Movie Review Saved

Saved! (2004) 

Directed by Brian Dannelly 

Written by Brian Dannelly 

Starring Jena Malone, Mary Louise Parker, Macauley Culkin, Patrick Fugit, Heather Matarazzo, Eva Amurri 

Release Date May 28th, 2004

Published May 28th, 2004 

As fans of Kevin Smith’s Dogma can attest, people do not have a great sense of humor about their religion. This makes the teen comedy Saved! a bold endeavor indeed. A religious satire set in a Catholic high school, Saved! is a savagely witty film about piety and acceptance, about being different and fitting in. Mostly though, it's just darn funny.

Jena Malone stars as Mary, a member of her Catholic high school's most popular clique, The Christian Jewels. The leader of the clique is Hillary Faye (Mandy Moore), a teen who takes her love of Christ more seriously than most girls take their first crush. Hillary has a brother, Roland, played by Macauley Culkin, who is in a wheelchair and she can't tell you enough how much she sacrifices to take care of him, whether he needs it or not.

Mary is an only child whose mother Lillian (Mary Louise Parker) is a dedicated Christian, recently named the number one Christian interior designer in the city. Her job takes her away from home often as does her faith. Also, Lillian has weekly meetings with the school's principal Pastor Skip (Martin Donavon). The meetings are poorly disguised trysts. Pastor Skip happens to have a son named Patrick (Patrick Fugit) who's the head of the Christian skateboarding team and has a crush on Mary.

Mary has a boyfriend, Dean (Chad Faust) who is the source of most of her troubles. While hanging out in Mary's pool Dean confides that he thinks he is gay. Shocked, Mary has an accident in the pool and has a vision of Christ that inspires her to try and save Dean. Her idea however is not the best, she thinks that having sex with him will cure him and that since it is in service of Christ, he will forgive her and restore her virginity. Instead she gets pregnant and Dean is sent to a facility that claims to cure homosexuality.

Also in the cast is Eva Amurri as Cassandra. She is the only Jewish girl at this Christian high school, there only because she has been kicked out of every other school. Cassandra is an absolute outcast and revels in her rebellious role and especially enjoys tormenting Hillary Faye. She really gets Hillary when she takes an interest in Roland and the two begin a tentative relationship. When Mary finds out she is pregnant she turns to Cassandra for help.

It's a terrifically funny setup that leads to a surprisingly softhearted ending. A slight disappointment but because the characters are so likable you can forgive the slight schmaltz. In its smart and savage wit the film evokes a little of the classic black comedy Heathers and the more recent teen satire Mean Girls. The religious setting gives the film some rich targets and it hits most of them with smart, funny observations.

This is a very funny cast of teen actors, especially Jena Malone whose indie smarts will guarantee her a long healthy career. Macauley Culkin is also a standout. Finally coming out of his own shadow, Culkin has a relaxed bemused manner and shows that he may still grow into a good actor. Mandy Moore deserves credit for taking a secondary ensemble role, eschewing her star status in order to take on a tough role.

The film’s best performance however comes from Eva Amurri. For a good portion of the film, Amurri is the conduit for the audience of non-Christians who can't stand the constant milquetoast piety thrust upon them. She savagely rips everything and everyone she sees and is hysterical doing it. By the end of the film she has softened a little but overall it's still the best performance in the film.

First-time feature director Brian Donnelly deserves credit for taking on a tough topic. Religious satire is often demonized and marginalized by controversy, Saved! has been lucky thus far not to have aroused the attention of the religious right. Donnelly, with his co-writer Michael Urban, has crafted a very funny teen movie with an edge that provides some very big and controversial targets. The film however does not rely solely on its setting to provide it's humor but smartly relies on it's talented cast to deliver the laughs. 

Movie Review: White Oleander

White Oleander (2002) 

Directed by Peter Kominsky 

Written by Mary Agnes Donaghue 

Starring Michele Pfeiffer, Allison Lohman, Renee Zellweger, Noah Wyle, Cole Hauser, Patrick Fugit 

Releasse Date October 11th, 2002 

Published October 10th, 2002 

In What Lies Beneath Michele Pfeiffer spends the first three quarters of the film giving the best performance of her career. A performance that was vulnerable and wrenching, combining madness and sanity with depth and sexuality. Then the film becomes a typical horror slasher movie with an un-killable and unbelievable villain that ruins the entire film. Now with White Oleander, Pfeiffer is allowed to complete the performance she started in What Lies Beneath and finally give the best performance of her career.

In White Oleander, Pfeiffer stars as Ingrid Magnusson, a talented but highly troubled artist and mother. Alison Lohman is Ingrid’s daughter Astrid, who quietly witnesses her mother's madness yet still worships her. After Ingrid is sent to jail for killing her lover, Astrid is moved to a series of horrendous foster homes but cannot escape the reach of her mother who fears that she is losing control of her daughter.

The first foster home Astrid is sent to belongs to a former stripper turned born again Christian named Starr (Robin Wright Penn). At first Starr seems merely strange and highly hypocritical, she is born again but lives with a married man, Ray, played by Cole Hauser. As the story proceeds we find that there is far more wrong with Starr than mere hypocrisy. As Astrid gets to know and like Ray, Starr begins to suspect that Astrid is trying to seduce him. 

As it turns out it’s the other way around. Though Ray never tries anything with Astrid the attraction is there and leads to a dangerous climax. Ray and Starr disappear and Astrid is sent to an orphanage where she meets a fellow artist and kindred spirit named Paul played by Almost Famous star Patrick Fugit. The tentative romance is a little rushed but the actors chemistry is good enough to cover any problems caused by the poor scripting.

Astrid and Paul’s relationship is short lived as Astrid is shuttled to another foster home. This time it’s the upscale home of an actress named Claire (Renee Zellweger) and her producer husband Mark ("E.R’s" Noah Wyle). Astrid quickly begins to enjoy her new home though trouble is obvious as Claire suspects Mark’s frequent travel is hiding something. And of course there is Ingrid who, without Astrid’s knowledge, has begun to contact Claire and would like to meet her. 

Astrid is quick to notice her mothers’ malevolent intentions but Claire is oblivious and once she is drawn into Ingrid’s web Claire is quick to crumble. With Ingrid’s prodding, Claire becomes more suspicious of Mark and distant from Astrid, leading to an emotional ending that is the film's emotional climax. Watching Pfeiffer and Zellweger play scenes together is remarkable. Both actresses are giving everything they have and it is a sight to see. 

The mother-daughter relationship is the film's centerpiece and Pfeiffer and Lohman work like clockwork. Trading lines of dialogue as if they had worked together forever, their characters come to life in each other's presence. Each actress brings the best out of the other and their scenes together are riveting and intense. Oscar should call on both of these actresses.

That’s not to say that the film they inhabit isn’t flawed. Indeed were it not for the strong performances the film would no doubt collapse under it’s clichés. There is only so much sadness an audience can endure and White Oleander lays it on pretty thick, forcing Lohman into situations that would lead most sane people to consider taking their own life.

White Oleander is certainly no advertisement for the foster care system as Astrid is dropped on the doorstep of people far too obviously damaged to be real. Robin Wright Penn’s Starr is an unmarried former stripper caring for three foster kids even before she takes in Astrid. Renee Zellweger’s Claire, while affluent enough to provide a home for a child, has a history of suicidal tendencies and taking in children as if they were pets, sending them back if her husband seems unhappy. Astrid’s last foster home experience is with a Russian prostitute who has her foster children sift through garbage for things to sell at flea markets or steal from other children she takes in.

The most glaring problem is the lack of a fully fleshed out male character to balance the female centric vibe. Patrick Fugit is great but his character is far too sweet and accepting to be believed and he doesn’t get enough screen time to establish a real presence. Nevertheless it’s the two lead performances by Lohman and Pfeiffer that make White Oleander easy to recommend. Forget the ridiculous chick flick label, great performances are great performances, no matter what the gender. Great acting deserves to be appreciated, and White Oleander is blessed with great acting.