Boy, was I psyched to see Saved!

There's nothing I like better than watching a satirical teen comedy and wallowing in my shared sense of cynicism, especially when the film parodies over-zealous evangelicalism (how taboo).

The premise alone is enough to make any cynic drool: a Christian high school student (Mary, played by Jena Malone) finds out her boyfriend is gay, and (with inspiration from Jesus) gives him her virginity in order to save him from the hellfire of homosexuality. Of course the plan fails: Mary becomes pregnant, her boyfriend is sent off to a spiritual rehab center, and her fellow friends (featuring one über-witchy Mandy Moore) drop Mary like a burning Bible.

Here's where first-time feature-film director Brian Dannelly really could have dug his hooks into the hypocrisies of evangelical Christianity. Instead, he eases off on the malicious finger pointing and focuses on humanizing the film's religious zealots rather than skewer them for unfair persecution. Unfortunately, though his heart is in the right place in making Saved! a fair and balanced look at Christian dogma, Dannelly's film loses its edgy side when it starts sacrificing satirical wit for sappy teen drama.

What's really lost? Probably some outstanding performances by an understated Macaulay Culkin (who plays Moore's pessimistic quadriplegic brother), and a dazzling Eva Amurri (daughter of Susan Sarandon), who is the picture of surly rebellion as the lone Jewish student at the all-Christian school. Yet all nit-picking aside, there are enough stinging one-liners and witty diatribes in this film to prevent it from being buried in a shallow grave of bland teen movies. Brian Dannelly, you've been Saved!

-- Reviewed by Megan McKenna