also broad-minded enough to portray the evangelical milieu with flair, satirize its foibles with restraint, and respect its ideals even as it shows how individuals may fall short.

Variety David Rooney

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.

LA Weekly Ella Taylor

Though Saved! is funny and irreverent, Dannelly isn't just taking potshots at fundamentalism. He creates a viable world, then riddles its surface piety with underground transgressions that call into question not Christian belief but slavish, intolerant religious practice.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

The director-cowriter, Brian Dannelly, has great fun tweaking the way American Christianity has been born again as a commodified, suburbanized, pop-saturated belief system.

Austin Chronicle Kimberley Jones

While Saved! initially gets in some good gags at the expense of religious hypocrisy, it eases off, opting not to skewer religion but rather to poke it gently with a stick to see what happens.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

If Saved! sinks into formula -- any movie with a showdown at a prom is treading a well-worn path -- you're grateful for its forgiving spirit.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

Despite a strong cast and a willingness to lampoon the fundamentals of fundamentalism, Saved! isn't as funny, or as wicked, as it should be.

Empire Olly Richards

It starts off very sprightly and witty and maintains a high giggle-count throughout.

Dallas Observer Melissa Levine

The movie is facile, but mostly sweet and entertaining.

Film Threat Don R. Lewis

Saved! is just 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.

The Hollywood Reporter Duane Byrge

This comedic jape delivers some sharp jabs at obvious targets, namely the boosterish excesses of American religiosity.

The New Yorker David Denby

Saved! is a minor work, yet it has a teasing lilt to it, and to make it at all took courage and originality. [31 May 2004, p. 88]

TV Guide Ken Fox

The first 45 minutes of this wickedly clever comedy features the smartest, tartest high-school satire since Alexander Payne's "Election."

The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps

If director Brian Dannelly were interested in taking his film into the realm of camp, the gag might have worked, but as is, it simply gives the impression that he doesn't quite know what he's talking about.

The New York Times Dana Stevens

It has a bright young cast and a clever, eclectic soundtrack, but the tone veers unsteadily from mockery to preachiness, and the story loses its breath, hopping from one clumsily paced scene to the next.

Los Angeles Times Manohla Dargis

It's no great surprise that after a tough beginning, Saved! soon starts to sound a lot like the inspirational TV movie (with Valerie Bertinelli).

Chicago Tribune Allison Benedikt

After bravely lampooning an institution so many consider beyond reproach, Saved! chickens out, imparting its most direct and lasting message in its disappointing conclusion: Don't Offend. Amen.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

There's plenty to offend Christians and non-Christians in Saved! but little to trouble either: The movie vanishes in memory like morning mist expelled by the first stiff breeze.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

The problem with Saved!, which is often bright and likable, is that its central point -- extremism, religious or otherwise, is bad -- is too obvious for a satire.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

The reality is that it's neither hip nor funny: Instead, it's excessively broad one minute and unctuously instructional the next.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Yet another teen comedy that tries to have it both ways -- basically, "Mean Girls" with crucifixes instead of designer jewelry.

Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell

A mean-spirited exercise in hypocrisy.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

The level of humor is sit-com-ish at best and the film's dramatic elements are bland and uninvolving.

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

If you're mocking holier-than-thou-ness, you can't very well strike a hipper-than-thou tone.

Village Voice Michael Atkinson

An overwhelming portion of Saved! is wall-to-wall Jesus-Jesus-Jesus talk, closer to dead air than social spoof. At times, the screenplay (including Mary's voluminous narration) has the monotonous cadence of a recruitment sermon.