At a recent movie night with friends, one of the movies we watched was Saved! It's a religious comedy, starring Mandy Moore, Jena Malone, and Mr. Home Alone himself Macaulay Culkin. I wasn't sure what exactly to expect going into this movie, but I did recall seeing Macaulay Culkin on Conan and it looked funny at the time. So I started watching with an open mind.

The movie follows the story of Mary (played by Malone), a Baptist high school student who becomes pregnant and outcast. Mary questions her faith and finds salvation in two unlikely fellow students.

This movie really surprised me! And oddly enough, I rather enjoyed it! If you are a usual reader of my blog, you'll know that religion and I don't usually get along. Okay, we almost never get along. What I liked about this movie however, is that it was not afraid to poke fun at the stereotypical religious themes. It wasn't afraid to go a bit over the top (and Mandy Moore did an excellent job of exaggerating her role as lead Jesus-cheerleader). At the same time, I think the movie has enough material there for the religious-types.

Almost all of the actors do a great job in this movie, except for probably Mary's mother and Pastor Skip, who are just not believable. Moore does a great job with her character, especially since it is the exact opposite of every character she has ever played before - mean, benevolent, jealous, etc. Culkin played the handicapped guy quite well, and it was interesting to see him act again after so long. Malone did a decent job, but I think the best performance was given by Eva Amurri who plays the slightly eccentric Cassandra. Talk about nailing a character.

If you are looking for a funny movie, with a religious theme, then you'll like Saved. If you are looking for a hardcore, everyone let's get together and pray type of movie, you will most likely be disappointed. I liked Saved, and I look forward to new movies from Culkin, now that he is back in the acting thing. Check it out for a laugh!