Editing Saved! (section)

==Reception==
''Saved!'' received mixed reviews from critics. At critics aggregator site [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds a 61% rating of 88 positive reviews against 57 negative ones, with an average rating of 6.12/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "A satirical teen comedy that, unfortunately, pulls its punches."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Saved! (2004) |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/saved/ |access-date=2020-06-25 |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]}}</ref>

[[Roger Ebert]] of the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' gave the film 3 and a half out of 4 stars and praised the film despite commenting that it follows formulaic tropes of other [[teen film]]s, adding that it has a "political message": {{blockquote|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.<ref>{{cite web|work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|title=Saved!|author=Ebert, Roger|author-link=Roger Ebert|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/saved-2004|date=May 28, 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107083203/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/saved-2004|archive-date=January 7, 2019}}</ref>}}

Ken Fox of ''[[TV Guide]]'' gave the film three of five stars: {{blockquote|The first 45 minutes of this wickedly clever comedy features the smartest, tartest high-school satire since [[Alexander Payne]]'s ''[[Election (1999 film)|Election]]''. Giddily unmasking the intolerance that often comes cloaked in religious piety, the film exhausts itself long before it's over. But in the spirit of the true Christian charity it ultimately extols, the film's shortcomings are forgivable.<ref>{{cite web|work=[[TV Guide]]|last=Fox|first=Ken|title=Saved!|url=https://www.tvguide.com/movies/saved/review/137490/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190622100900/https://www.tvguide.com/movies/saved/review/137490/|archive-date=June 22, 2019}}</ref>}}

''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]''{{'}}s [[David Sterritt]] gave the film a favorable review, writing: {{blockquote|Not surprisingly, ''Saved!'' has sparked debate in religious circles. Some defend it on grounds linked to fundamentalist ideas - pointing out, for instance, that abortion isn't mentioned as an option until it's too late for Mary to have one anyway. Others find the movie's overall tone too sassy and irreverent for comfort. What the harsher critics miss is that American teenagers tend to face similar sorts of problems in all sorts of social and domestic settings. The most important thing is how they deal with their challenges, and in ''Saved!'' their search for solutions usually has a faith-based inflection, even if it's not always as straight and narrow as believers might wish.<ref>{{cite web|work=[[The Christian Science Monitor]]|title='Saved!' offers message of tolerance amid satire|last=Steritt|first=David|date=May 28, 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171219114245/https://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0528/p15s01-almo.html|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0528/p15s01-almo.html|archive-date=December 19, 2017}}</ref>}}

Sean Axmaker of the ''[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]'' wrote of the film: {{blockquote|The skewering of spiritualism, dogma and passive-aggressive prayer groups has an exaggerated absurdity that borders on cartoonish (public shows of devotion is the currency of popularity and social power in this world) and Dannelly's satire is more clever than cutting. Yet he has a deft comic touch and his observation of teenage social dynamics are dead on. It's like ''[[Mean Girls]]'' with a holier-than-thou twist and a genuine (if contrived) message of acceptance.<ref>{{cite web|work=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]|title='Saved!': The gospel according to fervent teens|date=June 10, 2004|author=Axmaker, Sean|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190622100636/https://www.seattlepi.com/ae/movies/article/Saved-The-gospel-according-to-fervent-teens-1146908.php|archive-date=June 22, 2019|url=https://www.seattlepi.com/ae/movies/article/Saved-The-gospel-according-to-fervent-teens-1146908.php}}</ref>}}

Other critics, however, criticized the film for alleged anti-Christian views. ''[[Slant Magazine]]'' was overwhelmingly negative on this issue, giving the film only half a star out of five and calling it the worst movie of the year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/saved|title=Saved!|author=Gonzalez, Ed|website=[[Slant Magazine]]|date=April 14, 2004|access-date=January 21, 2014}}</ref>