Saved! *** (2004, Jenna Malone, Mandy Moore, Macaulay Culkin, Patrick Fugit, Martin Donovan) – Classic Movie Review 2852

Co-writer/director Brian Dannelly’s 2004 release stars Jenna Malone as Mary, a girl attending a Christian high school, whose school pals condemn her when she gets pregnant.

Mary thinks she has the perfect Christian boyfriend in Dean (Chad Faust), until one day she finds out that he may be gay, he is caught and sent to a ‘degayification’ centre. All of her former friends turn on her, ostracised and demonising her.

But now she finds real friends in the school’s misfits, including Cassandra (Eva Amurri Martino, Susan Sarandon’s daughter), the school’s only Jewish girl; Roland (Macaulay Culkin), her ex-best friend’s wheelchair-bound brother, and Patrick (Patrick Fugit), the skateboarder son of the school’s principal, Pastor Skip (Martin Donovan).

Written by Brian Dannelly and Michael Urban, this is a forthright, thought-provoking satirical comedy drama, raising laughs as it attacks religious intolerance.

Smartly acted and clever, it offers a message of love and acceptance, but it is provocative.

It also stars Mandy Moore, Mary-Louise Parker, Elizabeth Thai, Kett Turton and Heather Matarazzo.

Rated PG-13 for strong thematic issues involving teens, sexual content, pregnancy, smoking and strong language.

It was filmed at Clayton Heights Secondary School, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.

Mandy Moore replaced Anne Hathaway, after she had to move on to film Ella Enchanted (2004) when finance fell through.

Former child star Macaulay Culkin was 35 on August 26 2015.

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 2852

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