What Would Jesus Do? A Teen Comedy!

I grew up in a suburb of New York City in an Evangelical church right down the street from a major Christian school. My father was a big believer in public education - and by the time I was in high school, I was of the opinion that Christians should be out in the world - so I never attended that private school. But a number of my friends did, and I saw that the social dynamics that rule a so-called "Christan" school are not that much different from those that drive public schools. Humans are human, saved or not. Roger Ebert has a balanced review of the new film SAVED!

"Saved!" is an important film as well as an entertaining one. At a time when the FCC is enforcing a censorious morality on a nation where 8.5 million listeners a day are manifestly not offended by Howard Stern, here is a movie with a political message: Jesus counseled more acceptance and tolerance than some of his followers think. By the end of the movie, mainstream Christian values have not been overthrown, but demonstrated and embraced. Those who think Christianity is just a matter of enforcing their rulebook have been, well, enlightened. And that all of this takes place in a sassy and smart teenage comedy is, well, a miracle. Oh, and mirabile dictu, some of the actors are allowed to have pimples.

It sounds like a film worth seeing, and one with a lot to say. Most films stereotype committed Christians into either the clueless or the hypocrite, whereas the early reviews seem to show this one reveals the shocking truth that Christians are human, too: just forgiven.