Crestwood, Illinois. About a half hour drive south. I'd get tickets in advance, though; it's in a smaller auditorium and we're selling the shows out.

This good Catholic boy liked it. There's a whole lot more that could have been done with the concept, the ending is very preachy and maudlin, and some of the humor is very easy, but much of the film is very effective, and it's one that I'll reccommend to others.

As for Macauley Culin - way to knock it out of the park. The guy's a genius, playing Roland with a wit and cynicism that makes him not only the best character in this film, but one of the best I've seen all year. Dancing? Rollerskate? Pipebomb? Three nuggets of gold in one goldmine of a performance.

Thanks you Jesus!

I saw this last night and enjoyed it quite a bit. I wonder if the people who were offended by it actually sat through the whole movie or if they only saw the first 20 minutes.

Loved it. Great satire without being downright cruel. Very, very funny. My ex-Catholic wife was laughing even more than I was. A slightly too-nice copout at the end but not that bad.

***½ / ****

Bonus: probably the only movie to thank Prometheus Books and George H. Smith in the credits for the use of his book Atheism: The Case Against God. I must admit I didn't catch it and I have to see it again just for that (I do want to see it again anyway).

Completely agree and I thought Patrick Fugit's character was a very positive Christian character. I thought the film was good. My rating: ***/****.

Eva Amurri (tough gal Cassandra) is Susan Sarandon's daughter.

I saw this at the Water Front Film Festival this past weekend. The director and one of the producers were there for a Q&A afterwards as well.

The film itself was extremely funny and fairly well done for a first-time director (well, of a major release film at least). All the characters were well handled and very believable, especially Patrick Fugit's character. I couldn't stop laughing at Macauly Culkin's character being named Roland. Mandy Moore played a great part, and unfortuantely, too true of a part for some christians. The story itself I felt was well written, but the ending was a bit too much over the top for a happy Hollywood ending. All in all, a good time and well worth seeing.

FYI, the director is a hilarious guy. Maybe something to take to the movie when you see it to see what he is saying, he went Catholic Elementary School, Jewish summer camp and Baptist High School. Kind of explains some scenarios, views and opinions brought up in the movie.

***/****

I saw it today and loved it.

All around strong performances by the entire cast.

The pipe bomb line had he rollingrotfl

Is it just me, or is Susan Sarandon's daughter Eva Amurri hot in this movie? I might just watch this along w/ 3 other movies tomorrow.

Eva Amurri's got a smokin' bod, that's for sure. I don't blame Roland for checking out her bum either.

Quick thought on the film:

Instead of a special effects extravanganza, this film is all about characters starting in one place and ending up in a more tolerant place. Definitely a nice change of pace from the summer "blockbusters" which short-change the focus on characters for spectacle.

This film is all about characters, and growth through social/religious adversity, and thinking outside their comfort zone. This film could have de-railed at many points along the way, but it did keep its focus on the central theme of tolerance through and through.

I couldn't believe I didn't find Macauley Culkin muggingly annoying in his role. I did enjoy the work of Susan Sarandon's daughter (Eva Amurri) in this film as well.

The satire on using religion-based motivations to build up one's cachet of self-importance was deftly realized in the Hilary Faye character, painfully so. Mandy Moore was actually pretty good in her portrayal of this religiously myopic teenager.

Mary, Mary, Mary, through amazingly ignorant life blinders derived from a worldview that discounted cause-and-effect of the real world for a fantastical naive mindset born from trusting too much into ideas that don't quite mesh with real world consequences of actions, she finds herself on the outside looking in, but finding that looking outwards is a better place to embrace community based on tolerance and love.

I give it 3 stars, or a grade of B.

This movie is finally playing in my town. Can't wait to see it this weekend. From everyones reviews so far, it should be great.

Going to see this tonight. Will post my thoughts later.

I thought it was funny, and saw it with my political, over-analizing friend, and expected to hear an earful from him, but enjoyed it as much as I did.

Saw it. Thought it was a solid comedy, but it could have pushed the envelope a little more IMO. I give it three out of four stars or a grade of B. Kudos to Mandy Moore and Macauly Culkin, they both did exceptional jobs. Moore is an okay actress when she plays good people, but when she plays a protagonist/bad guy, she's a great actress. While it's a long shot, I hope she gets remembered in the supporting category come awards time. Not necessarily worth an Oscar, but maybe a nom.
Also, whoever wrote that movie must have either been a student at a Christian school at some point or part of a strong campus ministry; the way they portrayed the behavior of the people at times was eerily reminiscent for someone like me, who used to be in such a place.

I loved it. The film actually had characters you got to know and care about. There was dark comedy, and touching moments all sumed up with a very casted movie. I was surprised how much I liked the actors in the film and Jena Malone and Mandy Moore are the most noteworthy performances of the film. Culkin, Eva Amurri and Patrick Fugit, who is nice see him in something since Almost Famous, also gave solid performances.

It was a very funny comedy that had something to say about the silliness of intolerance, and it says without trying to cover it up and it works amazingly well. It's too bad the film is not being seen by many, but oh well I at least I enjoyed it.

***1/2/****

Just saw it. And being a devout Catholic, I loved it. Can't believe I missed this in theaters. :up: performances all around. Eva Amurri is H-O-T. I think the Culkinator should make more movies. And Jena Malone's always golden.

I also saw this recently as well. I rented and plan on buying it sometime soon. And just a side note, the bonus features are excellent, and there is an interesting easter egg with Michael Stipe on there.

The movie made me think of the RM and Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, but the RM more so. RM, however, is a Mormon movie, but very funny, and not bashing at all. I didn't feel this movie bashed, it just called out attention to one hypocrite among a school full of decent people. Nothing wrong with that.

I can't believe this drew the ire that it did. But then again, I can't believe "The Passion of the Christ" drew what it did. At the end of the day, both are dopey movies, extensions of vaudville that we are convinced have some kind of impact. Great diversions to life but not life itself.

On the movie, I thought MacCauley Culkin was tremendous. He's a real easy guy to root for though, considering his "slumber parties" that his parents allowed him to attend, I hope the guy lands on his feet. He seemed strong in this movie, as did Patrick Fugit. The usual critiques apply, cardboard characters, sunshiney ending, but as a Christian, I can say I take zero offense to this movie. Big suprise, gay producers and people may have a bone to pick with Christianity considerng what it's preached to them. Nothing too notable and the producers should be thrilled it got the dander of the anti-Christans up, because I think it probably tripled the take of a largely mediocre and forgetable movie going experience.

it was a decent movie.

I must be in the minority here, but I rented it over the weekend and just HATED it. And now thanks to this movie, I hate Mandy Moore too. Ugh.

I guess the obvious question here is why/what did you hate about it, and why it extended to Mandy Moore who-- one can surmise from your post--you used to like?

Well, I thought it was pretty bad... but it may just be attributable to the fact that I am not religious. More likely though it's because I felt the movie failed to push any limits or challenge me as a viewer. I was kinda expecting it to mock religion more rather than just take some extreme christians and make them less extreme. *yawn* Oh, that and most of the acting was pretty poor for a movie that relied on the performances of the actors.

Rented this a couple of weeks ago.

It's flawed, but still a pretty decent film with a number of good ideas running through it. It should've been rated R, though, since most of the funniest bits seem to have been trimmed to get a PG-13, as seen in the deleted/extended scenes.

Two scenes stood out for me.

The first was when Hilary Faye threw the Bible at Mary, and Mary picked it up and said "This in not a weapon." A bit heavy-handed in its symbolism, but it illustrates one of my major gripes against American Christianity, in that it seems to have become politicized and lost any of its spirituality. Christian faith has ceased to be something to uplift people, but a weapon to punish the sinners or those who are different.

And the other scene, which is the flipside of the above scene, is at the end when, during Hilary Faye's crisis of faith, Cassandra actually goes to help Hilary Faye, her enemy, and offer her at least a form of forgiveness or absolution. It's not something the audience is necessarily hit over the head with, but it's probably the one of the most truly "Christian" acts put on screen.

All in all, I found the writing to be good, if a bit heavy-handed and unsubtle at times, and strong performances from the leads. Jena Malone, Mandy Moore (better actor than a singer, IMO), Mac, and Eva Amurri (great find, did anyone know she's Susan Sarandon's daughter?) were all great and proved to be a good ensemble.

...reviving an old thread since I just finally rented Saved!

This movie: simply. fucking. rocked.

I don't know if I was just in the "right" mood for it or what, but I haven't laughed this much at a movie since Shaun of the Dead, and there are just tons of hilarious quotes. If you like dark comedy and have a sense of humor about religion, I highly recommend this flick.

Just awesome. :up: :up: