Saved!

Too inoffensive to count as satire, Brian Dannelly’s film is inventive enough to refresh a popular genre that has decayed from Heathers to Mean Girls. The main novelty is the setting in a Christian high school, so all the squirm-inducing scenes, from classroom to auditorium to hallways to parking lot, have a particular wrinkle to their familiar shape. The cast is okay too, from Jena Malone and Patrick Fugit (of Almost Famous), through Mandy Moore and Heather Matarazzo, to Martin Donovan and Mary-Louise Parker as the “adults.” So the overall effect is pleasant but soft. Still, there’s some topicality in Hollywood looking back at the evangelical world that demonizes yet emulates popular culture. The all-inclusive finale is sort of sappy, but along the way there is some good dirty fun. (2004, dvd, n.) *6* (MC-62, RT-60.)